Corporate stranglehold of farmland a risk to world food security
The world’s food supplies are at risk because farmland is becoming rapidly concentrated in the hands of wealthy elites and corporations, a study carried out by international land-use group Grain has found. The report – Hungry for land: small farmers feed the world with less than a quarter of all farmland – highlights the positives of small farms in production and biodiversity.
The Guardian (29 May 2014)
Supermarket to offer bags of tomatoes either fallen naturally or misshapen as a drive to cut waste of edible food
Waitrose is to sell a mixed pack of tomatoes that have either naturally fallen off the vine or are misshapen, as part of its ongoing drive to discard less edible food.
The Guardian (29 May 2014)
Gold Food for Life Catering Mark nursery Snapdragons to create 30 jobs
Snapdragons nursery is expanding into Bristol by opening a new site and creating 30 new jobs. The chain prides itself on good food for children, and holds a Food for Life Gold Catering Mark from the Soil Association for its nutritious, seasonal food using ethically sourced, locally-produced food. It plans to continue this approach at the new Horfield nursery.
The Bristol Post (28 May 2014)
Start-up diary: German export opportunities abound
Soil Association licensee Jeremy Carson, founder of 100bodycare discusses expanding his business into the German market, following an approach by a German retailer at a London Planet Organic store where he was demonstrating his products.
The Daily Telegraph (19 May 2014)
Kim Stoddart: gardening for free – for ever
Having survived without her regular fix at the garden centre for a year now, writer and thrifty gardener Kim Stoddart shares her thrifty tips and talks about the rewards of seed saving. Kim is also working on a series of short films with the Soil Association on seed saving which will be shown on her Guardian blog in the coming months.
The Guardian (26 May 2014)
New roots: how social enterprises are disrupting the food system
Journalist Ilana Taub discusses how our relationship with food is unsustainable. However an ever-growing number of social enterprises are rising to the task of making the food system more sustainable, ecologically resilient and socially just.
The Guardian (22 May 2014)
Inside the looming food crises
Journalist Dennis Dimick discusses the potential food crises looming, and whether there will be enough food in the future. He writes: Last week in Washington, the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, which for years has been immersed in questions about food and its supply, gathered to discuss solutions to what its members see as an emerging food crisis.
National Geographic (22 May 2014)
Is the cause of global warming underground?
Soil buried deep underground that formed on Earth’s surface thousands of years ago has been found to be rich in carbon. The subsurface features of vanished landscapes add a new dimension to our planet’s carbon cycle. And continued activities by humans could unleash more of this carbon into the atmosphere, a study reported in the journal Nature Geoscience claims.
The Daily Mail (26 May 2014)
UK among worst in Western Europe for level of overweight and obese people
The UK has higher levels of obesity and overweight people than anywhere in Western Europe except for Iceland and Malta, according to the Global Burden of Disease study, published in the Lancet medical journal. The study raises fresh concerns about the likely health consequences.
The Guardian (29 May 2014)
A third of children eat junk food every day
Parents spend on average £26 a month feeding their children fast food, pizza and burgers a survey by website Voucher Codes Pro has found. The survey found more than a third of children under the age of 10 are eating junk food every day.
The Daily Mail (27 May 2014)
