Info, news & debate
Food
Help Brighton Permaculture Trust build a straw-bale ‘fruit factory’
Brighton Permaculture Trust are Scaling Up the Scrump – and need your help to make it happen! For several years we’ve been turning waste fruit from local orchards and people’s homes into delicious produce such as jam, chutneys, and juices at pop-up scrumping events.
Interested in rural cohousing? Introducing the Agroecological Land Initiative
The Agroecological Land Initiative is an new organisation founded to advocate and implement agroecological methods in the UK to help secure food sovereignty, energy independence, and environmental regeneration in a way that is financially viable and socially just.
What low-impacters are up to around the country: Greystoke Cycle Cafe
Proper seasonal tea garden cafés (i.e. just with a tea garden facility and no indoor space as a cosy backup) are few and far between in this country – especially in the north (thanks largely to the weather)
Keeping pigs: the story of a pig co-op
In 2012 some households in our village decided to start a pig co-op/club. Living in a Somerset village and with several interested neighbours, one of whom had the space needed, we all got together for an informal meeting
Is it ethical to eat meat?
A group of around 15 of us meet one evening a month, for something we call ‘Philosophy Club’. The topic of this month’s meeting, which happened last night, was ‘is it ethical to eat meat?’
Campaign to develop the Community-Supported Agriculture (CSA) Network in the UK
Community supported agriculture (CSA) is a partnership between farmers and the local community, in which the responsibilities, risks and rewards of farming are shared. Benefits are enjoyed by both sides
Polish family farms criminalised for local food sales
Dear Friends/Drodzy Przyjaciele, Polish Embassy protest at 2:30 on 20th February. Please circulate! Get your banners together! We hope to see as many of you
The battle to save Polish small farms from corporations
This is something we really want to support. Corporate land-grabs, supported by subservient governments, are happening the world over, and it’s a disaster for ecology and democracy.
Introducing the Land Workers’ Alliance – representing small-scale producers
We wanted to introduce the Land Workers’ Alliance (LWA) via a first-hand account of their AGM, held at Trill Farm, Dorset, on the 23rd & 24th of November, 2013.
Why Owen Paterson is wrong about GM food
Owen Paterson, Secretary of State for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs, said today that environmentalists who oppose GM food are ‘wicked’. This is why he is wrong.
Help stop giant supermarkets taking over community assets
The lease has come up for renewal for a very popular pub called the Wheatsheaf in Tooting, south London, in a prime location opposite Tooting Bec tube station.
La Via Campesina ‘peasants’ movement inaugurated in the UK
La Via Campesina is an international organisation claiming around 250 million members! It defends small-scale sustainable agriculture as a way to promote social justice and dignity.
How to make a 7-course meal for 12 people for free
Recently some friends and I were served a sumptuous seven-course meal with a twist: every single ingredient came from the bin of a top-end retailer. Well, everything apart from the road-kill rabbit spotted on the way home.
Recent findings on glyphosate, and why we don’t need GM food
Do you know what glyphosate is? It’s a herbicide developed by Monsanto, sold under the trade name Roundup – the most widely-used pesticide in the world. Genetically-engineered (Roundup ready) soy has been developed to tolerate glyphosate.
Making bread, butter & cheese
We’ve just had a fantastic course here this weekend – how to make bread, butter and cheese. The breadmaking part of the course was provided by Katherine Hallewell (above). She and a friend have a small bakery in Stroud, and they make bread for local people.