Monarch caterpillars are vulnerable to neonicotinoid toxicity at concentrations as low as 1 part per billion, writes Jonathan Latham, and that makes them vulnerable to residues from commercial crops - and even more so from horticultural use in plant nurseries!
… in the EU. And an even greater hazard in horticulture Now a new paper in Plos ONE shows … are achieved in the plant nursery and horticulture industry, where plants are …
Could London, New York and other cities be self-sufficient in fruit and vegetables? Yes, writes Rachel Dring, by converting wasted roof space into gardens and greenhouses. Benefits include reducing waste; raising energy efficiency, sustainability and food security; and healthier, more connected citizens.
… there, they need training. We want to embed horticulture into the community to foster a …
Many contemporary farmers - despite a hostile economic environment - are finding new ways to make ecological farming viable. Colin Tudge and Graham Harvey have tracked down some inspiring examples ...
… beef, lamb and Gloucester Old Spot pork. Horticulture lends itself most immediately to … alleys are devoted in rotations to arable and horticulture alternating with leys rich in a …
Antibiotics have saved countless millions of lives since the 1930s, but their power is failing due to their massive use in factory farming, horticulture, aquaculture and industry, says a new report from the All Party Parliamentary Group on Antibiotics. We must stop all inessential uses of antibiotics, or face a future where we risk death from minor injuries and routine surgery.
… due to their massive use in factory farming, horticulture, aquaculture and industry, says a … better hygiene and fish vaccination. Use in horticulture Although not used as widely as in …
A year ago today, Europe-wide protests defeated an EU regulation that would have outlawed many seed saving activities, writes Ben Raskin. Now growers are taking matters into their own hands, saving and developing open-pollinated seeds - and campaigning for a seed regulation that supports them, not the monopolist seed corporations.
… around the UK. Ben Raskin is the head of horticulture at the Soil Association . Ben has over 20 years experience in horticulture and his current role involves … of Commercial Manager at the Welsh College of Horticulture, 3 years spent at Daylesford …
You don't need a garden to grow your own fruit and veg. If you're a budding horticulturalist with no space to swing a trowel, here are some creative - and sometimes bizarre - ideas from around the world
… in strange places both bizarre and romantic. Horticulture can be so creative. It can …
The Apricot Centre in Essex is a unique project that uses organic horticulture and animal husbandry to heal, inspire and educate children from diverse backgrounds, and kindle love for the natural world, writes Martin Large. Now it's expanding to Devon, to establish a second, much larger biodynamic smallholding near Totnes and Dartington.
… Essex is a unique project that uses organic horticulture and animal husbandry to heal, …
Advanced molecular genetic techniques are allowing scientists to breed disease resistance from wild grape varieties into susceptible domestic cultivars used for making wine, writes Andrew Walker. And it's all being done by conventional plant breeding accelerated by the use of DNA markers - with not a GMO in sight!
… winegrapes may be the most backward form of horticulture that exists. The vast majority of …
Scientists, environmental and consumer groups have decried USDA's approval of two 'Arctic' apple varieties, while major food companies and apple growers have no plans to source or grow them - despite their potential to 'generate consumer excitement in the apple category.'
USDA approves world's first GMO apples The Ecologist | 16th February 2015 News Farming USA GMOs Regulation Food apples-cut.jpg Scientists, environmental and consumer groups have decried USDA's …
Bee-killing insecticides will face a near total ban in Europe following a vote by member states in favour of proposals by the European Commission. The UK government supported the ban, which it says it will maintain after Brexit. CATHERINE EARLY reports
Campaigners rejoice European Union neonicotinoid ban Catherine Early | 30th April 2018 News Bees Pesticides EU Farming Food And Farming bee_on_blossomcgreenpeace.jpg Bee-killing insecticides will …
Is it worse than Mc Donalds? The BLT sandwich is an icon, the ultimate symbol of convenience culture. Tesco alone sells 5 million a year. This is what the £1.80 you pay for your BLT buys...
… 1,070 - The number of dams used to irrigate horticulture in southern Spain Ten per cent of … is not enough water to naturally sustain horticulture, Spain is one of the most …
Ecological farming has taken root in the UK, writes Phil Moore: drawing inspiration from the past while employing the latest ideas and techniques from organic, no-dig, permaculture, agroecology and agroforestry methods. But with agricultural fields selling for up to £10,000 an acre, there's a big difficultly for many would-be eco-farmers: access to land. Now, with public support, that's a problem the Ecological Land Cooperative is determined to solve.
… - but not a patch to farm! Farming and horticulture are incredibly hard to get into …
Todmorden in Yorkshire's Calder Valley has been transformed by free food growing on its streets, parks and even its rooftops. Julian Dobson tells the inspiring story of Incredible Edible and how the transformational project is going global ....
