The Soil Associations conference a few days ago was called “One Planet Agriculture - Preparing for a post-peak oil food and farming future”

The conference focused on the urgent need to develop new models of localised food and farming systems. This is in anticipation of the central role that farmers and growers will play in averting climate change and delivering food security in an era of scarce and expensive energy.You can download ‘PodCasts’ (also known as MP3 audio files) of some of the key speakers who between them put forward the case that we have reached ‘peak oil’ and then look at ways some communities are preparing themselves (Transition towns) etc.

If you don’t have the time to listen to all of the speeches, the most notable ones are:

• Energy Shortages: How soon and how serious? - Dr Colin Campbell
• Climate change and peak oil: The two great oversights of our time - Dr Jeremy Leggett
• Energy descent plans: The Kinsale and Totnes projects - Rob Hopkins

The last one by Rob Hopkins is particularly inspiring!

Download & listen to them here: http://soilassociation.org/conference
Rob Hopkins website can be found at: http://www.transitiontowns.org/Totnes/

With the recent bad press that the UK government got over ‘loosing’ foreign national prisioners that should have been deported after serving their sentence, it may therefore come as little surprise that they seem to know very little about the activities of some agri businesses and cloned animals.

Today, the Daily Mail (whilst using pretty scare-mongering language) reported on the birth of a ’super cow’. Whilst not a clone herself, the calf called ‘Dundee Paradise’ is the daughter of a clone, her mother was created in the U.S. using cells from the ear of a champion dairy Holstein.

Dundee Paradise herself began life in an IVF lab. She was flown to the UK in a batch of five frozen embryos, implanted in a surrogate mother and successfully delivered at a Midlands farm on December 2. Continue Reading »

“Spiralseed and OrganicLea cordially invite you to the launch of ‘EARTH WRITINGS’ by Graham Burnett,

Sat 13 Jan 2007
4pm onwards

The Hornbeam Centre, 458 Hoe Street, Walthamstow London E17
(near the Bakers Arms - 5 minutes walk from Walthamstow Central BR)

This event will be preceded at 2pm by a talk ‘Introduction to Permaculture’ by Mark Warner of ‘Naturewise’ All welcome! Please feel free to pass this message onto anybody who might be interested.

www.spiralseed.co.uk/earthwritings

–
Graham Burnett: Integrated Design for Local Environmental Resources”

The climate in North America is moving northwards. This image from ArborDay.org shows changes to the USDA ‘hardiness’ zones:

The ‘Bagpuss’ stripes show that most of the USA has warmed sufficiently to grow plants a whole ‘class’ more ‘tender’ than 16 years ago. This means that people in the northern continental states will now be able to grow fruiting peach trees, where previously their winters were too harsh.

“The new 2006 arborday.org Hardiness Zone Map is consistent with the consensus of climate scientists that global warming is underway.”

This is from a US-based website, and whilst it may be more of an immediate concern in the USA, we know that multinational biotech corps are putting immense pressure on UK and other EU governments to accept the GM arguments…

In every FDA (Food & Drug Administration - the US equivalent to our DEFRA) decision involving genetically modified foods, those making the decision were either former or future employees of the genetic-engineering companies. To determine the safety of these foods, the FDA typically just takes the word of the company.

Further, the FDA has increased the allowable residue of Roundup on crops by 330%. So Monsanto can make genetically engineered crops resistant to their toxic chemicals and sell more chemical as well as seeds. You get to eat both the genetically altered “food” and the added chemicals. What a scheme. Monsanto is making a killing on these seeds and chemicals. Continue Reading »

I just came across an audio/visual presentation on the BBC website about foraging for wild food. Whilst not detailed, it gives a nice overview:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/5339440.stm 

From BBC News website…

Pollution-laden clouds may be partly to blame for India’s dwindling rice harvests, according to research.

A US team found brown clouds, which cloak much of South Asia, have a negative impact on rice output by reducing sunlight and rainfall.

They discovered elevated levels of greenhouse gases also reduced yields.

The study, reported in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, came a day after researchers said new crops adapted to a warmer climate are needed.

Read the full article:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/6206766.stm

Last year I bought a plastic (recycled) compost bin from a company called Blackwall that were running an offer in conjunction with my local council. It cost £5, although I splashed out on a ‘base’ for the bin and a ‘compost caddy’ - a small plastic bin (complete with biodegradable, corn-starch liners) that you keep in the kitchen until there’s enough to warrant a trip to the main compost bin.

Using the compost bin hasn’t been hard and one of the most amazing features is how much will actually go in - just when you think it’s full, the layers start to compost and the heap shrinks, creating more space - simple!

The manufacturer, Blackwall have just sent me a copy of their latest catalogue ‘Even Greener’ and I thought some GreenVeg readers may be interested in some of the contents.

Continue Reading »

John Jeavons’ farming methods contain lessons for backyard gardeners too.

On a visit to the University of California Santa Cruz’s Farm and Garden a few years ago, I met an apprentice who was trying to grow an entire year’s food supply in one small corner of the farm. He planted wheat, corn, beans, potatoes and a variety of salad crops.

Although it would be several months before the first harvest, he had already put himself on a diet consisting only of the food growing in his garden. He looked skinny, but not malnourished, on his diet of bread made from wheat he ground himself, dried beans and canned tomatoes.

“The only thing this diet lacks,” he told me, “is a good source of vitamin B12. It’s hard to get enough B12 from vegetables.”

I pointed out that his diet was also deficient in chocolate, decaf lattes and fettuccine alfredo, three items I considered essential to my own health and well-being. He just laughed, shrugged his shoulders, and went back to sowing beans. Continue Reading »