• home
  • posts
  • category
  • low impact food
  • Info, news & debate

    Low-impact food & drink posts

    The Trump administration is going to attack us if we try to restrict the imports of US genetically-modified food in any way

    Linda Kaucher of Stop TTIP | 14-Sep-2017 | 20

    Linda Kaucher of Stop TTIP UK recently alerted us to the fact that the US government is determined to go into battle with any country that tries to restrict imports of its genetically-modified food. Read more

    Should we be reliant on cheap foreign labour to work on our farms, or is there a better way to feed ourselves?

    Recently The Guardian ran an article by John Harris called “They say after Brexit there’ll be food rotting in the fields. It’s already started.” To summarise, John is saying Brexit has made the UK look an unfriendly place to our European neighbours and with the increasing financial fortunes of eastern European nations, farm workers are… Continue reading Should we be reliant on cheap foreign labour to work on our farms, or is there a better way to feed ourselves? Read more

    Haybox (retained heat) cooking and food safety

    Haybox cookers use retained heat to cook the food and save energy. They are also very convenient as food can be prepared and kept hot for hours and then served up when needed. This can be great when having friends for a meal Read more

    A matter of scale: how small farms provide more jobs and more food per acre

    Our new report, “A Matter of Scale”, highlights how a diverse and vibrant sector of small farms is providing employment, attracting new entrants and incubating entrepreneurs. Read more

    My plastic-free life: an interview with Kate Armstrong

    You may remember from our post in May that the month of June marks The Marine Conservation Society’s Plastic Challenge. But what is it actually like to give up plastic? We spoke to campaigner Kate Armstrong of plasticisrubbish.com about her decade-long journey towards and campaign for a plastic-free existence. Read more

    Two things you can do to help stop the encroachment of GM crops into the UK

    Linda Kaucher of Stop TTIP | 11-Apr-2017 | 4

    Glyphosate is the key ingredient in Monsanto’s ‘Roundup’, the product that farmers have to buy to apply to the genetically-modified crops that they’ve bought from Monsanto. Half of Monsanto’s profits come from Roundup sales. Read more

    Very worthwhile and interesting job available with the Open Food Network

    Are you interested in helping create food sovereignty in the UK? Would you like to help create food systems in which everyone has access to affordable, nutritious, culturally-appropriate food? Read more

    University meets WWOOF: An interview with student and WWOOFer Iona Desouza

    Hours spent in the library? Check. Essay and assignment deadlines flooding in? Check. Tractor driving, wool spinning and weeding at weekends? Check! Read more

    Would you like to be a chef on an organic farm / cafe, with a small cottage available too?

    Sinking into a bit of a depression about both the British and American situation this winter a wise friend kindly reminded me that these issues are merely a distraction from more important things in our everyday lives. Read more

    Interested in setting up a local food co-op? Mobile shop for sale, with free training thrown in

    We are a real food co-op in Dorset, and we have been delivering food via our trusty mobile shop, ‘the Charmouth Dragon’. We’re now taking the shop online with the good folks of Open Food Network UK Read more

    If ‘agroecology’ is such a good idea, how can we get the planning system to promote it?

    Daniel Scharf of Dan the Plan | 07-Feb-2017 | 2

    The planning system doesn’t currently differentiate between different types of agriculture, and maybe it should. The type of agriculture we prefer could be labelled ‘agroecology’ – but the problem is how to define it and how to get the planning system to recognise it, let alone promote it. Read more

    Wood-fired pizza van: free to a good home

    Ian Dowson of Proved Pizza Van | 02-Feb-2017 | 48

    I’ve had six years of self-employed catering with Proved Wood-fired Pizza, alongside working full-time in the housing and homeless sector. I originally wanted to sell the van/business to help fund going back to university as a full-time student. Read more

    Low-impact & the city 7: our experience of a local fishbox / community-supported fish scheme

    Dave Darby of Lowimpact.org | 06-Jan-2017 | 1

    You may remember that we blogged an interview last summer with Guy Dorrell, who set up a ‘fishbox’, or ‘community-supported fish’ project, called ‘Faircatch‘. After interviewing him, my partner and I signed up to his scheme to try it out. I’m now reporting on how the idea worked for us Read more

    New York Times: GM crops require more pesticides and don’t increase yields

    Dave Darby of Lowimpact.org | 27-Nov-2016 | 6

    I’ve been saying for a long time that GM crops do not increase yields and they don’t reduce pesticide use – because that’s not what they’re designed for. This report in the New York Times shows that I was right. Read more

    Progress? Is modern food production efficient (using poultry as an example)?

    We often hear it said that modern farming is efficient and results in low cost food on our table but how true is that? I would contend that there is an awful lot wrong with our food production and distribution systems in the west and the much vaunted efficiency is far from being the true… Continue reading Progress? Is modern food production efficient (using poultry as an example)? Read more

    This is how we should get our fish: interview with Guy Dorrell of ‘Faircatch’

    Guy Dorrell of Faircatch | 25-Jul-2016 | 1

    I went to visit Guy Dorrell from Faircatch the other day, and was truly blown away by what he’s up to. Now this is how we should get our fish. Here’s my interview with him. Read more

    Custard creams and the ‘network of global corporate control’

    Dave Darby of Lowimpact.org | 08-Feb-2016 | 19

    I bought a packet of custard creams the other day, and saw that they were made by a company called Crawfords. I wondered who Crawfords were and who ultimately owns custard creams. I have a general feeling that a small cartel of giant corporations owns more-or-less everything branded Read more

    Why the Real Farming Conference gave me grounds for optimism

    Dave Darby of Lowimpact.org | 09-Jan-2016 | 4

    Sometimes, when I’m sitting in front of my laptop screen, I forget how many great people there are out there doing wonderful things, and it’s easy to believe that we’re never going to get rid of this damaging system, and that it will eventually damage ecology so much Read more

    Live from the Real Farming Conference: why genetically-engineered food is about politics not science

    Dave Darby of Lowimpact.org | 07-Jan-2016 | 4

    I’m at the Real Farming Conference in Oxford, and I’m writing this as a session on GM food is taking place. I’m sorry to have missed it, but I fell into a conversation until it was too late to join the session. However, I know someone who attended that session, and she’ll hopefully write a… Continue reading Live from the Real Farming Conference: why genetically-engineered food is about politics not science Read more

    Live from the Real Farming Conference: Equality in the Countryside – a rural manifesto

    Dave Darby of Lowimpact.org | 06-Jan-2016 | 13

    I’m blogging from the Real Farming Conference in Oxford, in Oxford Town Hall. This is the seventh annual conference, set up as a counter to the corporate farming conference running at the university in Oxford. I wasn’t expecting such a huge affair – 850 attendees, with some fantastic sessions. Read more

    There’s a crash coming – a slap from Mother Nature. This isn’t pessimistic; it’s realistic.

    The human impact on nature and on each other is accelerating and needs systemic change to reverse.

    We’re not advocating poverty, or a hair-shirt existence. We advocate changes that will mean better lives for almost everyone.

    Sign up to our newsletter

    Facebook icon Twitter icon Youtube icon

    All rights reserved © lowimpact 2023