As the ‘Beast of the East’ blows in, the British winter reminds us that it’s not done yet and ooh what a stinker this bit of cold is! Although looking out of my window, the freshly laid snow is strikingly beautiful. What’s amazing is that it seems to take everybody by surprise.
We are delighted to announce that our award-winning Master Composter project has just been granted a year’s extension to branch out into new regions of Cumbria.
Tea leaves are a good addition to the compost heap. However, tea bags are not. We have updated our advice on composting tea bags, with the knowledge that most bags include very small amounts of plastic.
Additional measures to control the disease Xylella fastidiosa came into effect on March 1st throughout the EU. These include annual inspections of plant nurseries and production sites, sampling and testing of plants before movement, and record keeping for three years. There will also be additional inspections of host plants if they are imported from outside the EU.
In a new and comprehensive report, The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), confirms that neonicotinoid pesticides seriously affect pollinators such as bees. This report will boost the call for tighter regulation of the chemicals.
France has announced that by 2022 at least half of all food bought by the public sector must be organic or locally produced. This includes food bought for use in schools, hospitals and prisons. The French Agricultural Minister Stéphane Travert announced the new rules as part of measures to boost the French farming sector, and to improve diets.
Garden Organic recently hosted the third meeting of the Southwark Food Power Alliance as part of the charity’s London Food Poverty – Southwark project, helping to fight food insecurity in the London Borough of Southwark.
"There is plenty of anecdotal evidence that growing and eating organic foods is beneficial to health. But proving this scientifically is difficult; do organically grown fruits and vegetables really differ enough from those grown conventionally to lead to demonstrably different health outcomes?" asks Garden Organic Trustee Dr Andrew Collins.
IFOAM (International Federation of Organic Agricultural Movements) has published a position paper on the new genetic engineering techniques.
Eight rivers in England are heavily contaminated with neonicotinoid pesticides (neonics) that threaten insects, fish and birds.