More and more people are thinking about what they eat, and considering the ethics of their food choices. There is growing awareness of things such as Freedom Foods, Marine Stewardship Council certified fish, food waste, and air miles. But those are all choices we make for ourselves as we shop and cook. What about when […]
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What does your weekly shop look like?
This week is the Live Below the Line challenge, and thousands of people will be sticking to a budget of £1 a day for their food. It’s to raise awareness of and raise money for global poverty, and it’s now in its third year. We’re not taking part this year, but you can see what […]
The 1925 fireless cooker
My wife’s grandfather was an accomplished woodworker, and the last time we went to visit her grandmother, she passed on one of his books. It’s called The Practical Woodworker and it was published in 1925. It was printed for the RAF, “for airmen under training as carpenters”, and this edition is stamped ‘Technical Instructors Library, […]
The ethics of the 10 largest food companies
This week Oxfam published the results of a survey into the ethical practices of the world’s ten largest food companies. Over the course of 18 months they drew together publicly available information all into one place. They then gave the companies a score out of ten on seven key issues, such as climate, land and […]
What horse meat and the banking crisis have in common
Over the last couple of weeks there’s been an unfolding food scandal in Britain and Europe after various ‘beef’ microwave meals and burgers were found to contain horse meat. It’s prompted a whole lot of debate about supply chains, the ethics of cheap meat, and the cultural taboos of eating (or not eating) horse. But […]
Some welcome progress on food speculation
When I first started writing about food speculation, I hadn’t really come across many other people or campaigns who were addressing the problem. It seemed to be an overlooked issue, one of the many sub-plots of the financial crisis. That’s changed in the last couple of years. It’s risen up the agenda and in the […]
Enough food for everyone, if…
This week sees the launch of ‘If‘, a big new campaign on hunger. It’s going to be one of the big campaigns of the year, as a couple of hundred organisations are involved. It will target the G8 meeting in Britain later this year to try and raise the simple point that there is enough […]
Food waste in developing countries
The issue of food waste was in the news last week, after a report from the Institute of Mechanical Engineers showed that up to 50% of the world’s food is wasted. We usually look at this from our own perspective, the amount we throw away as households and the behaviour of supermarkets. We feel guilty […]
The puzzle of free school breakfasts
This week Blackpool became the first local authority in Britain to start serving free breakfasts to all primary school children. It follows a similar scheme in London, with teachers calling for more areas to take up the practice. I read about this in an article in the i newspaper, which explained why this was necessary: […]
Guerilla composting with the Urban Farming Guys
Every year when the leaves fall off the trees, I find myself walking past a big pile of bagged up leaves and thinking I should take some home. Inevitably, I always come across the council’s efforts on my way somewhere, rather than on the way home. Like last year, the frost is here and I’ve […]
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