… created gardens to teach children about horticulture. Social landlord Pennine Housing … of all groceries in the UK. By learning horticulture and food preparation skills, …
MEPs have voted against a proposed EU sed regulation that would further concentrate the seed market and discriminate against genetically diverse traditional seeds.
MEPs vote against EU seed Regulation Oliver Tickell | 31st January 2014 News Food Farming Seeds EU Regulation heritage-seed-library.png MEPs have voted against a proposed EU sed regulation that would …
A temporary ban on neonicotinoid insecticides comes into effect across the EU this weekend. Dave Goulson argues that far deeper, structural changes are needed to create a countryside fit for bees and other wildlife.
… also still be sprayed in private gardens and horticulture, because the moratorium only …
Our bees and wider farmland ecosystems have been seriously harmed by neonicotinoids, writes Dave Goulson. But that's just the start of the damage that modern farming is doing to wildlife in a countryside stripped of wild flowers and drenched by cocktails of pesticides. The problem is not just neonics, but the entire model of industrial agriculture.
If modern farming can't sustain bees, how much longer can it sustain us? Dave Goulson | 11th May 2015 News Farming Ecology UK Toxics bumblebee-clover-cut.jpg Our bees and wider farmland ecosystems …
Cuba is a global exemplar of organic, agroecological farming, taking place on broad swathes of land in and around its cities, write Julia Wright & Emily Morris. These farms cover 14% of the country's agricultural land, employ 350,000 people, and produce half the country's fruit and vegetables. But can they survive exposure to US agribusiness?
Cuba's warming relations with the US may undermine its agroecological city farms Julia Wright Emily Morris | 27th June 2015 News Cuba Food Farming Organic Cities USA Politics Trade …
Recent reports of catastrophic declines in bee populations have had scientists buzzing around looking for a plausible explanation. Is it mites? Is it GM crops? Is it mobile phones or habitat loss? It's all of these things, says Pat Thomas, but it's also so much more than that.
Give Bees a chance Pat Thomas | 11th February 2008 News Bees Crops Diversity Colony Collapse Disorder Intensive Farming Gm Pesticides Electromagnetic Fields Parasites Varroa Diversity Farming Food …
Bullfighting may cause suffering to animals, but that does not mean the EU should ban it or withdraw farm subsidies, writes Robin Irvine. Traditional bull-breeding estates are valuable reservoirs of biodiversity in intensively farmed landscapes, and without the bulls there would be nothing to sustain them.
… You could of course argue that commercial horticulture employs more locals, or that …
Soon UK farmers will begin to spray their fields of wheat, barley, oats and peas with weed killer to make crops easier to harvest, writes Natasha Collins-Daniel. But the chemicals - including glyphosate, a probable carcinogen - can end up in our bread and other food. Let's put a stop to it now!
… in fact, the industry funded Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board's advice to …
Supported by state and national governments, palm oil plantations are advancing over the rainforest hills of Sabah, Malaysia, writes Sophie Chao. In their way: the indigenous Murut of Bigor, whose culture, livelihood and very lives are under threat as forests and farms fall to chainsaws and bulldozers, enriching loggers and distant investors beyond the dreams of avarice.
Malaysia: the Murut struggle against palm oil, for land and life Sophie Chao | 12th December 2016 Activism Malaysia Palm Oil Corporations Farming Indigenous Peoples Human Rights bigor …
If it wasn't climate change, was the real purpose of the Number 10 meeting of Theresa May's advisors and President Trump's environmental transition supremo Myron Ebell to plan the post-Brexit deregulation of UK farming, including pesticides? That's how it looks, writes Georgina Downs - and we had better begin now to fight for our health, wildlife and environment.
Pesticide deregulation - the real reason for Myron Ebell's Number 10 meeting? Georgina Downs | 3rd February 2017 Comment Health Pesticides Farming Politics UK USA Regulation spray-home-cut.jpg If it …
An ordinary arable field in Sussex is sprayed with pesticides 22 times over a single growing season. Dave Goulson wonders how the bees can survive this toxic onslaught - and exactly who benefits.
Revealed: the chemical blitz of pesticides in our fields Dave Goulson | 30th January 2014 Comment Food Farming Natural World Bees Pesticides crop-spray-england.png An ordinary arable field in Sussex …
Halal ritual slaughter has raised huge controversy in the UK press, writes Alicia Miller. But the far greater issue is farm animals' entire quality of life - as reflected in the Qu'ranic principle that meat must be 'tayyib' - good, wholesome and from well-treated, healthy animals. Is this something we can all agree on?
… runs Troed y Rhiw Organics , an organic horticulture farm in West Wales, with her …