Government Food Standards Don’t Match McDonald’s

November 18th, 2011 by Admin No comments »

Food campaigners have criticised the Government’s poor standards when it comes to sourcing its food. The RSPCA and the Soil Association amongst others have accused the government of failing to lead by example. This came after research showed that the compulsory ethical and environmental standards for the food served in public institutions were below those that fast food giant McDonald’s sets itself.

The research was carried out by the Good Food For Our Money coalition and the Government’s new ‘Government Buying Standards’ were compared to those of McDonald’s. The Government’s regulations cover food bought by prisons, parts of the military and various other departments. In all cases, the standards set by McDonald’s were found to be “equivalent or higher” than those of the government.

The co-ordinator of the campaign which represents over 60 organisations, Alex Jackson, said “These new standards are feeble. If the Government cannot even match McDonald’s food standards, how can anyone take seriously their claim to be the greenest government ever?”

The research has highlighted some notable individual cases:

  • Eggs that are purchased by the Government have to be laid in ‘enriched cages’ as a minimum but McDonald’s only use British, free-range eggs.
  • Milk bought by the Government only has to meet the UK legal minimum standards of production while only organic milk is used in Mcdonald’s food.
  • Only 50% of all the coffee that is bought by the government has to be fairly traded (i.e carry Fairtrade or Rainforest Alliance certification) whereas McDonald’s specifies that all of its coffee must be from these sources.

 

 

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Defra launches £20m grant for green farming

November 11th, 2011 by Admin No comments »

Defra has announced a new fund of £20m which will be used to help rural businesses “increase profits and reduce their impact on the environment”; Agriculture Minister Jim Paice launched the initiative which will ensure money goes to farmers, foresters and horticulturalists who can put a green spin on growing their business.

Part of Defra’s Rural Development Programme for England (RDPE), the Farming and Forestry Improvement Scheme will award grants of up to £25,000 to farmers for investment in ‘green’ projects and new machinery to make their enterprises more sustainable. The scheme was unveiled by Jim Paice at Harper Adams University College, Shropshire this morning.

The grants are intended to cover a maximum of half the total cost of a project in uplands areas and 40 per cent elsewhere. Defra also added that the grants would also be subject to a number of criteria that need to be. The department said the projects must result in either energy being saved or carbon emissions reduced. For example, eligible projects could be the better use of manure to reduce dependence on artificial fertilisers, initiatives to improve soil quality, water saving measures and improvements to animal health and welfare.

Landowners interested in creating sustainable forestry operations will also be eligible for a grant to give them a financial incentive to manage woodland in a way which improves biodiversity. The move has been welcomed by industry and countryside groups, including the Country Land and Business Association and NFU, who said the move was a logical one given the current economic crisis.

A CLA spokesperson said, “This is a welcome initiative which we understand will apply to a range of schemes from small bio-fuel projects and rainwater harvesting through to herd health monitoring technology and timber processing.”

Defra said funds will be allocated from now until December 2013.

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Farming Deaths Still Too High

November 2nd, 2011 by Admin No comments »

Farming is lagging behind other industries in reducing injuries and deaths, says the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). Three farm workers in Carmarthenshire, Ceredigion and Powys have been killed in the last year according to new accident figures.

“People in farming don’t have minor injuries; when they get injured it’s bad,” said HSE chair Judith Hackitt. Although it’s not a quick fix, Farming unions in Wales said they were working hard on the problem.

The HSE said its figures for 2010-11 showed three deaths in Wales; in 2008-09 there was one farming death, while in 2009-10 two fatalities were reported. In total across the UK, 34 agriculture workers were killed at work in the past year, down from 39 in 2009-10.

Agriculture accounts for one in five British workplace deaths even though farmers form less than 2% of the working population. In Wales the figure is slightly higher at 3%. Other industries that are potentially dangerous, like building or quarrying, have lowered the number of workplace deaths and injuries considerably over the last 10 years.

Farming however remains a problem.

