Today's news

01 July 2009

Wonky fruit and veg back on supermarket shelves after EU clarification:

Curvy cucumbers and knobbly carrots return to supermarket shelves tomorrow thanks to the abolition of EU rules on the size and shape of 36 types of fruit and veg. For 20 years EU-wide marketing standards have ensured that only the finest-looking produce reaches the shops. But to reduce red tape and bureaucracy - and make cheaper fruit and veg available as household bills rise - Eurocrats are lifting unnecessary restrictions.
Patrick Holden, Soil Association director, is quoted in The Independent newspaper, “This will be a fantastic step, especially for organic growers. We are about inner quality, not outer appearance – that is our hallmark. Fresh, local and seasonal is better then a bland but cosmetically perfect piece of fruit or veg.”
The Independent (1 July, p.9)
Daily Telegraph (30 June)
Daily Express (1 July, p.29)
Financial Times, news in brief (1 July, p.4)
Ben Raskin, Soil Association horticultural advisor, was interviewed on the issue:
BBC News Channel (30 June, 12.30pm)
BBC Radio Wales news (30 June, 5.35pm)

The Money Programme on food shopping habits in the recession

In last night’s Money Programme Greg Wallace investigated how food shopping habits have changed in the recession and how people trying to spend less on food has led to the rise of budget lines and struggling local shops. James Twine, commercial director of Soil Association Certification Ltd, was interviewed about the organic market and how much more needs to be done to educate consumers about the many benefits of organic food and farming. The programme reported that sales of organics had gone down but ethical shopping was still on the increase. Chief exec of The Coop, Peter Marks said, “People are more aware of their shopping behaviour, they don’t just dump their values in a recession. The evidence is in our ethical sales which are increasing.”
A family featured on the programme who usually spend £100 a week on food online at Tesco. The mother tried three alternative shops –Tesco value, local highstreet and frozen foods. Food from her local high street was the same as her weekly online shop at Tesco, £100, whilst Iceland and Tesco value both came to about £75. Her verdict of Tesco value mince was ‘inedible, yuck’
The Money Programme, ‘Greg Wallace's Recession Bites', BBC2, watch again on BBC iplayer (30 June, 10pm)
Recession bites into eating habits
BBC News (29 June)
Soil Association’s top tips for organic on a budget, click here
Organic market report 2009, click here
 

EU authority says GM maize is safe

The European Food Safety Authority, the EU's top scientific body, pushed aside doubts raised by several member states yesterday as it concluded that MON810, the only genetically-modified maize cultivated in Europe, was as safe as traditional corn crops.
Financial Times (1 July, p.6)
Soil Association comment: The effects of MON810, which is engineered to produce a toxin to kill insects, are uncertain and controversial. Peer reviewed research has demonstrated negative effects on organisms in the environment, on soil health and on aquatic ecosystems in rivers. ‘Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) crops' also cause insect resistance to the toxin they produce, potentially posing problems for farmers.

Hot spell attracts the green invaders

The worst plague of greenfly for over 25 years has hit Britain. The hot weather has helped bring billions of the tiny pests, which feed on a quarter of garden plants species. John Hughes, from Shropshire Wildlife Trust said: “These are the perfect conditions for greenfly.” Horticulturalist Nick Foulkes-Jones, from Hall Farm in Kinnerley, Shropshire, said: “We’ve never had it quite so bad.” Andrew Salisbury, of the Royal Horticultural Society, offered some hope. He said: “By mid-summer there should be more ladybirds around and the numbers of greenfly should begin to drop.”
Daily Express (1 July, p.17)

Vegetarians less likely to develop cancer than meat eaters, says study

Fresh evidence from the largest study to date to investigate dietary habits and cancer has concluded that vegetarians are 45% less likely to develop cancer of the blood than meat eaters and are 12% less likely to develop cancer overall.
The study, published in the British Journal of Cancer, is part of a long-term international study, the European prospective investigation into cancer and nutrition (Epic).
The Guardian (1 July, p.9)
The Daily Telegraph (1 July, p.6)
Daily Express (1July, p.19)
Daily Mail (1 July, p.33)
BBC Radio 4 Today Programme – listen again
 

Phosphate and potash use still in decline

The newly published Annual Survey of Fertiliser Practice 2008 highlights a continuing decline in the use of phosphate and potash. The survey found that half of UK soils have a deficiency in potash, and a third have a deficiency in phosphate.
The Herald (1 July, p. 22)

Food drives up the cost of living

Sharp rises in food prices have pushed up the minimum cost of living twice as fast as the rate of inflation over the past year, a report from the Joseph Rowntree foundation reveals. The charity, which introduced the concept of a minimum income standard in 2008, says it is now harder to live on a low income than it was last year.
The Guardian (1 July, p.22)
 

Farming Today, BBC Radio 4

Website summary: Bendy cucumbers and knobbly carrots are now back on our shop shelves; EU rules preventing oddly-sized or misshapen fruit and vegetables being sold are being scrapped. This will apply to 26 products including cauliflowers, mushrooms and melons. At the moment, about 20 per cent of produce is rejected by stores across Europe because it fails to meet the current requirements. Anna Hill investigates the impact this will have on farmers and shoppers. Also, we examine new proposals for strict controls on the growing of genetically modified crops in Wales.
Listen again (29 June)

And finally…Green living: 19 ways to save the planet

The Sustainable Development Commission, headed by Sir Jonathan Porritt, said the Government could meet targets on green living by providing happiness lessons, free bicycles and growing vegetables in public flower beds.
The Daily Telegraph (1 July, p.8)