The material on this page is evolving, so please send your views about what should be here.  For example, we could start a blog.  Subjects which it would be good to discuss include the impact of climate change and peak oil on our future food supply;  fair trade for Oxford farmers  -- the real price of good, fresh  food;  what Oxford could be doing to become self-reliant in food;  Community Supported Agriculture and a food hub for Oxford;  and so on.

 

At the moment, articles are just listed in date order (starting with the most recent).

Tesco is no champion of the poor
Tesco makes over £3bn profit a year, but our food supply structure is under threat and we're all paying. On a whole range of staples from dairy to bacon, two-thirds of British farmers can no longer make a sustainable living - according to the government's own figures. One example: the supermarkets' profit on a pint of milk is double what it was 10 years ago, and British dairy farmers have been going out of business at the rate of one a day for the last two years.
The Guardian (11 June, Word of mouth blog)

Supermarkets shun seasonal British food
Supermarkets are shunning seasonal British food in favour of fruit and vegetables air-freighted from thousands of miles away, according to research for the Independent. Three years ago the Soil Association announced it was considering vetoeing organic status for air-freighted produce. To many people’s surprise, the UK’s biggest certifier of organic food decided against a ban, after listening to the arguments of the aid charities. The seasons strongly influence sustainability because, in some cases, growing produce out of season in the UK can be more polluting than buying food transported from thousands of miles away.
The Independent (3 June)

Green issues are still a concern for food buyers
As the storm clouds of the recession begin to recede, green is moving back up the agenda. Evidence suggests that while customers may have been trading down during the recession, they still keep the environment and where food comes from in minds when shopping.
Financial Times, Environment and Intellectual Property supplement (4 June, p.4)

Leeds University research into organic Agriculture.
In response to an article in The Times yesterday on a report which contradicts claims that organic agriculture is much better for wildlife, Emma Hockridge, Soil Association Head of Policy writes: “It is good that the research from the University of Leeds has found more wildlife on organically farmed land, but most researchers think it is right to compare organic and non-organic farms rather than isolate individual fields. Given that organic farms do have more and smaller fields it seems the researchers are introducing bias by ignoring this fact…”
The Times Letters (6 May, p.31) 

Organic sector moves to end culling of male dairy calves
Organic farmers are preparing to end the practice of culling male dairy calves at birth. The association felt that ending the practice, together with an existing prohibition on exporting live calves, will further elevate organic animal welfare standards. Director of farmer and grower relations at the Soil Association, Phil Stocker, said: “Most of our members agree that culling and disposing of young calves is wasteful and a symptom of an unsustainable farming system. The change is also in line with the government’s food security agenda and calls from animal welfare organisations.”
Your Healthy Living (March, p.5)
Anglia Farmer (March, p.23)
Cook Vegetarian (April, pp.55-56)
Read the press release here

IGD Shopper Trends 2010 Report

Nearly a third (30%) of shoppers say they have specifically purchased locally produced food over the last month, double the number in 2006. Support for ethically produced foods in general has withstood the pressures of an 18-month recession and is in fact growing, despite the tough economic conditions.

When asked about food they have specifically purchased over the last month, shoppers responded:

·        30% said locally produced food (up from 15% in 2006)

·        27% Fairtrade products (up from 9%)

·        18% products with high animal welfare standards (up from 11%)

