colchesterfoe | Food Chain Campaign

Fix the Food Chain

The National Campaign

Friends of the Earth is calling on Government to revolutionise the way we produce meat and dairy.

Factory farming demands massive amounts of soy, a key ingredient in animal feed. Most of this comes from huge plantations in Latin America, implicated in rainforest destruction. Communities are often forced off their land, to make way for crops used to feed animals.

Local Action

On 1st October 2010, we had a photo session at Colchester Farmers Market with our MP Bob Russell to show his support for local farmers, organic farming and the Friends of the Earth sustainable farming bill (EDM 367).

The Gazette and the EADT both had very good photos and articles reporting on this event.

Our MP Bob Russell at the Farmers' Market, with our members Hildegard Hill and Charles Bather, Jan Squire and stallholder Kate Gladwin (Photo by Andrew Partridge, from EADT article)

EADT article MP backs eco-farming campaign (JPG image) -- 26/10/10

See our press release, Organic farming for a healthy planet -- 30/9/10

GM crops raising levels of pesticides in food – report

As reported in ENDS on 2/5/11:

An increasing amount of herbicides and insecticides used on genetically modified (GM) crops imported into Germany is exposing consumers to toxic mixtures, according to a report released Saturday by German research group Testbiotech.

The group says herbicides like Roundup, which contain glyphosate as the main active compound, are applied to GM crops in greater amounts and in different ways compared with conventional plants. These herbicides also often mixed with polyoxyethylene alkylamine (POEA). Both are toxic, Testbiotech says.

The group says that GM crops that produce insecticides and those that are resistant to herbicides are resulting in an increased amount of harmful residues ending up in the food chain. Last month a European Commission report concluded that the EU is lacking good data on the use of GM crops.

The German food safety authority has advised farmers not to use glyphosate sprays in the cultivation of plants used for feed production. But this did not extend to imports of feed such as genetically engineered soy. Testbiotech says import of these soybeans should be banned until the risks posed by these pesticide residues are eliminated.

The EU is set to take decisions on several applications for GM market authorisation in the next few months, including a GM maize variety that is capable of expressing six different insecticidal toxins. Market authorisation for genetically engineered roundup-resistant soybeans from Monsanto is also expected to be continued.

Testbiotech called for glyphosate usage limits to be lowered significantly, and for residue controls to be introduced for imports. It also wants the Commission to examine the potential health effects from increased pesticide residues on GM crops. This should entail increased monitoring, it said.

Follow Up:
Testbiotech press release and report (in German, PDF)

The organic Lauriston Farm at Goldhanger

Pictures from our visit on 28th September 2013:
1. The North Ronaldsay Sheep of Lauriston Farm
2. Hildegard Hill with Duncan Gordon feeding the sheep at the organic and biodynamic Lauriston Farm at Goldhanger.

The farmer, Spencer Christy, had invited us to visit on our way round the estuary to the windfarm at Bradwell via Maldon at the end of September. The Blackwater estuary can just be seen over the seawall, where the sheep are allowed to go over on to the edge of the marshes.