HSE chair Ms Hackitt said getting people in agriculture to recognise just what a big problem safety was, was one of the reasons why farming had not mirrored other industries in reducing work-related injuries and deaths.

“When I said to the NFU that if I had sons I would not want them to work in agriculture, it really made them sit up and take notice,” she said.

Major agricultural injuries in Wales are also a problem and in the past year 25 were reported, the same as 2009-10. They are down slightly from 28 in 2008-09.

But there is some good news; Welsh farmers requiring more than three days or more off work due to injury fell to 18, compared to 25 in 2009-10 and 29 in 2008-09.

NFU Cymru held a farm safety summit with the Farmers’ Union of Wales (FUW), Wales Young Farmers’ Club, the Welsh government and the Royal Agricultural Benevolent Institution and others earlier this year.

Reacting to the latest figures, NFU Cymru president Ed Bailey said: “We are all agreed we have to raise the profile of farm safety in order to reduce this awful number of deaths announced today and the serious injuries we constantly hear about in the news.

“This is not going to be a quick-fix campaign unfortunately.

“All organisations involved in the farm safety summit are agreed we are in this for the long-term with a dogged determination to get farmers thinking of their safety – first and foremost.”

FUW president Emyr Jones said health and safety was a vital issue, and the union was working hard to highlight it.

He added: “Many farmers work alone, often in isolated areas, many jobs are routine in nature and when someone is tired after a hard day’s work attention to detail may slip and accidents can happen.

“The statistics for Wales make very worrying reading and highlight the need for us all to ensure that the health and safety message gets out there.”

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Weeds could be the farmer’s friend

October 5th, 2011 by Admin No comments »

Weeds are widely considered to be a pest by many farmers but scientists from Hull have recently proved that they are essential to the continued existence of many farmland birds, insects and animals.

The researchers found that seeds and flowers produced by the most common weeds on are a vital part of the ecosystem, supporting over 330 species of animal. By creating “food webs” linking all farmland creatures with seeds typically found on farms, the scientists showed the extent to which birds, insects and larger animals rely on plants commonly considered as ‘weeds.’

Dr Darren Evans, biologist at Hull, said, “We understand a lot about farmland birds and mammals, but little about the plants and insects that underpin them. In this study, we discovered not only the importance of weed and non-crop species for many farmland animals but that the vast majority of seed-feeding animals on farms are insects, which are often overlooked by conservationists.”

Uncultivated, semi-natural habitats on farm land, such as hedgerows and woodlands, promote biodiversity. However, the researchers said further small changes to cropped areas, such as allowing some weed species, could prove beneficial in increasing the quantity and variety of seeds for wildlife, maintaining a healthy environment.

Dr Evans, who led the study offered an overview and explained the implications of the work for sustainable land management policy. He told Farming Online, “Our study focussed on the birds, mammals and insects that fed on over 120 species of seeds and berries found on a typical organic farm. We found that more than 330 species use the seeds as a food resource, the overwhelming majority of which are invertebrates (82per cent) relying predominantly on non-crop and weed species. We found that small changes to

“farmland management, such as carefully allowing some weeds in cropped areas, are likely to have significant, positive knock-on effects for farmland ecosystems. Moreover this might improve natural pest control, although more research is needed. We suggest that rather than focussing agri-environment scheme conservation efforts on a small number of charismatic species, such as birds, an alternative approach is to understand and manage the complex network of species interactions on farms. This is still a distant target, but we look forward to a time in the future when it may be possible to manage farmland habitats more precisely, both for food production and for biodiversity.”

As part of the European Commission’s proposals for the reform of the Common Agricultural Policy leaked last month, farmers will be expected to devote at least 5 per cent of their land to ecological purposes, such as fallow land, buffer strips as well as maintaining permanent pasture.