Food Standards Agency’s report on organic food
The study is covered in all of the national papers and national and regional broadcast July 30 2009.
The Times reports: Organic food is no healthier than other produce, according to the Government’s food watchdog. The report, commissioned by the Food Standards Agency, was carried out by experts from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, who studied data collected over 50 years.
Organic groups were incensed by the findings. The Soil Association accused the FSA of ignoring up-to-date evidence and pre-empting EU research for political reasons. Lord Melchett, its policy director, said that he had urged the FSA to delay its report. "They have jumped the gun," he said.
In reaching their conclusions, the report's authors were accused of pre-empting a Brussels study being carried out by Carlo Leifert, Professor of Ecological Farming at Newcastle University, which is due to be published this year.
Professor Leifert told The Times that his research found higher level of antioxidants — which help the body to combat cancer and cardiovascular disease — in organic foods. He said that the FSA did not want to admit that there was anything good in organic food. "The Government is worried they will then have to have a policy to make organic food available to everyone," he said.
The Times (30 July front page& pp.6-7)
Alice Thompson also comments in The Times:
"I don’t want my carrots with a side-order of pesticides or my children’s hot chocolate with a sprinkling of growth hormones."
The Times (30 July, p.7)
The Independent (30 July, p.5)
Comment from Peter Melchett, The Independent (30 July, p.5)
The Guardian (30 July, p.7)
Daily Express (30 July, front page & p.5)
Daily Mail (30 July, p.13)
The Daily Telegraph (30 July, p.9)
Financial Times (30 July, p.4)
Metro (30 July front page)
BBC News (30 July)
The Herald (30 July, front page)
The Scotsman (30 July)
Farmers Guardian (30 July) 

Good reasons for going organic - Letters
Letters in support of organic food and farming are published in the national papers (July 31) in response the findings by the Food Standards Authority. They include letters from:
Molly Conisbee, director of communications and campaigns at the Soil Association in The Guardian and Daily Express.
Andrew Lee, Sustainable Development Commission in The Guardian and The Independent,
Georgina Downs, UK Pesticide Campaign in The Independent
Pear Necessities Organic Partnership in The Guardian and a number of other supporters.
Molly Conisbee writes, "Our future will be dominated by climate change. Here organic farming is leading the way, by using solar powered fertility through crops like red clover that fix nitrogen into the soil for subsequent crops. For our own health and the health of the planet, organic food and farming will play a big part in a sustainable food and farming future."
The Guardian (31 July, p.33)
The Independent (31 July, p.26)
Daily Express (31 July, p.35)
The Times (31 July, p.27)
'Don't write off organic food'
The Telegraph online also published a comment by Molly Conisbee, director of communications and campaigns at the Soil Association.
Telegraph online (31 July)

Supermarket suppliers 'helping destroy Amazon rainforest’
A three-year survey by Greenpeace shows that western demand for beef and leather and an increase in cattle ranching is leading to intensified deforestation in the Amazon. Brazilian authorities investigating illegal deforestation have accused the suppliers of several UK supermarkets of selling meat linked to massive destruction of the Amazon rainforest. Brazilian firms that supply Tesco, Asda and Marks & Spencer are among dozens of companies named by prosecutors, who are seeking hundreds of millions of pounds in compensation.
The Guardian (22 June, p.8)

Independent special report on palm oil
The Independent newspaper has recently produced a special report arguing that British consumers are fuelling the rising demand for palm oil, speeding up the destruction of rainforests and killing off orangutans. It says that palm oil is present or suspected in 43 of 100 best-selling brands in UK.  

It's a cut-throat world supplying supermarkets
In the highly-competitive British retail market, supermarkets are constantly trying to drive better deals from their suppliers. That imperative has become more acute in the downturn. In recent months, retailers have been hammering away at suppliers' contracts as they look to make savings or pass on cheaper prices to customers.
Financial Times (29 Apr, p.17)

Concern for bees over lack of ban on pesticides
Organic campaigners yesterday criticised the government for rejecting calls to ban pesticides which they say harm honeybees. In a letter to the Soil Association, the environment secretary, Hilary Benn, had said no evidence had been presented to show that "neonicotinoid" chemicals should be banned or restricted because of its impact on bees. But the Soil Association said the pesticides damaged the bees' system, disrupted their communication and affected their ability to fly. The chemicals have already been withdrawn in France, Germany, Italy and Slovenia.
The Guardian (8 Apr, p.12)
Farmers Guardian (8 Apr)
The Argus (8 Apr)

Obamas to plant White House organic vegetable garden
Today, Michelle Obama will begin digging up a patch of White House lawn to plant an organic vegetable garden growing 55 varieties of vegetables. She hopes to educate children about healthy, locally grown fruit and vegetables at time when obesity has become a national concern.
The New York Times (19 Mar)

