Organic Researcher

The Rodale Institute has an exciting new initiative  which is encouraging farmers to make the transition to  organic.  What impresses me most is the range of tools that they are offering to help make the calculations to help people make the decision, the on-line conversion course looks really interesting - check it out.

Don’t believe it, check this post out and whilst you are there, take a look at what is a really excellent and interesting site. 

Garden Organic have teamed up with ’seeds of change’ in some joint food/organic gardening promo - you see about it here.

After a bit of a break I will return, with fresh news of a book I am writing and also a bit of a different angle. 

As soon as I get a moment, you’ll see what I mean. 

Dear friend,In this update: we want your help to make sure that the Climate Change Bill has adequate ‘bite’, and to support the EU environment minister in his quest to keep GM crops out of the Europe, and we have some good news about the vote on pesticide legislation in the EU parliament.1) Over sixty organisations, including the Soil Association, are promoting the Climate Change Bill Week of Action from Sunday 30th March to Saturday 5th April. The aim of the week is to encourage MPs publicly to pledge their support for an effective Climate Bill.Please email your MP and if you agree with us, ask them to support our three key demands:

• 1) At least an 80% cut in UK carbon emissions by 2050.2) To include emissions from international aviation and shipping.3) That methane and nitrous oxide emissions (as well as CO2) must be covered by actions taken as a result of the bill.A review of the Climate Change Bill is currently taking place, and this will include consideration of whether the legally binding framework to cut CO2 emissions should be extended to include the powerful greenhouse gases methane (23 times CO2’s global warming potential) and nitrous oxide (296 times as powerful as CO2).Policies based on CO2 reduction alone will neglect the very issue which is of huge concern to many people - climate-friendly food. It is no coincidence that whenever public figures want to report positive trends towards sustainable consumption, the example they choose is invariably the remarkable year-on-year growth in sales of organic food. As the recent Cabinet Office report pointed out, when it comes to food, people’s aspirations (towards a more healthy, seasonal, fresh, local and organic diet) coincide with what we need to do to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Over 90% of the greenhouse gas emissions from farming are methane and nitrous oxide, not CO2. And farming is the most damaging stage of the food supply chain for greenhouse gas emissions (8.4% of the UK’s greenhouse gas emissions, compared to 2.5% for food transport). See http://www.icount.org.uk/weekofaction for further informationTo find details of your MP’s contact details see: www.WriteToThem.com 
• 2) The EU Commissioner for the Environment, Stavros Dimas has been resisting the introduction of GMOs, by proposing that Syngeta’s GM maize varieties, Bt-11 and 1507, not be authorised for commercial use in the EU. He faces stiff competition from the others members of the EU. If you support the Commissioner’s position, please email him to support his stance: stavros.dimas@ec.europa.euFor further information on the Soil Association’s view on GM, including our latest report ‘Silent invasion: the hidden use of GM crops in livestock feed’ see: http://www.soilassociation.org/gm
• 3) An update: Many thanks to all of you who wrote to your MEP about European legislation on pesticides that the European Parliament voted on in a plenary session on in October. Speaking after the vote, Green MEPs described the result as an “important milestone in consumer and environmental protection” and said the Parliament had stood firm against “scaremongering tactics” by industry. On the other hand, the “cloud over today’s vote” was MEPs’ refusal to back specific EU-wide pesticides use reduction targets.Key adopted amendments include adding “residents” and “bystanders” to the list of vulnerable groups, the impact on whose health must be assessed prior to approval; to require that effects due to exposures to several chemicals - the ‘chemical cocktail’ effect be taken into account, and to require a “pesticides passport” to help retailers and others identify chemicals.

A follow up e-mail campaign will be launched from www.PesticideWatch.eu in early April 2008 in an effort to ensure that the positive proposals supported by the European Parliament are incorporated into EU law.Thanks for your support,Emma HockridgePolicy DepartmentThe Soil Association 

Cloned Food: What it Means to Eat Meat and Dairy from Cloned Animals

Tell grocers you aren’t buying it! Tell them you’ll stop shopping at stores that can’t promise not to sell such products.

Friends of the Earth

This is something this blog has taken an interest in for a long time, good to see it being taken up as a widespread campaign.

Blogged with Flock

Tags: meat, cloning

The BBC is beginning to report rumbles of a dispute around organic standards,

more soon.

Blogged with Flock

Tags: organic, standards

The Observer ran the top 40 Eco-Food heroes yesterday.  Reminds me of a play by Bertolt Brecht - Pity the Nation that has no heroes, No pity the nation that needs them.