Couple of papers on sugar from the Food Research Collaboration:
http://foodresearch.org.uk/should-the-uk-be-concerned-about-sugar/
http://foodresearch.org.uk/does-sugar-pass-the-environmental-and-social-test-2/
Environment
Sustainable 100 – Inspiring People
StandardSome inspiring folk on this list – https://colour-of-money.co.uk/sustainable-social-media-100/
New report outlines the principles of healthy and sustainable diets
Standard03 June 2015 – published here.
Global Food Security, an alliance of the UK’s main public funders of food related research, has published a report highlighting 8 principles of healthy and sustainable eating patterns and concluded that pro-environmental diets were clearly compatible with healthy diets.
The eight principles are:
- eat a varied balanced diet,
- eat more plant based foods,
- value your food and don’t waste it,
- choose sustainable fish,
- moderate your meat intake,
- include milk and dairy products and where possible plant based alternatives,
- drink tap water
- eat fewer foods high in fat sugar and salt.
Organic farming ‘benefits biodiversity’
Standard
Organic farms act as a refuge for wild plants, offsetting the loss of biodiversity on conventional farms, a study suggests.
Fields around organic farms have more types of wild plants, providing benefits for wildlife, say scientists.
The research is likely to fuel the debate over the environmental benefits of organic farming.
Studies suggest that organic farming produces lower yields than conventional methods but harbours more wildlife.
The new study, by researchers at the University of Swansea and institutes in France, looked at fields sowed with winter wheat in the region of Poitou-Charente.
They found that organic farming led to higher weed diversity on surrounding conventionally farmed fields.
“Wild plants are important for birds, bees and other farmland species,” said Dr Luca Borger of the department of biosciences at Swansea University.
“Organic farming has advantages in maintaining these, but even a mixture of organic and non-organic farming in an area can help maintain this biodiversity.
“Even only 25% of fields being organically farmed can make a difference.”
Food security
Farmland provides essential habitat for many animals but intensification of agriculture has led to a loss of biodiversity.
However, in order to provide the extra food needed by the bigger human population of the future, without destroying forests and wetlands, farming needs to be made more intensive.
Supporters of organic farming say the method could be a potential compromise between meeting food security needs and providing habitat for bees, birds and other wildlife.
The researchers say land-sharing between organic farms and non-organic farms could have benefits for both crop production and biodiversity.
This theory needs to be tested in follow-up studies, they say.
The study is published in the journal, Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B- Biological Sciences.
France to force big supermarkets to give unsold food to charities
StandardGuardian article highlighting new tactic to tackle food waste in France – see original here.
Legislation barring stores from spoiling and throwing away food is aimed at tackling epidemic of waste alongside food poverty
According to official estimates, the average French person throws out 20kg-30kg of food a year – 7kg of which is still in its wrapping.
The French national assembly voted unanimously to pass the legislation asFrance battles an epidemic of wasted food that has highlighted the divide between giant food firms and people who are struggling to eat.
Supermarkets will be barred from deliberately spoiling unsold food so it cannot be eaten. Those with a footprint of 4,305 sq ft (400 sq m) or more will have to sign contracts with charities by July next year or face penalties including fines of up to €75,000 (£53,000) or two years in jail.
“It’s scandalous to see bleach being poured into supermarket dustbins along with edible foods,” said the Socialist deputy Guillaume Garot, a former food minister who proposed the bill.
In recent years, French media have highlighted how poor families, students, unemployed or homeless people often stealthily forage in supermarket bins at night to feed themselves, able to survive on edible products which had been thrown out just as their best-before dates approached.
But some supermarkets doused binned food in bleach to prevent potential food-poisoning by eating food from bins. Other supermarkets deliberately binned food in locked warehouses for collection by refuse trucks to stop scavengers.
The practice of foraging in supermarket bins is not without risk – some people picking through rotten fruit and rubbish to reach yoghurts, cheese platters or readymade pizzas have been stopped by police and faced criminal action for theft. In 2011, a 59-year-old father of six working for the minimum wage at a Monoprix supermarket in Marseille almost lost his job after a colleague called security when they saw him pick six melons and two lettuces out of a bin.
Pressure groups, recycling commandos and direct action foraging movements have been highlighting the issue of waste in France. Members of the Gars’pilleurs, an action group founded in Lyon, don gardening gloves to remove food from supermarket bins at night and redistribute it on the streets the next morning to raise awareness about waste, poverty and food distribution.
