Info, news & debate
Food
In praise of the domestic larder: an alternative to the modern fridge
Once a mainstay of households in times gone by, the humble larder provided a practical storage solution for foodstuffs requiring storage over a longer period of time.
A year of downshifting in Devon
Downshifting means working less, earning less and spending less and it’s what Lowimpact.org’s Sophie Paterson has spent the past year attempting to do. She shares what she’s learnt so far and why she’d encourage others to embrace downshifting too.
Haybox (retained heat) cooking and food safety
Haybox cookers use retained heat to cook the food and save energy. They are also very convenient as food can be prepared and kept hot for hours and then served up when needed. This can be great when having friends for a meal
A matter of scale: how small farms provide more jobs and more food per acre
Our new report, “A Matter of Scale”, highlights how a diverse and vibrant sector of small farms is providing employment, attracting new entrants and incubating entrepreneurs.
Starting a market garden: Q&A with Chris Smaje of Small Farm Future
Chris Smaje of Small Farm Future kindly agreed to share with us a recent blog post of his own about starting a market garden, drawing on his experiences at Vallis Veg, a small farm on the outskirts of Frome in Somerset with a veg box scheme and much more besides. Covering 13 questions collated from …
In sight of Pendle Hill: a glimpse of life at Gazegill Farm
We’re delighted to introduce the first in a series of posts by photographer and researcher Walter Lewis of Feeding Body and Soul. He will be sharing a selection of stories from his journey exploring local sustainable food production in England and Wales, beginning with Gazegill Farm in Lancashire.
My plastic-free life: an interview with Kate Armstrong
You may remember from our post in May that the month of June marks The Marine Conservation Society’s Plastic Challenge. But what is it actually like to give up plastic? We spoke to campaigner Kate Armstrong of plasticisrubbish.com about her decade-long journey towards and campaign for a plastic-free existence.
More plastic than fish in the oceans by 2050? Could you give up plastic?
The Marine Conservation Society is urging people to get through June without plastic. The Plastic Challenge will highlight our reliance on this substance of convenience.
Farm Hack : growing innovative open-source agriculture
In response to the pervasive reach of the global agro-industrial complex, growing numbers of farmers across the world are coming together as co-operative organisations to promote and protect small-scale organic food production and environmental stewardship. We take a look below at some of the groups promoting open source agriculture with farmer driven technologies, spearheaded by the …
Why an economy that’s not dominated by the corporate sector would be much better for individuals, communities and nature
Lowimpact.org is an organisation that was founded by two people in 2001 because of concerns about ecological damage and what that might mean for the future of humanity. The focus has always been on individual lifestyle change
Let’s build a sustainable, non-corporate world; but what exactly does ‘non-corporate’ mean?
This is the first of two articles examining the non-corporate sector, and its advantages for ecology, democracy, communities and individuals. Here’s a checklist of the benefits of reducing the reach of the corporate sector, but first, let’s work out what kind of organisations comprise the non-corporate sector.
Two things you can do to help stop the encroachment of GM crops into the UK
Glyphosate is the key ingredient in Monsanto’s ‘Roundup’, the product that farmers have to buy to apply to the genetically-modified crops that they’ve bought from Monsanto. Half of Monsanto’s profits come from Roundup sales.
Very worthwhile and interesting job available with the Open Food Network
Are you interested in helping create food sovereignty in the UK? Would you like to help create food systems in which everyone has access to affordable, nutritious, culturally-appropriate food?
University meets WWOOF: An interview with student and WWOOFer Iona Desouza
Hours spent in the library? Check. Essay and assignment deadlines flooding in? Check. Tractor driving, wool spinning and weeding at weekends? Check!
Would you like to be a chef on an organic farm / cafe, with a small cottage available too?
Sinking into a bit of a depression about both the British and American situation this winter a wise friend kindly reminded me that these issues are merely a distraction from more important things in our everyday lives.
Interested in setting up a local food co-op? Mobile shop for sale, with free training thrown in
We are a real food co-op in Dorset, and we have been delivering food via our trusty mobile shop, ‘the Charmouth Dragon’. We’re now taking the shop online with the good folks of Open Food Network UK
If ‘agroecology’ is such a good idea, how can we get the planning system to promote it?
The planning system doesn’t currently differentiate between different types of agriculture, and maybe it should. The type of agriculture we prefer could be labelled ‘agroecology’ – but the problem is how to define it and how to get the planning system to recognise it, let alone promote it.
Wood-fired pizza van: free to a good home
I’ve had six years of self-employed catering with Proved Wood-fired Pizza, alongside working full-time in the housing and homeless sector. I originally wanted to sell the van/business to help fund going back to university as a full-time student.
Low-impact & the city 7: our experience of a local fishbox / community-supported fish scheme
You may remember that we blogged an interview last summer with Guy Dorrell, who set up a ‘fishbox’, or ‘community-supported fish’ project, called ‘Faircatch‘. After interviewing him, my partner and I signed up to his scheme to try it out. I’m now reporting on how the idea worked for us
New York Times: GM crops require more pesticides and don’t increase yields
I’ve been saying for a long time that GM crops do not increase yields and they don’t reduce pesticide use – because that’s not what they’re designed for. This report in the New York Times shows that I was right.