soil association news

Observer Food Monthly Awards
A number of Soil Association certified businesses have ranked in this year’s Observer Food Monthly awards including Riverford Field Kitchen, The Community Farm and Thali Café.
Observer Food Monthly, (16 Oct)
How a ten year revolution has put food at the heart of our national conversation
The Observer (16 Oct, p.32)


Britain’s best farm shops
The Times features a four-page pullout on Britain’s best farm shops, including a ranking of the top 30 places in the country to get fresh, local produce. Many of the top spots are occupied by organic producers including a number of Soil Association members.
The Times (15 Oct)

Buy tickets for the "Oscars of the food world"
The BBC Food and Farming Awards 2011 celebrates the best of Britain's food and drinks producers, cooks, markets and food shops. On 23 November at the NEC, Birmingham, some of the biggest names from the world of food will join Sheila Dillon, presenter of Radio 4's The Food Programme for the Awards ceremony. 30 finalists in 10 different categories will hear if they have become this year's winners. Two organic farmers are shortlisted for the BBC Farmer of the Year award - Adrian Dolby of Barrington Park Estate in Oxfordshire and Paul & Celia Sousek, who farm near Jacobstow in Cornwall.
BBC Food and Farming Awards 2011


Food Policy blamed for global hunger
The War on Want campaign group have called the UK’s food security policies as a “central cause of global hunger.”
Financial Times (17 Oct, p.2)


Green fingers lead to a healthier mind
A new report, commissioned on behalf of Boris Johnson, the London mayor, shows that growing vegetables and fruit is not just good for children's stomachs but also has enormous benefits for the mental and physical health of adults. The report concludes that "community-food growing groups and urban agricultural projects provide learning and training opportunities, help people with problems, as well as building confidence and social support."
Daily Telegraph (16 Oct, p.7)

Jamie Oliver: My mission to turn Britain into a foodie nation
Celebrity chef and food campaigner Jamie Oliver begins the first instalment of his weekly column for the Daily Mail’s Weekend section by looking at the links between food and health – including the health of the country.
Daily Mail – Weekend (15 Oct, p.10)

The night I ate out…of a bin
With annual food wastage now at £17bn, Charlie Cooper reports on ‘freeganism’ and asks: “Is all this waste really inedible?”
The Independent (15 Oct, p.18)

Movers and acres
The value of UK farmland has doubled in recent years, triggering a great increase in investment activity around rural real estate.
Financial Times – House & Home (16 Oct, p.1)

Truth about Tesco’s not-so-big price drop
Research has found that many products advertised as part of their recent ‘big price drop’ campaign are actually more expensive than before yet are still advertised as ‘bargains’.
The Times (17 Oct, p.3)

Consumers set store by ‘professional’ approach to shopping
Shoppers are clubbing together to buy in bulk from supermarkets, with more and more consumers looking to cut household costs.
Financial Times (15 Oct, p.4)

Farming Today
Charlotte Smith hears calls for school farm visits to be made compulsory. The Soil Association and The Countryside Alliance are name checked - both believe that every child should have the opportunity to visit a farm during their school life.
The Countryside Alliance says unless this happens the future of the countryside is under threat. The organisation Farm and Countryside Education tells Farming Today there is no requirement to teach anything about farming in schools, and they fear this is unlikely to change in the current review of the National Curriculum.
BBC Radio 4, Listen Again (17 Oct)

And Finally… stars of The Archers “not paid enough to live on”
A star of Radio 4 serial The Archers has claimed that its actors are not paid enough to live on due to low working hours.
Daily Telegraph (17 Oct, p.7)