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Greenhouse Weekly Round-Up

Sally Hill | 13.08.10

Episode 1: Creamy Eggs With Thyme -- powered by eHow.com

eHow has launched a new series called 'Grow Cook Eat' which demonstrates organic garden-to-table cooking. The video above walks you through how to make creamy eggs with thyme. Mmmmmm.

Speaking of delicious, naturally-grown food, things are gearing up for the 2010 Bristol Organic Food Festival who launched their new website this week. The festival boasts cooking demos by a host of celebrity chefs, The Food Market, the Kids Taste Experience Tent, a Sheep Show, and lots of surprises to entertain families and food lovers.

A new initiative called 'Carbon Calculated' provides software solutions for carbon and greenhouse gas management. It's an independent, free, open platform that aggregates carbon and green house gas emissions for "everything in the world", including passenger transport, raw materials and consumer goods. Definitely worth a look.

Energy secretary Chris Huhne lifted the ban on the sale of surplus electricity, giving local councils the lead in 'green energy revolution'. 

Here are the links we loved this week:

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organic food festival, eco hero, organic, anna shepard, climate change, george monbiot, richard leyland, chris huhne, yurt, carbon calculated

Greenhouse Weekly Roundup

Sally Hill | 27.08.10

As organic fortnight and the 2010 Bristol Organic Food Festival approach, there has been a flurry of discussion around organic issues.

While I'm sure the festival, 11th - 12th September, will already be highlighted on many people's calendars, it is interesting to take a deeper look at some of the reasons why it's important to support organic industries, and push organic food and products further into the mainstream.

Our Eco Hero this week was Arthur Potts Dawson, a champion of the organic issue as well as other related campaigns such as food waste. He has opened two sustainably-aware restaurants, Acorn House and Water House in London, and created the The People's Supermarket, a not-for-profit co-operative aiming to share cheap and good food.

Here are the food stories on our radar this week:

'Food Figures Need a Pinch of Salt'
An interesting article pointing out that the framing of global food shortages could fuel, rather than tame, harmful industrial agriculture
(BBC)

'Organic Food Comes of Age At Bristol's Organic Food Festival'
Held at Bristol Harbourside and celebrating its 10th anniversary, Europe's largest organic festival is a feast of food, drink and fabric that doesn't cost the earth
(The Ecologist)

'Great British Waste Menu'
New program on BBC bringing the issue of food waste, at every link in the food chain, to our attention
(BBC)

'Mediterranean Diet to be Awarded UNESCO Status'
The Mediterranean diet of olive oil, pasta, tomatoes and fish is to be awarded Unesco World Heritage status to safeguard it from the onslaught of junk food and foreign impostors, Italy's agriculture minister said.
(Telegraph)

And the other green stories we loved this week:

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organic food festival, organic, arthur potts dawson, soil assocation, the people's supermarket

Why (and how) to choose organic

Sally Hill | 31.08.10

You're in the market and two baskets of strawberries are on the shelf. One is organic, the other is not. What makes you choose one over the other?

Today, organic food is more present in the public consciousness than ever before. Most people get the general idea that food free from chemicals and pesticides is a good thing - for humans and the environment - but a lot of people still struggle with going organic.

Why? Aside from the issues of cost and availability, not to mention the rush of life that impacts our diet (ergo the success of fast-food), choosing organic means navigating an overload of facts, health advice and environmental and ethical concerns. That can be a bit daunting.

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organic food festival, organic, soil association, food, bristol

Greenhouse Weekly Roundup

Sally Hill | 03.09.10

This week saw a number of stories about energy companies investing in projects driven by the new feed-in tariff. We heard that Eaga is looking for 250,000 sunny roofs to power profit and Centrosolar joined the UK feed-in tariff gold rush.

At the same time, an open letter to Chris Huhne from a coalition of green groups urged the Energy secretary was not to cut the feed-in tariff subsidies, after suggestions they may be slashed. 

The exciting announcements from the Bristol Organic Food Festival continue with star chef Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall to appear at the festival and present the Soil Association's organic food awards.

If you want to be there, you can still win one of 20 pairs of tickets by entering Yeo Valley's competition.

Another story looking at the mainstreaming of organic asked 'Why is Organic Food More Expensive, and When Will it Change?', and Greenhouse put together a quick guide to 'Why (and how) to Choose Organic'.

