The Food for Life 'Catering Mark' is bringing fresh, healthy and local food into schools, hospitals and canteens, writes Peter Melchett - while driving big increases in the volume of organic food we eat, and growing the market for organic farmers and local food producers.
… 'Catering Mark' is helping to deliver good food for all Peter Melchett Soil Association | 24th February 2015 Activism Food Farming Organic Health fresh-fruit-cut.jpg The Food for Life 'Catering Mark' is bringing …
A major new scientific report reveals how organic agriculture can help feed the world whilst reducing the environmental impacts, PETER MELCHETT, of the Soil Association delves into the data.
… Peter Melchett | 27th November 2017 Comment Food Organic Meat Vegetarianism And Veganism … Nature Communications, by scientists from the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and … "whether producing a certain total amount of food, in terms of protein and calories, with …
As 300 protestors gather at the European Commission to protest at the resumption of TTIP trade talks between the EU and the USA, Oliver Tickell finds that the EU's newly released draft 'chapter' on food safety and animal welfare is a disastrous capitulation to corporate interests that will strip governments of their powers to regulate.
… TTIP is a lethal attack on food safety and animal welfare Oliver Tickell … 4th February 2015 Comment Trade US EU Farming Food Health Corporations … the EU's newly released draft 'chapter' on food safety and animal welfare is a disastrous …
The way food is produced has a profound impact on its nutritional profile, according to research published in the British Journal of Nutrition. Not only is organic farming better for animal welfare, the environment and wildlife, writes Peter Melchett, but organic meat, dairy, fruit and vegetables all have tangible health benefits for the people who eat them.
… Organic food is well worth paying for - for your … Soil Association | 4th March 2016 News Food Farming Regulation Organic UK Health organic-boxes-cut.jpg The way food is produced has a profound impact on its …
The small state of Vermont is changing the face of US food as companies hasten to comply with its GMO labeling rule which comes into effect in July 2016. Mars and General Mills - and now Kelloggs and ConAgra - are the latest companies to announce their labels will comply with Vermont law US-wide - and many more are sure to follow.
… Oliver Tickell | 22nd March 2016 News GMOs Food Law Politics Corporations USA … state of Vermont is changing the face of US food as companies hasten to comply with its … are sure to follow. Three of the US's biggest food companies have yielded to the inevitable …
A farming revolution is under way in Africa, pushed by giant corporations and the UK's aid budget. It will surely be good for the global economy, writes Sophie Morlin-Yron, but will Africa's small farmers see the benefit?
… Oliver Tickell | 18th February 2014 News Food Farming Africa Corporations … discuss global solutions to tackling Africa's food security crisis. At the event, which cost … are women, and they produce 60% of the food. If only a woman could own land - …
Lord Krebs, self-appointed spokesman for industrial agriculture, used the Oxford Farming Conference to attack organic systems for causing more climate change - a claim as demonstrably false as it is ludicrous, writes Peter Melchett. But across the city, the upstart 'real farming' conference was showing the way to a cleaner, greener and healthier future.
… Peter Melchett | 8th January 2015 News Food Farming GMOs Health Climate Change … demoted from the "future for all farming and food" that was heralded in the 1990s. Under … the English Department of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs is happy to forget that …
Ghana's government is desperate to pass a Plant Breeders Bill that would remove farmers' ancient 'seed freedom' to grow, retain, breed and develop crop varieties - while giving corporate breeders a blanket exemption from seed regulations. Now the farmers are fighting back.
… Oliver Tickell | 24th October 2014 News Food Farming Seeds Ghana Africa Law Politics … profit and push GM seeds in to the country's food system. It's why campaigners have dubbed … will be disastrous" , says Duke Tagoe of Food Sovereignty Ghana (FSG). "The origin of …
Food campaigner Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall tells OLIVER TICKELL why he’s so vociferous about vegetables
… 3577391361_da4d7c140f_z.jpg Food campaigner Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall … of many passions. To name but several: good food, less waste, healthier people, thriving … national eating habits have become. Half the food we eat is ultra-processed – and for some …
An elite group of aid donors and agribusiness corporations met in London this week to plan the takeover of Africa's seeds, writes Ian Fitzpatrick, replacing traditional seed breeding and saving by small farmers with a corporate model of privatized, 'improved', patented, genetically uniform and hybrid seeds in a profit-driven market.
… Oliver Tickell | 26th March 2015 News Africa Food Farming Corporations Seeds USA UK … and Delivery of Early Generation Seed of Food Crops in Sub-Saharan Africa. ' To give it … almost every sphere of human activity - from food production to health and education - …
Almost all our food is grown in soil, writes Peter Melchett. Yet we are treating it like dirt: spraying it with toxic chemicals, depleting vital nutrients, and releasing its carbon to add to climate change. With World Soils Day coming up tomorrow, let's change our ways - and renew our commitment to organic food and farming.
… Peter Melchett | 4th December 2015 Comment Food Farming Organic Natural World Health … Change pd soil 1-cut.jpg Almost all our food is grown in soil, writes Peter Melchett. … ways - and renew our commitment to organic food and farming. "The health of soil, plant, …
The government’s consultation on future farming policy in England ended last week. Many see it as a unique opportunity to make some positive changes - not least in the provision of information about differences in quality and production systems, says PETER MELCHETT of the Soil Association
… May 2018 Comment DEFRA Health And Harmony Food And Farming Brexit … show superior quality compared to other food. We accept that there are clear … so with our largest manufacturing industry: food and farming. Championing quality …
The pro-GM lobby has sought to take the 'scientific high-ground' by positioning itself as the voice of reason and progress, while painting its opponents as unsophisticated 'anti-science' luddites. In a scathing response Peter Melchett turns the tables
… Peter Melchett | 31st December 2012 News Gm Food And Farming News Science gmo.jpg The … the views of citizens, and most sales of GM food have relied on secrecy - denying … or citizens concerned about the safety of the food they eat. Scientists who are critical of …
The European Parliament today called on the Commission and member states like the UK to stop funding the 'New Alliance' plan to force export-oriented agribusiness onto Africa. Instead they want support for small-scale family farms and agroecology.
