NEWS
£25M
'Buy local superstore'
A unique multi-million-pound deal between supermarket chain Waitrose
and a consortium of eight farmers aims to bring Cornish food direct
to local people.
The ground-breaking scheme - to be unveiled today - would see
the building of a £25 million supermarket on a greenfield
site in the heart of the county. If it is given planning consent,
the Cornish Food Hall could prove the forerunner of similar projects
all over the country.
'Kick
all agricultural subsidies' website
A website calling for the abolition of agricultural subsidies
has been launched by The Guardian newspaper.
Its mission is to help third world countries through the abolition
of subsidies — a move the paper believes could save western
governments billions of pounds per year.
Relocalising food
procurement briefing
How a ‘local first’ purchasing policy can boost farm
incomes and cut food miles
Report from a round-table discussion organised by Friends of the
Earth to examine how Government food purchasing in Northern Ireland
might be re-localised to the benefit of farmers and the environment.
Download
the report from FoE website
source: Sustain
Organic
rush slows to a trickle
The number of farmers wanting to convert to organic production
has halved, according to new figures.
In 1999, more than 90 farmers a month were applying to convert
to organic production. But that figure has now fallen to 40 a
month.
Despite the new figures, Soil Association policy director Peter
Melchett insisted that the situation for organic farming was not
glum.
Local
Foods: Niche market or explosion waiting to happen?
In the top-ten wish-list for supermarket shopping in 2003, number
three was selling local foods, topped only by lower prices and
more price promotions. April’s Consumer Watch, produced by
the Institute of Grocery Distribution, finds that 63% of consumers
see local foods as those produced fairly close-by, either 30 miles
from where they live or buy the food from, or from the county
they live in. It also finds for the majority of consumers, ‘localness’
and patriotic emotions are not sufficient to encourage them to
buy local foods: quality of the food is key.
source: Sustain
GM
crops pose low health risk, says report
Genetically modified crops pose a "very low" risk to
public health, according to a scientific review published today.
The findings could be a major step towards commercial GM food
production in the UK.
Is
organic food always better for you?
The camps for and against the possible benefits of organic food
are now diametrically opposed and it may soon be carrots at dawn.
Global
Farms Study Aims for Food Security
A plan for the largest-ever review of the role of science in world
farming will reach a critical point this week at a meeting in
Budapest, the FT reports.
The initiative, launched by the World Bank last year, will consider
how agricultural technologies from genetic modification to organic
farming can best meet global food needs over the next 50 years.
Foreign
Product Labelling Schemes
Research note into schemes in Europe and North America, just published:
news item and link to PDF Research Note:
The
mark of quality in the Peak District
The'Eat the View' initiative has teamed up with the Peak District
National Park Authority to research, pilot and develop 'protected
landscape' brands. The brand is strongly linked to maintaining
and enhancing the landscape and environment to help define these
important areas so that it can act as a framework for other areas
to follow.
National Trust lamb
in supermarket
Sainsbury is to source National Trust Welsh lamb to sell on its
meat-counters from the autumn.
The GROCER: 2nd August
Royal Parks to ‘green’
catering
Oliver Peyton’s planned 200-seat ‘Inn the Park’
restaurant, which will open in London’s St James’ Park
next spring, will exemplify a move by the Royal Parks Agency (an
executive agency of DCMS) to ‘green’ its catering operations
across the capital. Food ingredients will be organic and seasonal,
sourced from small producers which must pass annual inspections,
and this information will be passed on to diners. The restaurant
will source its seafood from MSC approved fisheries, and some
meat and poultry will come from the Rare Breeds Survival Trust.
Caterer and Hotel Keeper, July/Aug 2003
source: Sustain
FACE
call for better education on farming
The Royal Agricultural Society of England, August 2003, Warwickshire
A recent FACE (Farming and Countryside Education) survey has identified
disturbing gaps in children's knowledge of food and the countryside
that are set to widen unless remedial action is taken.
