Today's News - 04 October 2012

"Organic cotton is proven to deliver positive benefits for people and the environment. When it comes to making sustainability claims you can trust, nothing beats it."
Soil Association Policy Director, Peter Melchett – The Guardian – 4 October 2012
Have you #CottonedOn? Find out more about the benefits of organic cotton at
http://www.cottonedon.org/

Campaign to push organic cotton as sale rises
Today marks the launch of the world’s first global organic cotton campaign. Sales of clothing made from organic cotton rose in the UK by 2% in 2011, against the year before. The figures, published by trade body the Soil Association today, come as campaigners at the SA and Global Organic Textile Standard called on textile manufacturers and retailers across the world to produce and sell only certified organic cotton. The SA's policy director Peter Melchett will urge companies to support the new drive, which also aims to help consumers looking for ethically-produced garments, at the Sustainable Textiles conference in Hong Kong today.
The Guardian (4 Oct)
World’s first global organic cotton campaign launched
Major players in the international textiles industry are challenged to sign up to organic – the most reliable and trustworthy standard of sustainable textiles production.
Fibre2fashion (4 Oct)
Textile industry urged to join global organic cotton campaign
Exotextilenews (3 Oct)
Have you #CottonedOn? Find out more about the benefits of organic cotton at http://www.cottonedon.org/

How GMOs unleashed a pesticide gusher
GMO technology drove up herbicide use by £527m, or about 11%, between 1996 and 2011, studies show. A blog from Mother Jones, part of the Guardian Environment Network, asks: “When will Monsanto correct the absurd claim on its website that its highly lucrative technology has allowed farmers to cut back on herbicides?”
The Guardian (3 Oct)

In organic-hungry Hong Kong, corn as high as an elevator’s climb
As millions of Hong Kong consumers grow increasingly worried about the purity and safety of the fruits, vegetables, meats and processed foods coming in from mainland China, more of them are striking out on their own by tending tiny plots on rooftops, on balconies and in far-flung, untouched corners of highly urbanized Hong Kong. Organic food stores are opening across the city, and there is growing demand in the markets for organic produce despite its higher prices.
New York Times (3 Oct)

Dairy trade unites to publish landmark code of practice
Dairy farmers and processors have claimed a landmark breakthrough in supply chain relations with the publication of the industry’s long-awaited voluntary code of practice. The code – setting out new guidelines for contracts between farmers and processors – was agreed in principle during the summer under the former farming minister Jim Paice.
The Grocer (3 Oct)

Sainsbury warns on UK food prices
Britons face an increase in food prices this Christmas and a shortage in some traditional festive foods, J Sainsbury warned on Wednesday. Mike Coupe, trading director, said the wet weather over the summer had made it very difficult to plant crops such as potatoes, parsnips and carrots.
The Financial Times (3 Oct)

Fast food children ‘develop lower IQs’: Junk diet has a lasting effect, warn expert
The study, undertaken by an academic at Goldsmiths, University of London, found that parents with a higher socio-economic status reported that they gave their children meals prepared with fresh ingredients more often, which positively affected their IQ. Lower socio-economic status was linked to more children having fast food, which led to lower intelligence.
The Daily Mail (4 Oct)

Nursery Food Award
Snapdragons Nursery in Bath, who recently were awarded a Food for Life* Gold Standard Award, has won Nursery World’s ‘Nursery Food Award.’ The judges were “hugely impressed by the way Snapdragons has transformed its food provision,” with children participating in growing, preparing and cooking food, and visiting farms to learn where their food comes from.
Nursery World (1 Oct, p.31)
Read more about the Food for Life Partnership

Organic recipes
To prove that organic cooking need not be complicated or expensive Tefal has developed a couple of super simple recipes using all organic ingredients.
Happy Families Magazine (4 Oct)

Food and drink could rival oil and gas as Scotland’s biggest export
Food and drink could be set to “rival” oil and gas as Scotland’s biggest export, with nearly half of the country’s producers eyeing up new overseas markets for everything from whisky and water to salmon, crabs and beef.
The Scotsman (4 Oct)

Land acquired over past decade could have produced food for a billion people
Oxfam calls on World Bank to stop backing foreign investors who acquire land for biofuels that could produce food. Analysis by Oxfam of several thousand land deals completed in the last decade shows that an area eight times the size of the UK has been left idle by speculators or is being used largely to grow biofuels for US or European vehicles.
The Guardian (4 Oct)

Farming Today
One of the country's biggest traditional cheesemakers tells Charlotte Smith we face a serious food and farming skills shortage. The Environment Select Committee chair Anne Mackintosh MP discusses whether the Environment Agency is carrying out enough river maintenance and dredging in order to prevent flooding.
BBC Radio4, listen again (4 Oct)

And finally… Street food's next stop: the supermarket
Supermarket’s are intent on capturing the street food ‘vibe’ – from M&S’s banana leaf packaging and ‘pop-up range,’ to Waitrose’s ‘Good to Go’ range, inspired by street foods in Jamaica, Turkey, Vietnam and Morocco.
The Guardian (3 Oct)