Now is the time to champion British farmers
Mark Price, Managing Director of Waitrose and Chairman of the Prince of Wales' Rural Action programme writes: "The headlong rush since the end of the Second World War for ever greater quantities of cheap food has not only made us fatter, it has led to fewer, more indebted farms and an impoverished environment. When post-war Britain looked to its farmers to deliver bargain-basement abundance, no one considered the consequences of the application of industrial methods to the landscape, the disruption caused to farming communities and family finances... the move towards mass-produced food has gone too far, eating away at the foundations of agriculture and undermining our appreciation of the skill, effort and expense that goes into producing our daily bread. Food is seen as a disposable commodity that does not merit more than passing consideration. Food is seen as cheap. Food is neither of these things...if we treat farmers more fairly, we could be entering the renaissance of British farming. To accomplish this, we must rediscover the true value of the land and put British agriculture back at the very heart of the nation."
The Daily Telegraph (18 Feb, 21)

Food Miles:  Food Delivery Schemes vs Visits to Farm Shops
A study published in the journal Food Policy shows that, on average, lower carbon emissions result from delivering a vegetable box than making a trip to a local farm shop. The researchers compared trips to a local farm shop with deliveries made by companies that distribute organic vegetable boxes to their customers.
Lead author on the study David Coley from the University of Exeter's Centre for Energy and the Environment said: "Rather than focus on food miles, it would be more meaningful to look at the carbon emissions behind each food item. While the concept of food miles was useful in getting people to think about the issues around carbon emissions and food transport, it's time for a more sophisticated approach."
The study acknowledges that there are many other factors in addition to 'food miles' that concern consumers. For example, issues around local economics and the environmental impact of different food production methods.
University of Exeter (Feb 2009)

Cheap pork is only part of a wholly rotten food policy
Felicity Lawrence writes a comment piece in The Guardian in advance of Jamie Oliver's programme tonight 'Jamie saves our bacon'.
"The programme-makers can claim credit for having some impact already; supermarkets have decided to get ahead of the backlash by advertising their various moves to support happier pigs - and chickens - for those who are prepared to pay more. It suits retailers to throw the responsibility for the ills of industrial meat production back on to shoppers this way. But that alone is not enough.
The economic model on which today's intensive production is built disconnects what we pay at the till from what we pay as citizens. Paradoxically, it is a model that hits the poor hardest, and it is one that has been developed by government action, not by consumer choice. Only a radical overhaul of this so-called "cheap food" policy will ensure we have a system that is both affordable for everyone and sustainable morally and financially. We as taxpayers have to pay for this cheap food in so many other ways. As climate change bites, the bill for it will only get bigger."
The Guardian (29 Jan, p.32)

Co-op bans use of pesticides in bid to save bees
The supermarket chain Co-op has banned foods grown using pesticides that harm honey bees. The use of some pesticides have been blamed for Colony Collapse Disorder and yesterday the Co-operative announced it was banning any foods grown using the chemicals from their own range of fresh products.
The retailer also said it was donating £150,000 for research into why honeybee numbers are falling, and would be trialling a wild flower mix to be planted alongside crops on its farms to support bees.
The Daily Telegraph (28 Jan, p.5)

£4.3 million bee health funding increase announced
An extra £4.3 million to safeguard and undertake more research into the health of bees was announced by Environment Secretary Hilary Benn today. Mr Benn said that nearly £2.3 million over the next two years would support the work of the National Bee Unit in its efforts to help England's beekeepers deal with the problems facing their bee colonies. This will include identifying all those who keep bees and providing expert advice to them on tackling pests and diseases and applying good husbandry. In addition, Defra will put an extra £400,000 towards bee health research every year for the next five years.  This extra funding – a total of £2 million – forms part of a comprehensive bee health strategy, which is under development. Mr Benn also highlighted the important role science will have to play in producing enough food to feed nine billion people by 2050, while simultaneously protecting the environment.
Defra press release (21 Jan)

Make a pledge to protect our pigs
Joanna Lumley, patron of Compassion in World Farming (CIWF), writes about the appalling welfare conditions at many of Europe's pig farms where pigs are intensively reared. CIWF recently filmed in 60 pig farms across Europe. Joanna writes: "When you see the results...you are tempted to despair...But I refuse to give up hope." She calls on the public to make a pledge to protect our pigs.
The Independent (23 Jan, p.39)
Find out more about CIWF's investigation: www.ciwf.org.uk
'Jamie Saves Our Bacon' is on Channel 4 next Thursday at 9pm