The group and four others issued a statement earlier this year warning that simply obliging supermarket giants to pass unsold food to charities could give a “false and dangerous idea of a magic solution” to food waste. They said it would create an illusion that supermarkets had done their bit, while failing to address the wider issue of overproduction in the food industry as well as the wastage in food distribution chains.
The law will also introduce an education programme about food waste in schools and businesses. It follows a measure in February to remove the best-before dates on fresh foods.
The measures are part of wider drive to halve the amount of food waste in France by 2025. According to official estimates, the average French person throws out 20kg-30kg of food a year – 7kg of which is still in its wrapping. The combined national cost of this is up to €20bn.
Of the 7.1m tonnes of food wasted in France each year, 67% is binned by consumers, 15% by restaurants and 11% by shops. Each year 1.3bn tonnes of food are wasted worldwide.
The Fédération du Commerce et de la Distribution, which represents big supermarkets, criticised the plan. “The law is wrong in both target and intent, given the big stores represent only 5% of food waste but have these new obligations,” said Jacques Creyssel, head of the organisation. “They are already the pre-eminent food donors, with more than 4,500 stores having signed agreements with aid groups.”
The logistics of the law must also not put an unfair burden on charities, with the unsold food given to them in a way that is ready to use, a parliamentary report has stipulated. It must not be up to charities to have to sift through the waste to set aside squashed fruit or food that had gone off. Supermarkets have said that charities must now also be properly equipped with fridges and trucks to be able to handle the food donations.
The French law goes further than the UK, where the government has a voluntary agreement with the grocery and retail sector to cut both food and packaging waste in the supply chain, but does not believe in mandatory targets.
A report earlier this year showed that in the UK, households threw away 7m tonnes of food in 2012, enough to fill London’s Wembley stadium nine times over. Avoidable household food waste in the UK is associated with 17m tonnes of CO2 emissions annually.
Forests are ‘key feature’ of food security landscape
Standard6 May 2015
Forests can play a vital role in supplementing global food and nutrition security but this role is currently being overlooked, a report suggests.
The study says that tree-based farming provides resilience against extreme weather events, which can wipe out traditional food crops.
It warns that policies focusing on traditional agriculture often overlook the role forest farming could play.
The findings were presented at the UN Forum on Forests in New York, US.
The report is the result of a collaboration of more than 60 leading scientists, co-ordinated by the International Union of Forest Research Organisations (IUFRO) on behalf of the Collaborative Partnership on Forests (CPF).
“The report is not trying to suggest that people should start relying on forests more than conventional agriculture,” explained Bhaskar Vira, the chair of the panel which compiled the report.
“It is very much about the complementary roles that forests can play alongside conventional agriculture.
“The evidence shows that a large number of people still rely on the food from forests and trees to supplement their diet,” Dr Vira, director of the University of Cambridge Conservation Research Institute.
Rest of article here.
Burger versus car
StandardIs eating a burger worse than driving a car?
National Geographic explores here.
Maybe less (and better versions) of both is best approach?
Innovative brochure ‘Transitioning Towards Agroecology’ launched
StandardPosted on 17/2/15 by
A new brochure showcasing examples of best practice farming and food initiatives from around Europe has just been published. Civil Society platform Arc2020, Friends of the Earth Europe, in association with IFOAM EU, have brought together 10 innovative approaches in “Transitioning Towards Agroecology: Using the CAP to build new food systems”.You can download or view a digital copy by clicking on the image below.
Agroecological approaches are a more holistic way to farm and produce food, integrating nature and societal concerns more coherently than the business-as-usual methods of conventional agriculture. Production techniques pioneered the organic farming and food movement, as well as initiatives based on the principle of food sovereignty including shorter and regionalised food supply systems are core parts of moving towards agroecology. So agricultural, environmental, health and the creation of vibrant rural communities are all part of agroecological approaches championed in this new publication.
“This publication aims to showcase successful examples from a diverse range of EU countries where a transition towards agroecology is already happening” says Arc2020 coordinator Samuel Feret. He continues “It gives clear indications for the priorities governments should have if they are serious about making good use of public money to support this transition.”
The brochure showcases not just best practice, but how the EU’s Common Agriculture Policy – CAP – can and should be used to deliver public goods for public services.
Best practice examples from around Europe, and from many agri-food sectors, are spotlighted. All were selected because they employ what is termed a ‘communities of practice’ approach to agroecology. This means that they work as a network of equal participants, with many actors, such as farmers, farming advisory services, local policy makers, food activists, rural networkers, scientists, conservation groups, local development companies and more working together.
