Food and farming

Biofuelwatch is calling for a national week of action against the agrofuel industry from 26 January to 2 February.

Instead of organising a central protest, Biofuelwatch is encouraging local groups and activists to organise local protests and actions. These actions could include banner protests outside a Tesco or BP petrol station, or an biofuel refinery (the Biofuelwatch website provides a map of such refineries here). Other actions could include leafleting, street theatre in the city centre, press releases and letters to local media, or the screening of films regarding the issue.

Why not by learning how to grow delicious organic vegetables? The Brighton and Hove Organic Gardener Group (BHOGG) has just opened another allotment and welcomes anybody who wants to come along. BHOGG wants to practice, promote and learn more about organic gardening by organizing social events, workshops, presentations, visiting gardens of interest, and of course, by working in an allotment themselves. Once a month you can meet them to spend a green Sunday outside in an allotment to prepare and anticipate the Spring season. The vegetable and flower seeds planted are organic, and as they grow naturally in this climate, they do not need extra energy and fertilisers.

At the moment, British consumers can buy food from all corners of the globe, all year round. This is unsustainable. It is not economically viable or energy-efficient for most countries to depend heavily on a global food chain. Long distance transportation depletes oil resources and aggravates climate change. Widespread use of chemicals, and waste created by wrapping materials, harms the environment. Health may suffer from food's decreased nutritional value after long transport, and from the impact of chemicals on the body.

Lurid stories of bizarre animal hybrids tend to capture the media's attention, eclipsing the environmental implications of genetically modified foodstuffs. Raising awareness about the issues formed an important part of BPEC’s perma-culture open-day in December.