MP puts food and energy security at top of agenda
Jim Paice MP has stressed the need for food and energy security at the annual dairy conference in Glasgow. He said "I truly believe we should be worried about importing so much food - on moral as well as economic grounds. And it is evident that farmers have a pivotal role to play, not only in terms of food security but in our energy security."
The Scotsman(Jan 14, p. 40)

Enjoy low food prices, they are not here to stay
Carl Mortished writes, "Over the past five months, a barrel of crude oil has lost three quarters of its value. So rapid and steep has been the commodities collapse that for many companies, mines and wells are loss-making. The outlook is even worse because at these prices - oil at less than $40 a barrel, for example - investment in new projects is not economic. Loss-making oil and metal barons? Who cares. But this is not just about the economics of oil, it is also about the economics of food and it is about why very low prices today will engender very high prices tomorrow."
Mortished links the cost of food to the cost of oil and fertiliser prices and discusses the issue of price speculation in relation to food.
The Times (14 Jan, p .47)

Euro MPs back pesticide controls
The European Parliament has voted to tighten rules on pesticide use and ban at least 22 chemicals deemed harmful to human health. The draft law would ban substances that can cause cancer or that can harm human reproduction or hormones. The UK government, the Conservatives and the National Farmers' Union all oppose the new rules, saying they could hit yields and increase food prices. UK farmers say the law would "seriously threaten" UK food production. It could wipe out the carrot industry and seriously affect many other crops, the National Farmers' Union has warned.
The Soil Association backs the EU's bid to cut the use of chemicals it says can cause cancer and infertility. The association's policy director, Peter Melchett, said organic farmers had proven that crops could be grown with minimal use of pesticides. "The vast majority of farmers don't use these chemicals on a regular basis anyway and those few farmers who do use them can find alternatives," he said.
BBC News Online (13 Jan)

Organic Farming Can Feed the World -- This study was published in 2007.  How come we don't all know about it?
Organic farming can yield up to three times as much food on individual farms in developing countries, as low-intensive methods on the same land—according to findings which refute the long-standing claim that organic farming methods cannot produce enough food to feed the global population. Researchers from the University of Michigan found that in developed countries, yields were almost equal on organic and conventional farms. In developing countries, food production could double or triple using organic methods,

http://www.ns.umich.edu/htdocs/releases/story.php?id=5936

High Pesticide Levels Found In Fruit-based Drinks
In the first worldwide study of pesticides in fruit-based soft drinks, researchers in Spain are reporting relatively high levels of pesticides in drinks in some countries, especially the United Kingdom and Spain.
In the report scheduled for the December 15 issue of ACS' Analytical Chemistry, researchers note that strict regulations limit pesticide levels in fresh fruits, vegetables, and drinking water. However, regulators have paid less attention to the presence of pesticides in soft drinks made from fruits.
Science Daily (16 Dec)

Farming Today
  How safe is Britain's food supply? The heaving shelves of the pre-Christmas supermarkets seem to suggest an endless future of choice and abundance but there's a growing concern that we may find it harder to source our food.
Anna Hill considers the issue of food security. In an unstable world that's running out of fertiliser and fuel can we be confident of cheap, plentiful food in the future?
There's also the latest news on the Irish pork contamination and Environment Minister, Hillary Benn talks about the proposed ban on pesticides.
BBC Radio 4, listen again (9 Dec)

New figures show increased use of British produce in public sector food
Britain's hospital patients, civil servants, armed forces personnel and others eating in government establishments are being treated to menus that increasingly feature seasonal, home-grown food, Farming and Environment Minister Jane Kennedy said.
From the notes to editors: Key PSFPI objectives are to: promote food safety; increase the consumption of nutritious food; improve the sustainability and efficiency of production, processing and distribution; increase tenders from small and local producers; increase cooperation among buyers, producers and along supply chains; and improve the sustainability and efficiency of public food procurement and catering services.
Other important objectives cover consumer behaviour, organic food, animal welfare, fair treatment of suppliers and catering staff, and catering for ethnic minority, cultural and religious groups.
Defra press release (26 Nov)