The 10 case studies of the brochure are:
- Ireland. Organic farmers’ beef and sheep co-op and farmer led training initiatives.
- UK. Land access and vegetable supply network and co-operative regionalised around Manchester.
- Baltic. Best organic farming practices to reduce Nitrogen and Phosphorus pollution, as well as a networked approach to improving diets.
- Romania. Participatory seed distribution networks.
- Italy. Slow food’s valourisation and marketing of a traditional pear variety.
- Germany. Permanent grasslands and Ecological Focus Areas.
- France. The importance of local abattoirs to regional food systems.
- France. A results-based agri-environmental scheme and corollary flowering meadows competition, which encourages the blossoming of pollinator friendly landscapes.
- Poland. Organic fruit farmer initiatives to make old orchards in challenging terrain profitable.
- Greece. Making indigenous olive tress profitable through developing quality taste networks.
These best practice case studies are accompanied by six animated videos, one overviewing the CAP and agroecology, the other five representing case studies from Ireland, the UK, the Baltic, Romania and Italy. All videos can be found in adedicated poston the arc2020 site. Each of these five videos is hyperlinked in the brochure itself, and can be accessed simply by clicking on the hard drawn sketch which accompanies each of the five case studies.
This brochure and these videos “give some clear indications for the priorities governments should have, if they are serious about making good use of public money for supporting and scaling up an agroecological transition” Stanka Becheva Food and Agriculture Campaigner with Friends of the Earth Europe points out.
She adds: “With political will and investment this is what our food and farming systems could realistically look like in the future. It is now time for public policies to support this transition. Citizens demand farming systems that support the environment and sustainable rural-urban food economies – it is the responsibility of the EU and national policymakers to ensure that CAP funding is used for this”
Rural Development Programmes support under Pillar II of the CAP – although underfunded, remain the best vehicle for supporting this necessary agroecological transition – if implemented in the right way. Significantly more of the CAP budget needs to be invested in these approaches to improve the sustainability of the food chain and support sustainable farmers, rural communities and local economies across Europe” concludes Stephen Meredith, Policy Coordinator at IFOAM EU.
This brochure and these videos are part of the Making CAP work for society and the environment project, co-funded by the EU Commission DG AGRI and Rural Development support for measures relating to the Common Agriculture Policy (CAP).
More
The project page can be found on the arc2020 website.
A post detailing and showcasing the five case study animations, plus an introduction to CAP and agroecology, can be found here.
The first farm of its kind in Scotland
StandardPosted here by Peter Crosskey on Sunday, April 19, 2015
Whitmuir Community Farm, a few miles south of the Scottish capital Edinburgh is selling itself to the local community. Literally. For a couple of years now, Whitmuir Community Benefit Society has been selling shares in the working organic farm, with a view to securing the future of the educational work that already goes on there. “Transferring the land from private ownership to community ownership not only protects the long term future of the farm, but also allows greater collaboration with the educational and science sectors than is currently possible and enables the development of accommodation and teaching facilities on site,” explains Pete Ritchie, director of Nourish Scotland, who is currently farming Whitmuir with his partner, Heather Anderson.
The process of selling shares was launched in 2013, with the first share being bought for then five-year-old Maya by her family. The launch event was also attended by the Scottish Parliament’s Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs, Food and Environment, Richard Lochhead. There are now 14 shareholders under the age of 16 and the Whitmuir Community Benefit Society is well on its way towards reaching its first target of GBP 400,000.
This year Whitmuir has funding for a 2,000 square metre project, to show visitors just how much food can be grown on two hectares of arable land, along the lines of the ARC2020 study. The project will test a rural food waste recycling scheme for up to 60 households and work with two local primary schools to recruit up to 40 community growers to grow vegetables for the schools.The long term aim to develop a Living Learning Space where future generations can learn about food production and its place in the environment. The educational aspects of Whitmuir have been accelerating over the past seven years and the farm now hosts around 50 tours a year as part of the 80,000 visitors to the farm shop, gallery and restaurant.
Whitmuir has a very wide base of support. MEP Alyn Smith describes it as: “…a truly inspirational example of sustainable organic farming.” He went on to say: “Scotland’s got a good story to tell when we talk about high-quality food, and consumers knowing that they’re getting fresh, organic produce is a significant part of that.”
Local SNP candidate Emma Harper is particularly impressed by the scale of the educational programme at Whitmuir: “As a nurse educator I am especially impressed by the focus on education at Whitmuir, in that both visitors and the local community can reconnect directly with farming and food production.” Over the past five years, Whitmuir has hosted 355 educational events for a wide range of audiences, from primary schools onwards.