… Tickell | 7th June 2016 News Corporations Aid Food Farming EU Africa GMOs Agroecology … Development Committee on the New Alliance for Food Security and Nutrition (NAFSN) that calls … NAFSN to contribute to poverty reduction and food security, as the poorest communities risk …
Following scientific confirmation of the severe hazards to health caused by residues of glyphosate weed killers in food, the Soil Association is calling on bakers and retailers to stop 'pre-harvest' spraying on arable crops. The SA's Peter Melchett just sent out this letter - adapt as necessary and send to retailers, bakers, makers of cereals, pasta, biscuits and others.
… Keep glyphosate out of our food! Peter Melchett | 3rd September 2015 Activism Food Farming Health Corporations … by residues of glyphosate weed killers in food, the Soil Association is calling on …
A new study sets out the huge benefits of organic farming to people and the environment, writes Peter Melchett, including more wildlife, healthier consumers and farm workers, lower greenhouse gas emissions, reduced soil erosion and increased water retention. We need more of it, fast!
… Association | 23rd March 2017 Comment Farming Food Organic Pesticides Health Water … a fair and environmentally sustainable food system. The authors note that organic … levels of beneficial nutrients in organic food, as well as to the absence of pesticides …
BASF are to halve their GM research and development and reduce the time spent on developing these technologies, writes Peter Melchett. Given the many problems that GM agriculture is facing, and that new non-GE technologies offer such valuable benefits as increased crop yields, does BASF's announcement spell the beginning of the end of GM crops?
… The demise of GM and the new future of food Peter Melchett | 8th March 2016 News Gm … in the largest global consumer market for GM food, the USA, where the non-GMO label is the … grocery label in supermarkets, and some big food manufacturers, along with Chipotle, are …
Farmers in the Bicol region of the Philippines have gathered to renew their fight against field trials of Golden Rice and halt moves towards its commercialization. But with last year's 'advanced' Golden Rice trials showing low yields, the prospect of a GR release is fast receding.
… Oliver Tickell | 8th September 2014 News Food Farming GMOs Philippines Science … for sustainable approaches to attaining food sufficiency and genuine rural … should focus more on ensuring access to food, diversifying food sources and …
Development secretary Justine Greening is facing questions over UK involvement in a massive land-grab in Nigeria that is evicting local farmers from 300 square kilometres of fertile farmland to clear the way for a rice farm owned and controlled from the US and Canada. A 45,000-strong community faces landlessness and destitution.
… forms part of the UK-backed New Alliance for Food Security and Nutrition in Africa and the … are ostensibly intended to enhance food security and livelihoods for small … scheme that 45,000 people depend on for their food needs and livelihoods. Diane Abbott MP …
The Government is preparing 'rules' that will enable the planting of GM crops in the UK as soon as 2017, writes Lawrence Woodward. A ministerial letter also signals a significant weakening of GMO safeguards compared to the Tories' 2010 manifesto. Now is the time to exert maximum pressure and fight off a planned GMO invasion.
… same result. Its 2013 ' Feeding the Nation ' food policy review states: "Biotechnology … cannot, by itself, increase the UK's domestic food supply, but it can be one of the tools … used to ensure better resilience in the UK food chain, and to reduce environmental …
The Gates Foundation has sunk $15 million into developing GMO 'super bananas' with high levels of pre-Vitamin A, writes Adam Breasley. But the project is using 'stolen' genes from a Micronesian banana cultivar. And what exactly is the point, when delicious, popular, nutritious 'red bananas' rich in caroteinoids are already grown around the tropics?
… Oliver Tickell | 24th November 2014 News Food Farming GMOs Health Pacific … to have a huge positive impact on staple food products across much of Africa and in … that would be expected for a novel GMO food intended for daily consumption for …
After 40,000 Facebook posts on General Mills Facebook page demanding GM-free Cheerios, the company announces - 'original' Cheerios contain no GM ingredients.
… Oliver Tickell | 4th January 2013 News Food GM Foods GMOs After 40,000 Facebook posts on … in the US and often one of the first solid foods fed to children. A video highlighting …
Rothamsted Research has applied to field trial GM Camelina plants that make long chain omega-3 fatty acids - an important nutrient currently available only from fish. This poses a dilemma for those who have so far opposed GMO foods.
… Tickell | 24th January 2014 News GMOs Gm Food UK Farming Health mackerel.png Rothamsted … dilemma for those who have so far opposed GMO foods. The application to trial the GM … levels of herbicide residues in the resulting food - with reported consequences on animal …
The threat to nature is now so severe it is beginning to threaten human existence. Tony Juniper, the author, campaigner and newly appointed campaigns director at WWF UK, talks to OLIVER TICKELL about the vital role nature plays in our very existence and how we abuse it at our peril
… 2018 Comment Tony Juniper WWF-UK Biodiversity Food Security ecologist_mission_0.jpg The … and hence for the water we drink and the food we eat every day. Destroy them, and we … biodiversity loss and deforestation. Like the food system: we have the expansion of soya …