'Credit crunch wilts organic food boom'
As the 'light greens' desert the cause, Zoe Wood looks at whether it is a blip or a worrying new trend. Helen Browning, director of the Soil Association food & farming department, is interviewed alongside Soil Association licensees Ella Heeks and Peter Kindersly.
The Observer (7 Sept)
'Sales of organic produce fall 19%'
Clio Turton, of the Soil Association, says, "What we are seeing now is a plateau rather than reversal. Year-on-year over the last decade, average growth has been 25 per cent. We are predicting a 10 per cent growth for 2007. While this is down, it is still a growing market."
Financial Times (5 Sept)

Is our taste for Sunday roast killing the planet?
A double page article in The Observer looks at the arguments for and against livestock farming. "Certainly, in Britain, the idea that meat production is a recipe for widespread environmental destruction is not as easy to sustain as it is in other parts of the world, such as the Brazilian rainforest. As UK farmers point out, grazing animals on uplands keeps heather and grasses under control and help some of our rarest birds to survive, in particular ground-nesting birds such as the lapwing, curlew, golden plover, snipe and red grouse. And in turn, these birds provide for food for UK raptors, including the red kite and golden eagle. Take away our sheep and cows and the environmental impact could be disastrous. As a recent RSPB report stated: 'Grazing animals form an important component of the uplands."
The Observer (7 Sept, pp.18-19)

Farming Today – BBC Radio 4
In a convoluted interpretation of the actual interviews broadcast, Farming Today headlined its piece on the 60% decline in UK biodiversity reported by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation & Development (OECD), with the suggestion that GM crops would 'help Nature' given the 'significant environmental benefits of the GM field trials'.
This turned out to be nothing more than the unsurprising answer from the pro-GM vice president of the NFU, Paul Temple responding to the question from the House of Commons Environmental Audit Committee, 'Are GMs a threat to biodiversity?', that he believed there to be 'significant benefits'. In fact, the Committee was enquiring into the broader issues around the UK's biodiversity decline as set out in the OECD report. Yet Farming Today pursued the GM question with the Committee's chair, Tim Yeo. His response suggests his own perplexity at the programme's dogged GM line,
"I don't think the evidence is conclusive yet re: claimed benefits. I remain puzzled by the keenness of farmers to grow GM crops when there doesn't appear to be a great consumer demand for food which contains GM ingredients.
There's a danger here that farmers are falling back into their old ways of thinking they are producers, but they are also in the marketing business and if you ignore what the market's looking for you'll do yourself an awful lot of harm.
There appears to be quite a significant body of consumers, as reflected in what the supermarkets in this country are asking for, who would like food free from GM ingredients. And that given what the same witness said (Paul Temple) that most countries abroad can no longer produce such types of food that would give them (farmers) a terrific advantage if for the time being at least they continued following a GM free policy in this country."
Listen again (18 June)

When it comes to productivity a small farm is unbeatable
In a full page comment piece George Monbiot writes, "The issue of whether or not the world will be fed is partly a function of ownership. This reflects an unexpected discovery. It was first made in 1962 by the Nobel economist Amartya Sen, and has since been confirmed by dozens of studies. There is an inverse relationship between the size of farms and the amount of crops they produce per hectare. The smaller they are, the greater the yield… A recent study of farming in Turkey, for example, found that farms of less than one hectare are 20 times as productive as farms of more than 10 hectares. Sen's observation has been tested in India, Pakistan, Nepal, Malaysia, Thailand, Java, the Philippines, Brazil, Colombia and Paraguay. It appears to hold almost everywhere."
The Guardian (10 June, p.25)

Americans urged to grow their own fruit and veg
Americans are being urged to help offset high food prices by growing more fruit and vegetables in their back gardens. Amid growing unemployment, and rising food and petrol prices, one in 10 US households is now experiencing hunger or the risk of hunger, according to the US Department of Agriculture.
The Daily Telegraph (10 June, p.15)