New waste conditions for farmers
DEFRA has drawn up a blueprint for action for the European animal
by-products legislation, and must be completed by 2005. Post 2005,
retailers, wholesalers, & manufacturers from sending food
waste to landfill, instead they must used approved disposal methods
such as rendering, composting or treatment with biogas. One possibility
being suggested is a collection service for smaller firms.
The GROCER:26TH July
Cash
for waste tackling initiatives
Local authorities in England will receive further £135 million
for sustainable waste management including composting initiatives.
Welsh
Assembly food and fitness scheme launched
A new grants scheme designed to encourage healthier lifestyles,
and a national pilot programme to promote physical activity, are
being launched by Welsh Assembly Government.
The Food and Fitness Health Promotion Grant Scheme will provide
funding for community projects that encourage more active lifestyles
and/or healthier eating within priority groups.
PUBLICATIONS / WEBSITES
Good Food on the Public Plate
Sustain and East Anglia Food Link’s
new ‘manual for sustainability in public sector food and
catering’. The manual, launched on the 17th July, is the
definitive guide for those wishing to introduce sustainable food
policies and practices into the public sector. More information
and online ordering from Sustain
or tel: 020 7837 1228.
Public Sector Procurement
of Food and Drink in the South West
A report by the South West Local Food Partnership (SWLFP), it
presents findings of research identifying routes of supply of
catering services into schools, the drivers and barriers existing
in a number of regional case studies, and makes recommendations
for future work.
Request electronic copy from SWLFP
Worcestershire County
Council: Taking forward food policies together
A study to enable the County Council and partners to have information
on and understanding of existing activity, policies and research
in one document. The findings have also been analysed to identify
opportunities and business needs and recommendations made for
taking food policies forward in a co-ordinated way. One of the
recommendations of the research is to set up a ‘Worcestershire
Food Links’ to coordinate food activities and policy in the
county.
Contact: Jo Pugh,
Worcs CC,
Staffordshire Local
Food Directory
Now available from Sam
Pickles , Staffs Borough Council
EVENTS
Better School Dinners, 4 September 2003,
Monmouth
Organised by Sustain and Wye Valley Area of Outstanding Natural
Beauty in association with Adventa, Gloucestershire Food Links,
and Herefordshire Food Links. The conference will explore how
schools can procure local, sustainable food as a means of improving
the quality, uptake, and sustainability of school meals to the
benefit of the local economy, environment and people.
Contact; Catherine Fookes, Wye Valley AONB, Hadnock Rd, Monmouth,
NP25
3NG, Tel: 01600 710841 or Email: development@wyevalleyaonb.co.uk
Organic
Food Festival 2003
6 and 7 September Bristol – various locations
Food Links UK Conference
Local Food Links – Ideas into Action – 27 Nov. 2003
A one-day conference in Yorkshire to highlight the new policy
agenda for food and farming and show how local projects can best
support health, regeneration and environmental objectives. Showing
how sustainable food and farming policy can be delivered on the
ground.
Key Note Speakers - Caroline Lucas MEP, Jeremy Pope, Baroness
Sue Miller
Chair of conference - Tim Lang
More information and booking details will follow on this website
soon.
For initial enquiries email conference@localfood.org.uk
British Food Fortnight
Plans are now being put in place for British Food Fortnight 2003
which will take place from 20 Sept to 5 October 2003 - to align
it more closely with Harvest Festival, the traditional time for
celebrating our food.
http://www.britishfoodfortnight.co.uk/
Real Food and Drink,
11 September, Ludlow
A one-day conference before the start of the Ludlow Marches Food
and Drink Festival. The event will examine the recent and current
trends in the area of food quality, tourism, and economic development.
More details at www.realfoodanddrink.co.uk
JOBS
Job adverts cost £100 for each newsletter (circulation
over 900).
Please send copy to:mail@locafood.org.uk
