Green Pig, The Green Food Project and a joint initiative between the Government, environmental and consumer organisations

Does anyone know much about this? I would love to hear more.

The Green Food Project
‘We will bring together government, industry and environmental partners to reconcile how we will achieve our goals of improving the environment and increasing food production. We will publish our conclusions within the next 12 months.’ (NEWP pg 24, paragraph 2.46)

The Green Food Project is a joint initiative between the Government, environmental and consumer organisations, and the food and farming industry. It is looking at the challenge of how we can increase food production in England, whilst simultaneously enhancing the environment, and how we might reconcile any tensions that this challenge raises. A Natural Environment White Paper commitment, the Government wants to use the project to shape its policy work on food and farming, and the way in which we contribute to the global debate on food security.

example..................
Green Pig (LK0682). This project has shown that soya bean meal can be replaced entirely by peas or beans in nutrient-balanced pig diets.
also...........
Background

The Foresight Report on the Future of Food and Farming examined the approach that needs to be taken to ensure that a rise in global population can be fed sustainably. At a domestic scale, there is a need to consider how the UK can make a contribution to global food security and environmental improvement.

The Green Food Project has been initiated in response to the Foresight report and to a commitment that has been made in the Natural Environment White Paper, published in June 2011:

‘We will bring together government, industry and environmental partners to reconcile how we will achieve our goals of improving the environment and increasing food production. We will publish our conclusions within the next 12 months.’ (NEWP pg 24, paragraph 2.46)

Through this project, Government and organisations involved in the project are aiming to help deliver a more strategic framework for agri-food policy going forward.
http://www.defra.gov.uk/publications/files/pb13756-sustainable-live...

also

http://www.ahdb.org.uk/projects/GreenFoodProject.aspx

practicing and promoting 'Pasture' reared

"practicing and promoting 'Pasture' reared high welfare and sustainable environmental standards within farming to enhance the quality of life for farm animals, the quality of food we produce, the natural fertility of the soil and the biodiversity within urban and rural landscapes."

The Lexicon of Sustainability™ - social idea connecting users to innovative ideas and solutions in a dozen sustainability areas: Food & Farming to Clean Tech, Health & Lifestyle to Manufacturing, Water to Waste, Public Policy to the Environment.

Try this for sound ideas

http://www.lexiconofsustainability.com/ideas/

Problem

A SOCIAL NETWORK OF IDEAS

The Lexicon of Sustainability™ is now building a social content platform connecting users to the key innovations, products and people driving the sustainability revolution.

Problem

We live in a world of finite resources and our current way of living is not sustainable.  We need new ideas.
Sustainability is not a trend.  Every business sector, from manufacturing to waste, energy to water, transportation to our food system, is searching for more sustainable solutions.  The ideas and innovations that define this movement will catalyze the new economy.
Despite this need for information and community among both producers and consumers, the Internet has yet to capture this vital conversation on a single website.

Solution

The Lexicon of Sustainability™ is an easy-to-use social idea platform connecting users to innovative ideas and solutions in a dozen sustainability areas: Food & Farming to Clean Tech, Health & Lifestyle to Manufacturing, Water to Waste, Public Policy to the Environment.  
You will be able to:
* add your own definitions and terms to the Lexicon, then moderate the conversations that grow around your ideas
*subscribe to your key areas of interest and even receive notifications about new ideas and innovations 
* shop in our “goods and services marketplace”
*participate in site-wide challenges with other users that allow you to apply sustainable principles and solutions to you own life

Opportunity

Sustainability is not a buzzword. It is the new reality.  Those who are meeting its challenges will become the architects of a new economy.  The sustainability audience is highly educated and socially engaged. They are doers, active participants not only on the web but in the real world.
A few websites, including Grist, Treehugger, and Alternet, cover elements of this sustainability conversation, but these are essentially curated blog sites with no social network functionality or community development. Despite their limited scope, each has approximately 4 million unique monthly web visits. By incorporating social network functionality and Facebook integration, along with additional revenue streams from content licensing and sponsorships, we can capture and own this audience, with projected total gross revenues of $30.7 million by our fifth year of service.

Competitive Advantages

The Lexicon of Sustainability’s advantage over competitors is threefold:

• Acceptance by Leaders in Sustainability Movement: We have already secured the contributions and participation of 150 key thought leaders in “Food and Farming”, the first module to be released on the platform

• Multi-Platform release strategy: The Lexicon’s content is uniquely designed for delivery on mobile devices, web browsers, on television and in print

• Executive team with necessary experience to build and deploy a robust social content platform

To learn more about the project, contact douglas [at] lexiconofsustainability [dot] com.

