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    ‘Investor protection’ in trade deals: why can’t multinational corporations take out insurance rather than have taxpayers underwrite them?

    Linda Kaucher of Stop TTIP | 10-Dec-2017 | 2

    First some background: the Investor-state Dispute Settlement, or ISDS (new name – Investment Court System, or ICS) is a mechanism whereby corporations can sue governments that introduce legislation that they claim reduces their potential to make profit Read more

    It can’t possibly be a bad thing to live in the wild and to harvest both plants and animals for food – can it?

    Dave Darby of Lowimpact.org | 07-Dec-2017 | 264

    A group of us are attempting to have a debate about the sustainability of meat production, but I’ve realised that our differences are much deeper. Read more

    Reduce, reuse… repair? The repair renaissance building skills and communities

    With UK media decrying a recent YouGov survey revealing a whopping 69% of 18-24 year olds in the UK don’t know how to bleed a radiator and 54% would be flummoxed replacing a fuse, what hope is there for a repair renaissance amidst the current tide of throwaway consumerism? Read more

    Does the sustainability of meat production depend on the size of a holding and the number of animals kept on it?

    Dave Darby of Lowimpact.org | 03-Dec-2017 | 84

    I want to investigate at what size meat production becomes unsustainable (in terms of acreage, number of animals etc.) – i.e. whether it can be sustainable at all, and if so, whether there’s an upper limit, above which it can’t be sustainable Read more

    Cow-calf dairying part 6: share milking

    I have found that the first few days after a heifer has calved are critical when it comes to creating a positive association with feeding her calf and being milked by machine.  Read more

    Should you keep a rooster with your hens? (and how to deal with a problem rooster)

    Lesley Anderson of | 30-Nov-2017 | 8

    I prefer to keep my animals as naturally as possible to allow them to express their natural behaviour and reduce stress, so I have always kept a rooster with my hens. It is true that you do not need a cockerel or a rooster in your flock for your hens to lay eggs. So why… Continue reading Should you keep a rooster with your hens? (and how to deal with a problem rooster) Read more

    GM is about corporate control of our food, not ‘feeding the world’: learn more at an event this saturday

    Are you eating GM food? The fact that you are mostly* not is down to 20 years of inspiring direct action and pressure by anti-GM activists. Read more

    How hydroponics could be integrated into restaurants, bars, schools and hospitals

    Lowimpact.org’s Sophie Paterson meets hydroponics convert James Brand to hear about his experiences of hydroponics in action at a 13th century free house, the family-run award-winning Journey’s End Inn on the South Devon coast. Read more

    How much electricity does Bitcoin consume, and what are the alternatives?

    When an idea grows far beyond its original conception, develops its own culture, factions & internal dynamics, and through implementation compromises with the real world, it can become the very enemy of what it first espoused. Read more

    How the ‘One Planet Development’ policy is helping people get back onto the land in Wales

    Something special is happening in Wales. The country is using legislation to shift itself into a very different direction from England. It wants to be more sustainable. It wants to reduce its ‘ecological footprint’ to a level that’s fair compared to the rest of the planet’s population and resources. Read more

    Making an ash pack basket

    Ruby Taylor of Native Hands | 21-Nov-2017 | 4

    In a post kindly shared from the Native Hands blog, our basketry specialist Ruby Taylor recounts a recent trip to the woods to make a beautiful ash pack basket. Read more

    Join our new online community Living Low Impact

    We’re excited to introduce our new Facebook group Living Low Impact – and you’re invited! Read more

    Cow-calf dairying part 5: creating a bond and first milking

    This is where we get to the nitty-gritty of cow-calf dairying, looking at creating a bond and the first milking; but it’s important that you have understood the whole series so far (see right or click here) before reading on, as much of what is covered here relates to points made before. Read more

    What’s the best thing to do with the uplands, in terms of sustainability?

    Emma Olliff of RegenerEat | 14-Nov-2017 | 19

    This is a question asked in an interesting debate on Facebook along the lines of uplands and their appropriate maintenance with regards to grazing. There are several fascinating projects and opinion pieces that were linked to Read more

    £30, credit-card-sized, non-corporate, low-energy computers set up to run Linux; any boxes not ticked there?

    These are cheap (£30) mini computers that run Linux and will make a good second computer for children (for example), a media player in another room, or a data server. It might save people buying another laptop and it means you can reuse the peripherals of older PCs (screen, mouse etc). Read more

    ‘Land for What?’ meeting in Leicester tomorrow (sorry for short notice, but it’s worth it)

    Dave Darby of Lowimpact.org | 10-Nov-2017 | 0

    Sorry for the ridiculously short notice, but if you’re interested in land issues, and have nothing on this weeked, this is really worth getting yourself to. Read more

    Why I walk: a conversation with a walking guide

    Jessie Watson Brown of | 09-Nov-2017 | 2

    Walking is as old as the hills, and yet so many aren’t getting out in their local areas. On a sunny October afternoon, with the backdrop of birdsong, I spoke to walking guide Emma Cunis about her story with walking and what she offers as Dartmoor’s Daughter; where she runs walks and nature connection events… Continue reading Why I walk: a conversation with a walking guide Read more

    Cow-calf dairying part 4: udder development

    Welcome to part 4 of this series on cow-calf dairying, focusing on udder development. By now you will be starting to understand that keeping calves on dairy cows is a fine art; that it is a case of balancing the emotional and physical needs of both cow and calf; and why there are no set… Continue reading Cow-calf dairying part 4: udder development Read more

    Historically heating: forgotten ways to keep warm this winter

    With winter on the way and inspired by a recent visit to the Weald & Downland Museum, Sophie Paterson explores a selection of historical personal heating methods. Could they be adopted in homes today? Read more

    Using pigs for woodland conservation

    Lesley Anderson of | 02-Nov-2017 | 5

    At this year’s Scottish Smallholder Festival  I attended a fascinating talk by Jack Flusk and Katie Swift of Conservation Pigs about their pioneering use of pigs for woodland conservation work. With benefits to the pigs, the pig keeper and the woodland this is a practice which could become far more widespread. Read more

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