Today's News

04 March 2010

The truth about food security:
Patrick Holden is widely quoted in an article on food security in Great British Food magazine. He says: ‘If we’re to adjust to a sustainably-farmed Britain, I’d argue that we’ll have to give up intensive white meat production altogether. That’s the end of cheap chicken and pork, we’ll eat a lot less white meat and just a bit less red meat.”
Great British Food (March issue, pp. 102-103)

Green fuel goals raise oil supply fears
Today’s biofuels targets risk causing another oil supply crunch in the middle of this decade, a new report has warned, and there is an ‘urgent need’ to review existing biofuel policies.
The Financial Times (4 March, p.10)


Could the future for UK biofuel be oilseed rape and hemp?
The NFU’s biofuels adviser and a Professor of Photosynthesis are among those who have written to The Times to share their views on biofuels.
The Times (4 March, p.25)


Fury as EU approves GM potato
The introduction of a genetically modified potato in Europe risks the development of human diseases that fail to respond to antibiotics, it was claimed last night. German chemical giant BASF this week won approval from the European Commission for commercial growing of a starchy potato with a gene that could resist antibiotics – useful in the fight against illnesses such as tuberculosis.
The Independent (4 March, p.16)

Fertiliser groups set to mark rebound from crisis with spate of acquisitions
This year's spate of merger and acquisition activity in the fertiliser industry is set to continue as companies seek size to compete with the arrival in the sector of miners such as Vale of Brazil and BHP Billiton. The consolidation comes as demand and prices for fertiliser commodities rebound from the industry's worst year in 2009...During the 2007-08 food price crisis, the cost of fertiliser commodities such as urea and potash rose tenfold to above $1,000 a tonne.
Financial Times (4 March, p.21)

100-plus tons of beef a year go up in smoke
Burning Guernsey’s unwanted cattle is a scandalous waste of food, according to the UK director of the Soil Association. Patrick Holden was in Guernsey talking about the importance of developing a sustainable food strategy for the island – and sending its cattle up in smoke was definitely not part of that. The island’s abattoir cannot check for BSE so cattle over 30 months must be incinerated. ‘It is an absolute scandal. It must be Guernsey’s best-kept secret, that all this wonderful food is being incinerated,’ he said.
The Guernsey Press & Star (24 Feb)

The whole hog
Feature in Independent Life exploring Germany’s ‘Porkcamp’, where foodies gather to follow their meal from pigpen to plate. Its founder Florian Siepert says: “I want people to connect the fact that for us to eat meat, something has to die.”
Independent Life (4 March, pp.8 - 9)

Farming Today
Website summary: Rural life is under threat as young people leave for the cities according to a new report. For the first time in 12 years, commercial GM crops will be grown in the EU. And the Welsh Lamb export market has grown by 10 percent and is now worth £100 million. Charlotte Smith finds out how it has been so successful.
BBC Radio 4 (listen again)

And finally…grow your own veg in a skip
Gardeners will be able to grow cabbages in skips on building sites and tomatoes in hospital car parks under Government plans to increase the amount of land available for grow-your-own vegetables.
The Daily Telegraph (4 March, p.10)

Quote of the day
“I really think there’s a message of hope because we can do something in our personal lives to prepare for the future. We’re very powerful; we can exercise this by buying sustainably-produced, local food. By doing so we can help producers go on a journey of change.”
Patrick Holden – Great British Food Magazine – March 2010