Next UpFood Chain

site by Lyra Designs

Farm to Table

When communities pay closer attention to where our food is grown and how it reaches our table, and people re-discover the "localness" of all thatʼs around them, food suddenly has a sense of place. Farms and restaurants build close relationships, strengthening their local economies and forging new cultural identities for their communities ... all based on food.

 

experiments that demonstrate waters role' by Philip Kilner

Example
'Various water experiments that demonstrate waters role' by Philip Kilner

The Kilner single cavity
Design by Philip Kilner

 

More details on flowforms at:
www.flowforms.com

rear and keep egg laying hens on 'Flowformed' water

Just to explain, aim is to rear and keep egg laying hens on 'Flowformed' water. Can't be any worse than ordinary tap water but with the varied natural diet of an extensive system they may 'potentially' be healthier hens and eggs.
I do have a few forms for demo and trials if anyone may be interested for their own project.
http://flowforms.com/

 

Farm Academy hen house takes shape in Greenwich

Farm Academy hen house takes shape. 'Men in Sheds' from Eltham are putting together this great purpose built house in Kidbrooke to sit alongside the bees and greenhouses. A great project for them with the help from Growing Greenwich and myself.

 

A bit about 'Men in Sheds'

Every man needs a shed!

The Men's Shed concept originates from Australia and brings together older, isolated men in a space with which they are comfortable. They can socialise and carry out activities that bring benefit to the local community and charities.

We are currently running our Men in Sheds project in the London Borough of Greenwich. Some planned activities include recycling second-hand materials into gardening containers, trugs, bird tables and boxes.

Men can meet up to use their existing skills, learn new skills, share ideas or just put the world to rights over a cup of tea. It's about friendship, fun and getting out.


We welcome the involvement of volunteers with an interest or experience in any of the following: sourcing recyclable items, woodwork, design, marketing or IT skills.

If you would like further details on the Men in Sheds project, please click here. You can also contact Pauline Cahill (Project Co-ordinator) on 020 8294 3017 or email pauline.cahill@acgreenwich.org.uk
 

 

fab way to grow more and use resources

I like this a lot and it is another form of something I've always been keen on

Alys Fowler: the joys of hugelkultur (or rotting wood to you and me)

A remarkably successful alternative take on the raised bed, using an old wooden trunk and very little effort

'A damned happy habitat': In simple terms, hugelkultur is little more than a raised bed with very steep sides.                                                                                                                                            Photograph: Simon Wheeler

When I moved on to my plot, I inherited a leylandii trunk that was far too big to cut up by hand. It was at best something to perch on, which is exactly what I did with it until I read Sepp Holzer's Permaculture (Permanent Publications, £18.95). Here I found my solution: a raised bed that looks after itself. Powered by rotting wood, it needs no feeding or watering for years. It's called hugelkultur, and it works remarkably well.
Hugelkultur, in simple terms, is a raised bed with very steep sides. Deep at the centre of the bed is rotting wood, brush or other bulky organic material, covered with upturned turf and topsoil. The wood at the centre acts like a sponge, absorbing water and releasing heat as it breaks down. It also feeds the bed, slowly releasing nutrients. It's best if the wood is a whole trunk, because this rots slowly and steadily, rather than all at once (which is what happens if you use bark chippings).
The wood has to be buried deep, though, or you get a huge amount of nitrogen lock-up. As wood breaks down, it robs nitrogen from the soil to aid decomposition; once broken down, it releases it again, but that is some time away and nearby plants may struggle, especially if they're trying to establish themselves.
My trunk was 10ft long, a foot or so across and just beginning to rot, so perfect for the job. It was buried to where the soil changed colour and became heavier, and on top went brambles, twigs, more brush and very rough compost and autumn leaves. I also put in some nettle and comfrey tops, to help with potential nitrogen lock-up issues. I had no turf to hand, so a layer of grass clippings and then topsoil went on top.

I have not watered or fed anything, and yet I harvest well. It is also rich in wildlife, acting as a giant beetle hotel. And when you dig around, you can see find strands of mycorrhizal fungi going to work on the wood. In short, it is a damned happy habitat. As the motto goes, "Feed your soil and it feeds you."

full article is inline at: http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2012/sep/07/hugelkultur-permaculture-gardening-alys-fowler