The Human Imprint

Open Farm Sunday

We are busy getting ready for Open Farm Sunday tomorrow. Open Farm Sunday is when farms open their gates to the general public to explain what they do. Last year 400 farms opened all over the UK to explain what farming is all about, how crops are grown and the range of food that is produced from in our case wheat, oil seed rape (canola) and potatoes.

We are having a farm walk followed by a cup of tea and refreshments and have invited the local community to come along. We won't know how many are coming to until the day and I guess it will be fairly weather dependent.

I will let you know how we get on with some pictures.

Rollo May said about communication that "Communication leads to community, that is, to understanding, intimacy and mutual valuing." I really like that thought!

The impact of water metering

The CIEH has published an article expressing their concerns over the installation of water meters by Thames Water. Thames Water’s plans to install water meters in 80 per cent of homes over the next 12 years. The CIEH is concerned that this will impact most on the poorer sections of the population because the proposal allows some customers to use as much water as they want whilst penalising less well off individuals. Thames Water has stated that it will trial differential tariffs and I believe that social tariffs are indeed key to ensuring equity whilst protecting our water resources.

The article suggests that alternative actions should also be taken by Thames Water including resource development and control of system leakage which the article suggests, by 2010, will still be the equivalent of the daily usage of 4.3 million customers. Thames Water is the UK’s biggest water supplier and plans to get 50 per cent of its customers on meters by 2015 and 80 per cent by 2020. 

Scientists look for ice on Mars

During my Nuffield study trip to the US, I spent a day at JPL, Pasadena home of the Mars exploration programme. I was talking with scientists about water exploration - fascinating. I will follow with interest NASA's Phoenix mission to Mars. To find out more check out the article at Nature.

Beryl Cook

It was as a child that I first fell in love with the paintings by Beryl Cook who sadly died on Wednesday aged 81. There was something magical about her paintings and their depiction of happy, well covered individuals such as dustbinmen, girls night out, and tenerife days. Her self-portrait is well known too. Beryl Cook communicated to me through her art in a way many other artists have failed to do maybe because she combined humour and pathos in the same image.

Emile Zola said that "The artist is nothing without the gift, but the gift is nothing without work". Therein lies the truth we can be given many innate gifts but only those who recognise their gifts and work to hone and improve them achieve great things. 

Organic milk study

The Telegraph reports on a recent report on the health benefits of milk from grass fed cows.  The study shows that what the cows eat affects the quality of the milk produced - I guess that is logical. In the winter the composition of the diet (the cows are inside) means that there is less difference in the nutrient content, but in the summer there is a greater variance. 

The Independent  reports that  grazing provided around 84 per cent of food for cows on organic farms in the summer, compared to 37 per cent for conventionally farmed animals. Silage (preserved grass which is mown in the late spring and summer and then stored and fed to housed cows) will lose some of the nutritional value of fresh grass and with rising fuel prices is now becoming much more expensive to make. There are some conventional systems in the UK that are based on grass fed systems such as those used in New Zealand.  It would be interesting to see if the nutritional difference is as pronounced with these systems.

The problem for the consumer is that at the point of purchase it is impossible to differentiate between production systems other than the simplistic "organic" or "conventional" and ultimately how does the consumer know the "time-frame" when the nutritional difference is worth paying for?

Food issues continue to be in the news

Reports on food continue to be in the news. There will be a summit next week in Rome for world leaders to discuss global food security. One of the objectives is to discuss the development of a global food fund and to develop policy with regard to biofuel production. The Guardian reports that there is concern that biofuel produced in the US is being sold at low prices in the EU affecting regional producers. The article reports that the biofuel could be subsidised by up to 11 pence per litre. It will be an interesting trade debate to follow in coming weeks.

Many countries are seeking to control food supply by implementing export controls including Argentina. Cambodia has lifted its two month export ban on rice. Rice futures trading on the Chicago Board of Trade tumbled 50 cents to below $20 per 100 pounds. This followed a fall of 50 cents the previous Friday. Marketwatch report that rice futures have almost doubled this year, with a record high of $24.46 per 100 pounds in April. However, despite this fall in the futures market the Guardian has an indepth report on the impact of rising food prices in the Philippines. Certainly a sobering account.

Nuffield report completed

Following yesterday's post about the drought in Spain I thought I would write a post to say that I have now completed my Nuffield Report: "Water: a vital resource". Water management is such an incredibly important subject and one that is set to be more critical in the future if climate change predictions hold true.

I have given a series of presentations already with one entitled "Water: the next oil" and have several more planned over the coming months.

Melamine incident cost $24 million in law suit

I wrote back in February on a sister blog about the melamine incident that caused the deaths of so many pets. Menu Foods who supplied the affected animal food has just settled a law suit for $24 million. The article reports that Menu Foods recalled 60 million cans of pet food, and expects their total expenses related to the recall to hit $55 million. Menu Foods has lost 89 per cent of its stock value since March 15th of last year, the day prior to the recall. What to Eat also links to this story and provides additional information.

Drought in Spain

The rain in Spain seems to have passed by. The Independent reports on the severe drought and the measures being taken to alleviate the problem. Tankers are bringing drinking water from Marseilles and water is being shipped across Spain. This report highlights the stark reality of lack of water and its impact.

Water shortages in Israel

Freshinfo reports that water allocations in Israel for fruit producers have been cut by 40 million cubic metres. Fruit producers suggest that this should not affect fruit exports to the UK,   but as much as 10% of fruit production could be lost.