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DEFRA Urges Clarity Over Food Labeling

September 16th, 2011 by Admin No comments »

Defra has released guidelines on how businesses should make the date labeling on their products much clearer. The main point is that only one label should be featured to make it less confusing for consumers. Defra secretary Caroline Spleman said the clearer date labelling policy would help shoppers save money and stop perfectly good food being thrown away.

The guide was published on the 15th of September in an effort to reduce the 8.3 million tonnes of UK household food and drink that is thrown away every year, by ensuring the right date marks are used on food labels. An estimated 60 per cent of this amount which equates to 5.3 million tonnes is perfectly fine to consume.

According to the new guidance, food packaging should only carry either a ‘use-by’ or ‘best-before’ date. ‘Sell-by’ and ‘display-until’ labels should be used only for stock rotation and retailers should therefore remove them.

Ms Spelman said, “We want to end the food labelling confusion and make it clear once and for all when food is good and safe to eat. This simpler and safer date labelling guide will help households cut down on the £12 billion worth of good food that ends up in the bin.”

Liz Redmond, Head of Hygiene and Microbiology at the Food Standards Agency also commented, “There is a lot of confusion amongst customers about date marks. We always emphasise that the most important dates are the ‘use by’ ones as these relate to food safety. This new guidance will give greater clarity to the food industry on which date mark should be used on their products while maintaining consumer protection.”

Defra said it hoped the food industry would ensure dates on their specific products were presented in such a way as to minimise confusion for consumers and reduce food waste, while all the time ensuring that the food is safe. Foods that will probably require a ‘use-by’ date include soft cheese, ready-prepared meals and smoked fish. Food likely to require only a ‘best-before’ date include biscuits, jams, pickles, crisps and tinned foods.

However, retailers have criticised the plans to end use of the ‘display until’ and ‘sell by’ dates. The British retail consortium suggested Defra instead focus on raising awareness of the meanings of the different terms

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Labour Launch Bid To Save Agricultural Wages Board

September 12th, 2011 by Admin 1 comment »

Labour MPs last night launched a bid at the eleventh hour to save the Agricultural Wages Board, which the government has decided to abolish. LAbour tabled an amendment to the Public Bodies Bill to try to prevent the scrapping of board, which acts on behalf of agricultural workers to negotiate wages and working hours.

The 13 MPs on the Public Bodies Bill Committee, which is tasked with deciding whether to scrap or save each of the victims of the tories’ “bonfire of the quangos,” decided against giving the wages board a late reprieve yesterday. Labour is also seeking to preserve the Commission for Rural Communities (CRC), another victim of ‘the cuts.’

The Public Bodies Committee will decide next week whether to save the CRC, although it voted not to save the AWB, which represents 154,000 workers. Labour hopes to force a vote on the issue later in the year in a last-ditch attempt to save the board. The Government has said its plans to expand a Rural Policy Unit within Defra would cover ‘countryside issues.’

However, this proposal has met with strong criticism from those who say this would leave no room for an independent voice, which the quangos provided. Without such representation, there is a fear there will be no-one in a position to challenge Government policy.

Shadow Environment Secretary Mary Creagh, MP for Wakefield, slammed the plans and the Tories’ unwillingness to renege on its decision. She said, “The row over planning reforms, along with the forests debacle, demonstrates yet again how out of touch the Government is on rural issues.”

She said the decision to scrap the two bodies was effectively “abolishing the independent voice for rural communities and creating a race to the bottom in wages for rural workers who are already feeling the squeeze.”

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MP’s Call for Ban on Non-Compliant EU Eggs

September 2nd, 2011 by Admin No comments »

MPs have called for an EU-wide ban on the export of eggs which do not meet new welfare standards for laying hens. The food and rural affairs committee said a third of eggs produced on the continent may not meet new rules outlawing conventional battery cages.

UK farmers complying with the rules could be at a disadvantage from cheap, illegal imports, it has warned. But British retailers have guaranteed farmers and shoppers they will not stock eggs that do not make the grade.

