THE CONCEPT of cutting meat consumption to save the planet is a difficult one to swallow – especially for a nation that prides itself on livestock farming and craves roast beef on a Sunday. Indeed, it’s an idea that environmentalists love, politicians hate, food companies (often) ignore and consumers don’t really understand. [...]
THE USE of unsustainable palm oil is rife in UK chocolate products. The charity Rainforest Foundation UK (RFUK) and Ethical Consumer magazine surveyed more than 70 brands, asking about their practices and policies in relation to palm oil sourcing. They also carried out an investigation [...]
THE EUROPEAN Parliament today voted to back a major reform of the EU’s Common Fisheries Policy (CFP). The new proposals aim to cut fishing to sustainable stock levels, end dumping at sea (discards), and base long-term planning on sound scientific data. Environmental groups have welcomed [...]
PLACING GREATER value on meat could help to cut consumption with knock-on benefits for the environment and health, according to a new report published by WWF-UK and the Food Ethics Council (FEC). High meat consumption has been associated with a number of factors related to [...]
THE TOP stories of 2012, from Starbucks’ tax travails to rising energy bills and the “greenest Olympics ever”. January/February With the mince pies sitting heavily around the waistline and the influence of festive parties still coursing through the veins, health and diets are rarely far from the headlines in the new year. And so [...]
ENVIRONMENTAL GROUPS have reacted angrily to the failure that was the Doha climate talks, while the UK Government has called the agreement a step forward. Most agree, however, that the progress was modest, with a mismatch between the scale and the urgency of action required and the political will and ambition. [...]
SIX OF THE largest environmental and development organisations in the world issued a statement claiming the climate talks in Doha were on the brink of disaster and that rich governments had 24 hours to urgently make a deal that reflects the scale of planetary emergency facing humanity. [...]
LARGE FIRMS are increasingly adopting and scaling up sustainability innovations and reaping substantial rewards for themselves and their customers. The new business approaches not only contribute to the green economy, but also show what can be achieved by decoupling business growth from increasing environmental damage, even [...]
GOVERNMENTS ARE falling far short of their commitment to keep global average temperature rise below the accepted 2°C goal, putting the world on the brink of climate catastrophe. The UN Environment Programs Emissions Gap Report 2012 identifies a huge gap between current pledges to cut polluting greenhouse [...]
Farms of the future
By footprint on November 20, 2012
Published in: Comment, Features, Features, Foodservice News, Green Scene and tagged Al Gore, Bayer CropScience, Cafedirect, Coventry University, Dr Julia Whright, Dr Patricia Thornley, Elizabeth Bowles, European Food and Farming Partnership, Food Ethics Council, Food for Life Catering, Forum for the Future, Future of Food And Farming, Geoff Tansey, Jonathan Porritt, Julian Little, Mark Driscoll, Michael Bond, NFU, Peter Kendall, Professor Charles Godfray, Professor Sir John Beddington, Rachel Carson, Robert Frost, Robyn Kimber, Silent Spring, Soil Association, The Dailt Telegraph, University of Manchester, University of Oxford, WWF.
FIFTY YEARS ago this month the book Silent Spring kick-started the environmental movement and changed the way we grow our food. As climate change and population growth exert growing pressure, what will the next generation of farms look like? This month marks the 50th anniversary of [...]