In April, work starts in earnest on the two thousand square metres project. Heather Anderson explains how Whitmuir will put the “local” into local food. “From April 2015, with support from the Climate Challenge Fund, the farm will be working with two local schools to grow vegetables for the schools. Every person on the planet has 2000 square metres of arable land and 4000 square metres of pasture, so the site will demonstrate the land use decisions we can make in Scotland, like similar projects round the world.”
Fife Diet Achievements and Reflections
StandardMike Small reflects on the Fife Diet (published here)…
‘Why don’t we eat more food from near where we live?’
This was the simple question that began the Fife Diet – a year long local food experiment which has since morphed into an exploration of what sustainable food looks like, and a hundred more questions. Over an eight year period it has developed from a simple idea framed around ‘local eating’ to a complex holistic one about sustainable food, environmental justice, globalisation and culture.
We set out to build a sustainable food movement that popularised eating healthy, local produce in Fife. We started from the understanding that there is something fundamentally wrong with the food system but also from the thought that we can, if act collectively, do something about it.
We are delighted beyond our expectations at the support it has received and the impact it has had. We believe the projects success was based on its authenticity – i.e. ordinary people trying to do this for the first time, but also based on a fundamental truth, that is that we as a society will have to actually change our own behaviour, institutions and experiences to meet the challenges of climate change and that no magic bullet, techno-fix or legal sleight of hand will wish-away the reality we are all part of.
The last eight years has made us realise that food has become central to the precarious economy, it has become a form of social control, and, while it remains a means for great change and a source for love, community and solidarity, it has also been captured and turned against us.
The ‘restorative practice’ of a better food system will only be victorious if we want it enough. But we think it’s there right now on the table in front of us.
Real progress won’t be made until we end hunger in Scotland and the disgrace that are food banks. It won’t be made until we regain control over our retail experience, and confront the profiteers that benefit from products that fuel our children’s obesity. It won’t be made until we create opportunities for the ‘right to grow’ and create an expectation of quality healthy food in our public institutions. Some of these arguments are put forward in ourFood Manifesto.
There’s a whole lot more to be done if we want to be taken seriously as a ‘Good Food Nation’. We think that debate is just starting, not ending.
Here’s some of what we consider to be our key achievements on that journey:
CELEBRATING OUR OWN FOOD CULTURE It’s worth remembering that when we started we were met by a mixture of incredulity and poorly-disguised scepticism. People really didn’t think that you could eat food from Fife, and survive at all. It was just unthinkable, unimaginable.
CARBON SAVINGS In 2011-2012 we saved 1019 tonnes of C02e. Then, in a three year period (April 20912- March 2015) we saved a further 6976.37 tonnes of C02e. These are immediate savings, by diverting food waste from landfill thereby avoiding creating methane, for example, or by sequestering carbon and enriching soil with compost, but also by eating locally, growing our own food, eating organic, changing the meat we ate (and eating less of it).
OUTREACH We held or attended over 500 outreach events over the three years, engaging with 15,520 people.
GROWING SPACES
We established a community food growing garden, a wildlife and forest garden and a vibrant volunteer and community group who are maintaining them. We hosted 57 events at the garden, including the children’s gardening club, large community lunches and volunteer sessions.
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT We ran 79 weekly children’s gardening clubs (79 clubs over three years) and hosted 7 large-scale community events.
LEADING THE WAY We were part of building a new food movement in Scotland that encompasses the right to food, championing small producers, insisting on sustainability as a measurement of quality in food production and celebrating food sovereignty.
NEW ORCHARDS We planted 7 orchards around Scotland from Galloway to Sutherland with our Silver Bough tour (‘ a cultural conversation about apples’).
SCHOOL LUNCHES PILOT We collaborated with Fife Council and the Soil Association in a pilot project exploring regionally sourced, healthy, sustainable and organic school lunches.See here.
INSPIRATIONAL PRINTED MATERIAL We published a series of inspiring posters, postcards, booklets and other materials including recipe books, calendars, guides onnative apple varieties and a booklet on gardening with kids. We also produced a free Ebook for our members of Collected Recipes from the life of the project.
BIRTHING THE ORCHARD COLLECTIVE We curated and hosted the National Orchard gathering and helping the Orchard Collective into existence.
THE BIGGER PICTURE We are proud to have been part of a wider movement and welcomed the collaborative work over the past eight years with such groups as Nourish, the Soil Association, Slow Food, Permaculture Scotland and Transition Towns.
Doodles' doodles. 