EU-wide rules coming into force in January require all farmers and producers to provide “enriched” cages giving birds more space, nesting and perching areas and other features enabling them to behave more naturally.

But British producers are concerned that more than 100 million hens will still be housed in battery cages by early next year and EU enforcement of the regulations will not be strict enough. In a new report, the cross-party committee points out that British farmers will have spent about £400m on improving conditions for hens and yet risk being undercut by rivals on the continent which have failed to do the same.

“The European Commission has just not woken up to the impact that non-compliance with this legislation will have on egg producers in the UK and across Europe,” said committee chairman Conservative MP Anne McIntosh.

“That money will be wasted and UK producers left at a competitive disadvantage if cheaper, illegal and non-compliant shell eggs and egg products can be imported to the UK from other EU countries.”

The UK government should press for a ban on the import of eggs from countries that do not comply, she added, as a sign of its strength of feeling about the issue.

“Several member states have not provided data to the commission about the preparedness of their caged egg producers and thus far, the commission has failed to deal with the threat of large-scale non-compliance across the EU,” she added.

There are an estimated 390 million laying hens across Europe. While nearly 45% of UK birds live in free range facilities, battery farming accounts for up to two thirds of production in some countries.

A ban on building new cages and using them for the first time has been in place since 2003 while the intention to phase them out completely was first announced in 1999.

‘Unacceptable’
Compassion in World Farming said countries had had 12 years to prepare for the new regulations and it was “unacceptable” that some were still calling for more time to adjust.

Earlier this year the commission said the 2012 deadline was “feasible” and it was in a “continuous dialogue” with member states to ensure they abided by it.

Brussels has said that any trade in non-compliant eggs “should be avoided” but any further measures to ensure compliance needed more consideration.

Imports account for about 20% of eggs consumed in the UK.

Retail groups have sought to reassure consumers that leading supermarkets will not stock battery caged eggs on their shelves or include them in their own-branded products.

“UK egg producers have worked hard to meet high welfare standards ahead of parts of Europe,” the British Retail Consortium’s food director Andrew Opie said.

“Retailers will not compromise on welfare standards when it comes to the eggs on their shelves.”

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£100m Renewable Energy Fund For Farmers

August 30th, 2011 by Admin No comments »

New figures released by Barclays bank reveal that 37% of the UK’s 200,000 farmers are expecting to invest in renewable energy, and the majority are planning to within 12 months. Farmers are further expecting the investment to generate returns averaging £25,000 per year.

Developed with sector specialists including National Farmers Union (NFU), the fund is available for solar, wind, and hydro projects in the UK, with Barclays including projected feed-in-tariffs (FIT) when assessing each loan.

“For farmers, investing makes sense – it’s good for the environment, but for the majority it makes good business sense” said Travers Clarke-Walker, Product and Marketing Director for Barclays Business. “Over the years farmers have found it hard to deal with low commodity prices and rising costs, and Barclays has already supported many farmers as they seek new ways of making money. Renewable energy production offers farmers a further opportunity to develop their farming businesses and add to their traditionally vital roles of producing food and managing the countryside.”

“What farmers see is a win-win – lower costs and increased income, and the majority expect the investment to pay for itself in under 10 years. Meaning they are looking forward to many further years of lower energy costs and a potentially new income as they sell energy back to the grid.

“When looking at a new renewable project, reliable technology, competent maintenance and management are all important considerations, though of course farmers should also keep an eye on the current feed in tariff rates offered to ensure it works for their business.”

Four out of five (80 per cent) of the farmers questioned recognise that renewable energy can provide significant cost savings, with 60 per cent expecting it to generate additional income for their business. In the medium term, increased investment in renewable energy appears even more likely, with Barclays predicting the costs of wind and solar projects to fall by up to 50 per cent in the next three to five years.

The new fund will support the government’s recent commitment for the UK to generate 15 per cent of its energy from renewable sources by 2020. In establishing the fund Barclays has worked closely with a number of organisations to develop this new fund, including the NFU, Country, Land & Business Association; Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors. The organisations will continue to be involved with the fund in an advisory capacity, and their views will be fed in to consideration for loan applications.

