Find me now elsewhere August 26, 2008
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I’m off to a different site, a different mode of blogging but you can find me at matt-reed.co.uk. This has been a great facility but times change, so a different sort of blog is needed, hope to see you there.
Hugh, the cost of chicken and finally some bare knuckles. June 9, 2008
Posted by organicresearcher in Organic.Tags: animal welfare, farming, Food, Organic, supermarkets
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The BBC are reporting, on a email that went around early this morning, that Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall, is being faced with a £80k+ bill for trying to get a resolution through Tesco’s AGM forcing them to improve chicken welfare.
I have become, in spite of some my initial mis-givings a big fan of Hugh’s efforts. I know shop at his store, and in the winter have a coffee there, as well as watching his shows. During the winter he and Jamie O proved to be a real thorn to the supermarkets with their ‘chicken out’ campaign, so that Tesco’s have finally decided to take the gloves off is no real surprise, in fact it is welcome. The conflict between those who want better food and farming is often painted in colours that are pretty genteel, when in fact is about peoples’ bodies and livelihoods. So take part in the auction or just donate to get the resolution through.
Peak Food – idea and blog June 2, 2008
Posted by organicresearcher in Organic.Tags: farming, Food, peak food
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I’ve been seriously thinking about the implications of ‘peak food’, and found the blog of the same name.
This is not to dismiss the idea but it is one that does appear whenever there is a perceived crunch in resources, so during the 1930s several books were written forecasting global hunger in pretty short-order, then again during the 1970s a similar thing happened. Often this goes along with the idea of desertification – which for europeans particularly is a cultural symbol of the waste land, the opposite of the green and pleasant landscape we know so well.
I’m going to track a copy of the book down, and probably review it here when I get chance.
So it starts … May 30, 2008
Posted by organicresearcher in Organic.Tags: book, Organic, writing
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As I have been hinting at for some time, or rather straight forwardly saying, I’m writing a book. I’ve been working at it piece meal for some time but I’m now about to give more of my time to it in an effort to get a manuscript in shape.
I’m excited by the challenges that the book presents, not just knocking out words in form that people will want to read but also of putting my ideas down and taking them to a wider audience.
I’ll put some of the ideas up on the blog, to form a record of how they develop.
At the moment I’m thinking about the organisation of a social movement, of how you need place for people to meet exchange ideas, and develop the sense of fellow feeling that is necessary for a movement to exist. It is striking that research farms have played a real important role in the early years – think of Haughley Research Farms right through to FiBL. The problem with research farms is that they are that – farms – places that are generally in rural areas, difficult to get large numbers of people to and are focussed on questions of production. The change in the early 1970s to a focus on retailing and certification allowed the social life of the movement to change, it literally gave people other places to me and commercial organic farms also mean that there is a group of full time activists involved in the process.
organic futures blog May 19, 2008
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Hero Farmers – tools organic for conversion May 7, 2008
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The Rodale Institute has an exciting new initiative which is encouraging farmers to make the transition to organic. What impresses me most is the range of tools that they are offering to help make the calculations to help people make the decision, the on-line conversion course looks really interesting – check it out.
Delicious Hospital Food ? April 15, 2008
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Don’t believe it, check this post out and whilst you are there, take a look at what is a really excellent and interesting site.
Diggin your Dinner April 14, 2008
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Garden Organic have teamed up with ’seeds of change’ in some joint food/organic gardening promo – you see about it here.
