Photo by Miliquin
A few months ago we reported that the European Commission (a.k.a the parliament of Europe and arbiter of standards), was discussing the possibilities of scrapping the current strict standards of some 26 varieties of fruits and vegetables in the marketplace, including melons, apricots, carrots, peas, and onions.
Photo: IowaPolitics.com via Flickr
With the election behind us it’s time to focus again on solutions, wouldn’t you say? It’s time to move forward and to accomplish great things. Now that we know who will lead us, the question is “where will we go?”
photo:Yellow + Blue
Yellow + Blue is expanding its use of sustainable Tetra Pak(R) cartons to include its Torrontes varietal. After the success of its Malbec in the Tetra Pak packaging, the brand of organically grown Argentinian wines has decided to wrap up another varietal. Read on to find out about why Tetra Pak is so sustainable....
A produce stand in Urla. Photo via PeggySuadaOz at flickr.
Dangerously Disconnected From our Food
“It’s easy if you stick to a few basic principles – no real food and nothing from living things […] You can’t genetically engineer something that doesn’t have genes.”
Tom Bardwell in Hard to Swallow
The folks at Equal Exchange are true activists – they have already weighed...
Farmer Roy Lawrence and CSA members - Matt Lowe
Local eating advocates often cite reduced shipping emissions as a good reason to source food from as close to home as possible. The concept of reduced food miles equaling reduced carbon output quickly becomes clouded when economies of scale, production methods, and efficiency of shipping methods is taken into account. A group of farmers, activists and citizens in British Columbia have removed any hint of uncertainty by creating a local low carbon grain chain.
Keep reading to see how they did it. ...
Image source: Capital Growth
Monday we reported on a project in San Francisco to increase backyard gardens and locally produced food. Today we have yet another local gardening project to report on, as reported in The Guardian, this time in London. The Capital Growth project encourages area residents to plant gardens on their empty, flat roofs, well and frankly just about any available space in London, to increase the amount of locally grown food. ...
Photo Credit: SF Gate
Prop 2 Headed to Victory
Yesterday, California voters appeared to vote overwhelmingly in favor of Proposition 2, a historic move that brings animals legal rights in the land of factory farming. Prop 2 guarantees farm animals improvements in their current large scale farm conditions, requiring farmers give them space to turn around, spread their wings, stand up and lie down. More below the fold....
He looked liked a cute French guy who sold onions from his bicycle. Every week at the farmers' market he would be there; a charming Gallic touch, so quaint and picturesque. But he was also so much more: a part of a long tradition of "les Johnnies et de l'oignon rose".
Soy Lecithin via all-creatures.org
Time sensitive call to action. Deadline is Monday, November 3.
Lecithin is one of those mysterious, but common, ingredients found on the label of many packaged foods. It's an essential emulsifier that helps blend ingredients that don't naturally mix.
Since 2005, when Wholesome Sweeteners helped develop Fair Trade Certification for sugar products, the company has raised over $1 million in certification premiums for the sugar cane farmers and beekeepers it works with in Malawi, Costa Rica, Paraguay and Mexico. The company announced the milestone this October, in conjunction with Fair Trade Month. ...
With Hallowe'en hysteria building, it's time for a brief ode to the pumpkin. First stop is the legendary Pumpkin Cottage in West Sussex where 87 year old Ralph Upton has been growing pumpkins, squashes and gourds in his six-acre plot for more than 40 years. He plants 15,000 to 20,000 seeds each spring to produce an organic harvest of more than 50 varieties including those with names like Atlantic Giant, Munchkin, Jack-be-Little, Hungarian Mammoth and Turk's Turban.
photo: Maury Landsman
While I’m not sure that the claims by the owners of Castello Monte Vibiano Vecchio olive oil farm that they will be the first farm anywhere to reduce their net carbon emissions to zero, without using offsite carbon offsetting projects, are be entirely true—I’d be surprised that some small farm hasn’t tried to do the same thing, just not publicized it as well—the efforts by the owners of this Umbrian farm are pretty interesting: ...
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