“The opportunities for farmers to produce renewable energy thereby helping to decarbonise the economy and contribute to the UK’s long-term energy security are there for all to see,” said Meurig Raymond, NFU deputy president. “Given the significant up-front costs of renewables technologies, commercial lending is essential to unlocking these opportunities, so it’s great to see Barclays committing to make additional funding to the sector”.

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Concerns Over Proposed Badger Cull

August 24th, 2011 by Admin No comments »

BadgersNatural England, the body who would be responsible for issuing licences to shoot badgers under Defra’s cull proposals, has expressed doubts over the efficacy of culling in reducing bovine TB in cattle. As part of its response to the Defra consultation on the cull, Natural England admitted it had a “low level of confidence” that badger culling would effectively tackle bTB.

In the response it acknowledged the dreadful cost of bTB on the farming community and its wider impact; the disease costs taxpayers £90 million annually, but said it did not believe that, based on the available evidence, the Defra proposals would eradicate or significantly reduce the disease’s impact.

The conservation body expressed misgivings over the methodology of Defra’s proposals, saying that, as ‘free-shooting’ running badgers differed greatly from the methods used in the randomised culling trial (RBCT) conducted by Lord Krebs, the outcome would not be consistent with the RBCT’s 16 per cent reduction.

The independent scientific group which oversaw the trial concluded, “reductions in cattle TB incidence achieved by repeated badger culling were not sustained in the long term after culling ended and did not offset the financial costs of culling. These results … suggest that badger culling is unlikely to contribute effectively to the control of cattle TB in Britain.”

Natural England instead recommended increasing cattle-based measures as per Defra’s recommendations in its bTB control strategy. To support this, it pointed out that up to 70 per cent of bTB breakdowns are of non-badger origin.

As well as questioning whether Defra’s farmer-led cull would work, the body posited that a cull could have a serious impact on wild badger populations. Badgers are a protected species and Natural England warned that populations could take decades to recover. This could incur hefty fines from the EU.

It recommended independent monitoring of the cull be carried out well beyond the pilot stage, further restricting the size of badger control areas and limiting the number of licences granted to fewer than ten a year.

Natural England did acknowledge that badgers’ “role in transmitting TB to cattle cannot be ignored,” and stated “in the absence, to date, of an effective cattle vaccine, all measures that are effective in minimising cross-infection between cattle and badgers must form part of any disease control strategy.”

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Farmers Embrace Social Media

August 22nd, 2011 by Admin No comments »

A recent survery conducted by JCB workwear has revealed over half of farmers use social media to promote their work. Increasingly, media and computer literate farmers are turning to social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook for a range of reasons, including sharing ideas, advice and news, and promoting their businesses.

1,000 farmers were interviewed in the survey and 53 per cent said they used social media to communicate with customers and raise awareness of issues affecting the industry. 87 per cent believed social networking was an effective tool, with some going further to say they used it as a “direct line” to policy makers, useful for showing the effects the economic downturn and rising input costs were having on the industry.

Of the reasons given for using the technology, the most common among farmers (given by 41 per cent of respondents) was flagging up farming-related issues. However, the farmers surveyed revealed social media has a variety of uses to the profession.

28 per cent of those who use social media said they do so to communicate directly with customers, 14 per cent use it to tackle rural isolation, 8 per cent as a direct line to policy makers and 9 percent said they use it for other reasons.

The survey also revealed that farmers are largely optimistic about the industry’s future, with 63 per cent describing their outlook for the future of farming as “positive.” However, a significant number (35 per cent) did say they were “worried” about the future.

The results show many farmers see social media as a way of promoting their business and publicising the issues affecting them. They also suggest such technologies will become ever more important to farmers, allowing more people in the industry unlock their potential in communicating directly with the public and face up to the issues affecting farming together.

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