Get unlabelled GM ingredients out of your local restaurants
It is illegal for caterers to use GM ingredients unless they are clearly labelled on their menus or displayed on a prominent notice. But despite this many cafes, restaurants, takeaways and pubs are routinely using GM oil in their cooking without letting their customers know. In fact, they might not even know they are doing it themselves.
The Friends of the Earth website has more information about how to take action

Free markets push farmers into poverty
A letter from John Hilary, executive director at War on Want is published in The Independent in response to Dominic Lawson’s opinion piece on ‘free trade’.
Hilary writes, "It is important to debunk Lawson's claim that "food sovereignty" means rich land-owners extorting monopoly rents at the expense of the poor. Nothing could be farther from the truth. Food sovereignty entails the redistribution of land from the rich to the poor and landless so that they can exercise their right to food. This, not market liberalisation, offers the prospect of a fairer future for developing countries, and we should support it."
The Independent (10 June, p.28)

Interview - Waitrose managing director, Mark Price
Times2 features an interview with Mark Price, managing director of Waitrose. Price says, "I think, philosophically, that the way we manage food and the relationship people have with food is going to have to change. Twenty-five years ago, 25 per cent of disposable income went on food. It's now 9 per cent. I don't think that's a sustainable position. I think people will have to start spending more on food as a proportion of their total disposable income… Price is totally serious. The years ahead will be no picnic."
Times2 (10 June, p.10)

Trans-fats
Hydrogenated vegetable oil has been banned in two European countries but not in the UK. Andrew Collier asks, "Why are we eating them?"
The Independent Extra (10 June, p.11)
Daily Express (10 June, p.42)

Alarm at flood of bogus pesticides
The new phenomenon of counterfeit pesticides to treat crops is growing at an alarming rate, according to agriculture experts, putting people's health - and farmers' livelihoods - at risk.
The European Crop Protection Association recently set up a taskforce to fight the trade, uncovering a vast business run by criminal gangs, according to Rocky Rowe, who heads the association. The biggest scare to date came in late 2006, when - German authorities conducting random tests found - isofenphos methyl, an illegal pesticide, in peppers from southern Spain. They issued an alert and authorities in 14 European countries, including Russia, found the same problem.
Financial Times (20 May, p.12)

Food inflation could get worse
A prediction from the forecasting group, the Ernst & Young ITEM club, has warned that food inflation - running at 6.6 per cent, according to Government data - could get worse.
Joel Segal, the head of consumer products at the accountancy firm, said: "Higher-end consumers will have to make a trade off. Either they stick to their principles, or - as they batten down the hatches - they may decide that they can live without fair trade or organic in order to avoid cutting back in other areas."
However, no retailer has reported any fall off in organic food, so far. Indeed, sales of free-range eggs and organic chickens rose earlier this year, following a series of television programmes presented by Jamie Oliver, the celebrity chef, highlighting poultry welfare.
Clio Turton from the Soil Association said shoppers could save money without ditching their organic favourites by choosing seasonal and local food. Riverford Organic, which runs one of the largest vegetable box schemes, has found that supermarket organic food, on some lines, is over 70 per cent more expensive than the same produce at farmers' markets or local shops.
The Daily Telegraph (20 May, p.6)
Daily Mail (20 May, p.32)

DNA damage 'caused by pesticides'
New research in India suggests exposure to pesticides could have damaged the DNA of people in farming communities, leading to higher rates of cancer. Scientists at Patiala University, Punjab state, did the study, tracking a group of farmers for several months. Professor Satbir Kaur said the study ruled out other factors such as age, alcohol intake and smoking, concluding that the probable cause of this fundamental change in the building block of life was use of pesticide sprays.
BBC News online (19 May)

Fears over oil supply move into mainstream
A full page feature in the Financial Times looks at concerns over future output levels and how high prices could bring changes in behaviour. Journalist Carola Hoyos goes along to a Cirencester Transition Towns meeting. Hoyos writes, "For years, such meetings have been dismissed as eccentric... But with the oil price at a record $126 a barrel, more than 1,000 per cent higher than a decade ago, fears of the end of the hydrocarbon age have seeped into the mainstream. Many in the industry itself now accept that supply constraints are shaping the price as much as rampant demand."
Financial Times (20 May, p.15)