Here are the links we loved this week:

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organic food festival, organic, yeo valley, solar, chris huhne, feed-in tariff, eaga, andrew simms, oil, bjorn lomborg

Eco Hero: Katy Davidson

Sally Hill | 08.09.10

When you think "youth" and "food," you are more likely to envision an obsession with fast-food burgers than you are a dedication to organic produce and sustainably-harvested fish -- unless you're Katy Davidson.

As the founding leader of the Youth Food Movement UK, Katy sees the future of food and farming -- which to her means the "realigning local and regional food systems with the principles of justice and sustainability" -- very much in the hands of young people. And in Youth Food Movement UK, she has the young people to prove it.

Leveraging her skills as the former leader of Slow Food Cornwall and from her current role as a marketing and PR manager at the Eden Project, Katy launched Youth Food Movement UK to give young people a platform for making a difference in the food world. They mesh fun and social conviviality with eco-gastronomy to create change.

Pleasure, music, taste, and art lead experiential activities celebrate and affirm the positives in our food culture, while highlighting and challenging the issues and injustices are also made central. Members participate in events around the country, engaging the public with their SkillShare programme. YFM UK welcome volunteers who would like to get involved at all levels of the organisation and if anyone wants to set up a regional group then they can get in touch and YFM UK will help set you up!

You can meet Katy and the team from YFM UK at this weekend’s Bristol Organic Food Festival, where they'll be running the Kids Taste Experiece between stand P19 and P7 in Millenium Square. They will also be running SkillShares where people can have a go at a variety of foodie skills.

As if Katy isn't busy enough, she also runs ‘Mangez-Moi’ a vintage styled oyster catering concession and master class service showing restaurants and individuals how to shuck, cook and appreciate oysters. As Philip Lowery of Real Food Festivals recently said, ‘What Katy doesn’t know about oysters could probably be written on the inside of an oyster shell!’ . Katy is determined that the oyster will become both popular and revered and that the ‘snot’ and ‘swallow it down in one’ myths will be banished for good!

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organic food festival, oysters, katy davidson, youth food movement

I ♥ THE ORGANIC FOOD FESTIVAL

Anna Guyer | 15.09.10

Not sure why I love the Festival so much every year. But I do – what a wonderful year it was again in 2010. Total sunshine, wonderful smells, tastes and flavours, the most passionate of producers, lots of people to see and hear about where their food comes from, and a real sense of being in all this together. For sharing, encouragement, good conversations, delicious food and an ambience that is almost impossible to beat.

Highlights of my show this year ...

Meeting the lovely Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall who gave his time for free to show his support for organic

Eating a Brown Cow burger on the steps watching the Sheep Show

Sampling the award winning wine from Vintage Roots – Crazy By Nature Red

Finding the gorgeous Spiezia body oil and bath oil – my favourite pampering product

Buying and sampling Green People’s Anti-Ageing Facial Oil – smells heavenly and great for my ageing skin already! 

Eating the award winning Bertinet Bakery bread with friends – it was defo the most delicious bread I have ever had

Organix winning award for Best Baby Food (Organic Banana Porridge – yum!)

So – thanks to all the wonderful producers and the organisers – it was a great Festival again this year.

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organic food festival, organic, soil association, hugh fearnley-whittingstall, organix, green people, bertinet bakery, spiezia, vintage roots ltd

Greenhouse Weekly Roundup

Sally Hill | 16.09.10

The Prince of Wales' 'Start' initiative has hosted a two week long sustainable living drive which saw a star-studded 'Garden Party to Make a Difference', the IBM green business summit, and the Prince himself touring the country.

As part of the initiative, there was an eco-car spectacular held in London. You may have been aware of the Bridgestone Eco Rally held earlier this year, and it was exciting to see the momentum continued with this event.

The Prince's eco rally was attended by celebrities, as well as auto and enviro experts including Quentin Willson, Kevin McCloud and Sir Stirling Moss,

With HSBC predicting that the market for alternatively-fulled cars to triple, we hope the potential of these incredibly innovative vehicles will soon realise their potential. The Prince's weeks spent supporting environmentally-friendly projects has certainly given these forms of transport another vital nudge toward the mainstream.

Here are the links we loved this week:

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organic food festival, eco rally, start