 
Farmers face losing EU subsidies unless they promise to go green
English farmers could lose cash handouts from Brussels next year unless they agree to make environmental improvements to their land. The European Commission is to announce today an end to the controversial set-aside payment scheme - under which farmers were paid to leave about 8 per cent of their fields fallow - as part of further reform of the Common Agriculture Policy (CAP).
The Times (20 May, p.8)

Farmers’ Weekly (May 16)
Price no barrier to organic sales
Organic farmers should work on developing consumer loyalty rather than concentrating on cutting costs, a survey into shopper’s perceptions of organic fruit and vegetables has found. The research, carried out by Kent Business School, found that although producers and retailers thought price affected people’s purchasing decisions, only 16% of shoppers were driven by cost when buying organic fruit and vegetables. Instead, health, safety and taste were the key factors leading people to buy organic produce. (p.36)

Farmer’s Guardian (16 May)
Organic and traditional returns similar
Organic farmers in Wales are achieving similar returns for their milk, lamb and beef, despite lower yields than conventional farmers, according to the latest Farm Business Survey benchmark data. "Output figures are usually higher for organic, reflecting the premium price achieved, while variable costs are similar, resulting in higher gross margins for organic. However, overhead costs are typically higher for organic production, mainly because costs are spread over lower total yields, resulting in a similar net margin," said Nic Lampkin, director of Organic Centre Wales. (p.16)

 

Cost of farm land rises by 40pc in a year
Buyers for farms in England are outnumbering sellers by 30 to one, pushing arable land prices up by 40 per cent over the past year. Arable land is routinely selling for £6,500 per acre, while premium acres are fetching £10,000.
Daily Telegraph news in brief (12 May, p.10)

Bloggers grill Ramsay's seasonal food call
When Gordon Ramsay fulminated that restaurants should be fined for using out-of-season produce, the result was inevitable. Foodie bloggers rushed to scrutinise the menus of his restaurant empire for any hint of hypocrisy. They weren't disappointed. While Ramsay's comments were welcomed by the Soil Association and chimed with the growing popularity for locally sourced food, they did not completely accord with his own menus.
Emma Noble, director of the Soil Association led Food for Life Partnership, agreed that seasonal menus were an important way to cut the environmental impact of our food. "If schools can do it, chefs and restaurants should do it too."
The Guardian (10 May)
'Has Gordon Ramsey bitten off more then he can chew?', The Independent (10 May, pp.14-15, Leader p.38)
'Eat your own words, Gordon', Daily Mail (12 May, p.11)

Families now need £1,000 more than this time last year - just to put food on the table
There is now a worldwide crisis over supplies of key crops such as corn, wheat and rice. It has triggered food riots in some countries. And in the UK it has brought the biggest rises in bills in a generation.
Daily Mail (12 May, front page, p.4)

While stocks last
In just a year, the cost of eggs is up by 40 per cent, butter is up by 60 per cent and wheat has more than doubled. As prices soar and British production plummets, Joanna Blythman investigates the crisis in store: we are running out of food.
The Observer magazine (pp.40-45)

New Evidence Confirms the Nutritional Superiority of Plant-Based Organic Foods (State of Science Review) The executive summary includes the following statement:  'Across all 236 matched pairs and 11 nutrients, the nutritional premium of the organic food averaged 25%.  The differences documented in the study are sufficiently consistent and sizable to justify a new answer to the original question -- "yes, organic plant-based foods are, on average more nutritious. . ."

The British Pig crisis (Daily Mail, March 2) A Suffolk rare-breed pig farmers explains why he can no longer afford to breed pigs

The Soil Association Replies to a BBC Horizon programme Soil Association Press Release (Tuesday February 26), which asserts that there is little evidence that an organic diet provides greater nutritional benefits or that non-organic crops grown using pesticides and chemical fertilisers are more harmful than their organic competitors.
 

The Pitfalls of Fish Farming (The Observer Food Monthly)  Just how humane and sustainable is fish farming?

Vegetable Seasons in the UK (Fresh -n - Local)  Find out the seasonal availability of fruit and vegetables.