“With the collapse of some important fishing grounds, marine scientists are coming to recognise that what really matters is the wider ecosystems and environmental context.”
On the growing recognition of the links that bind ecosystems. Financial Times, 27 November 2009

Sheepdrove comment: This is way out of date… the ecologists have known for a long time how important ecosystems are, and they’ve been telling us too. We thought it was common knowledge that human activities are bound to a reliance on natural systems. Has the FT only just caught up?

RSPB calls for action on bird losses from industrial fishing
Concern is growing about the huge number of seabirds being killed by fisheries in the North Atlantic and the Mediterranean, the RSPB said yesterday. Conservationists traditionally focus on southern oceans, but there is mounting alarm over the numbers of northern species falling victim to large-scale industrialized fishing methods. The Independent (27 Nov, p.21)

Farming Today
Website summary: Charlotte Smith asks whether sustainable agriculture, whilst being better for the environment, is going to provide enough food to feed the world. BBC Radio 4 listen again

Sheepdrove comment: The alternative is… unsustainable agriculture?

Grass-fed livestock… animals that the Lancet forgot!

A government u-turn was swiftly undertaken yesterday, following a report published in The Lancet. Embarrasing conflicts of opinion emerged from different UK goverment departments. 

The health department funded a study which proposed we should eat less meat, to reduce numbers of ruminant livestock (which belch out methane, a powerful greenhouse gas) and therefore counteract the health hazards of both climate change, and heart disease!

Alan Dangour, one of the authors of the report and a senior lecturer at the London School of School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, said that a dramatic change could be made without giving up meat.
“We are not saying become vegetarian, we are just saying cut back on the amount of meat and meat products you eat.” “Even cutting back by a third, as we suggest, would still mean that the average adult was still eating one meat based meal every day.”

The report recommended cutting ruminant livestock by almost one-third, saying this would allow the agricultural sector to meet its share of targets to cut carbon emissions by 50 per cent by 2030.

Defra, however, had not been consulted. They have now pointed out that British farmers won’t be happy about the idea of less livestock in the UK. They also highlight the fact that cutting Britain’s cattle and sheep should not necessarily be prioritised ahead of reductions in the more damaging phenomenon of rainforest-clearance beef herds in tropical regions.

The Defra panic –  BBC News (25 Nov)

James Landale reports that Defra had to act to calm worried farmers: ‘A senior official sent out an email telling them not to worry about the Lancet report: “This, as we know, rather over-simplifies a complex issue and I don’t think that Andy Burnham has actually said anything that supports the headline that govt supports a 30% reduction in farm animals.”’

Soil Association comment:

The Soil Association’s report on soil carbon, released today, shows that grass-fed livestock has a critical role to play in minimising carbon emissions from farming – which should be set against the methane emissions from cattle and sheep. This is because grasslands for grazing livestock represent vitally important carbon stores.

Sheepdrove comment:

Grass-fed animals on permanent pastures in Britain are far more sustainable than grain-fed livestock in the USA, for example. Therefore eating less meat is too simple a concept. It is more important than ever to choose carefully where your meat comes from. Read more about grass-fed livestock…

“Unless we are successful in tackling climate change, we won’t be able to feed the world’s growing population, however we farm. This report shows that agriculture can reduce greenhouse gas emissions while producing food sustainably.”
Patrick Holden, Soil Association director

‘Organic farming may counter climate change’

Organic farming can play an important role in countering climate change, a new report suggests today.

Use of organic methods means that the soil takes up much more carbon, which would otherwise be released into the atmosphere as carbon dioxide to boost global warming, according to the report from the Soil Association, the organic food and farming charity.

Soil is a major store of carbon, the report says, containing three times as much as the atmosphere and five times as much as forests. About 60 per cent of this is in the form of organic matter in the soil. On average, organic farming produces 28 per cent higher levels of soil carbon compared to non-organic farming in northern Europe, according to the report, and 20 per cent higher for all countries studied (in Europe, North America and Australasia).

The report suggests that widespread adoption of organic farming practices would offset 23 per cent of the UK’s greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture through soil carbon sequestration alone, more than doubling the Government’s target of a 6-11 per cent reduction by 2020.

If all UK farmland were converted to organic, the report says, at least 3.2 million tonnes of carbon would be taken up by the soil each year – the equivalent of taking nearly 1 million cars off the road.

The Independent (26 Nov)
Organic farming has ‘profound effect’ on climate change
Farmers Guardian (26 Nov)
Soil Association press release: Soil Carbon – the missing link in COP 15 (26 Nov)
To read the full report and summary of findings click here

Press Release
Soil Carbon – the missing link in COP 15

Thursday 26 November 2009

New research from the Soil Association reveals that if all UK farmland was converted to organic farming, at least 3.2 million tonnes of carbon would be taken up by the soil each year – the equivalent of taking nearly 1 million cars off the road.

Patrick Holden, Soil Association Director, said:
“Unless we are successful in tackling climate change, we won’t be able to feed the world’s growing population, however we farm. This report shows that agriculture can reduce greenhouse gas emissions while producing food sustainably.

“Our findings add fresh evidence to the strong case for agri-environmental farming made in the IAASTD Report, produced by 400 international scientists and endorsed by the UK Government.”

According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), 89% of agriculture’s global greenhouse gas (GHG) mitigation potential is from carbon sequestration – a fact that Governments seem to be ignoring in the critical run-up to climate change talks in Copenhagen (COP 15) in December.

The research’s key findings are:

• On average organic farming produces 28% higher levels of soil carbon compared to non-organic farming in Northern Europe, and 20% higher for all countries studied (in Europe, North America and Australasia).
• In the UK, grasslands and mixed farming systems also have a vital role to play, and soil carbon may go a long way to offsetting the methane emissions from grass-fed cattle and sheep.
• The widespread adoption of organic farming practices in the UK would offset 23% of UK agricultural emissions through soil carbon sequestration alone, more than doubling the UK Government’s pathetically low target of a 6-11% reduction by 2020.
• A worldwide switch to organic farming could offset 11% of all global greenhouse gas emissions. Raising soil carbon levels would also make farming worldwide more resilient to extremes of climate like droughts and floods, leading to greater food security.

Peter Melchett, Soil Association policy director said:
“This research underlines the immediate and profound effect that organic farming techniques could have in reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the UK and globally.

“Climate change means that business as usual in our food and farming systems is no longer an option. To minimize tropical deforestation and maximize soil carbon sequestration we need to move to healthier diets based on unprocessed, seasonal produce and grass-fed meat in moderation rather than intensive poultry and pork.

“With dietary shifts we could feed the world sustainably, address the health and diet-related ill-health time bomb, and help meet our GHG targets. This should provide a no-brainer basis for inclusion in the COP15 treaty.”

Ends

For press enquiries please contact press@soilassociation.org or call
Clio Turton, press office coordinator: 0117 914 2448
Jack Hunter, press and e-comms officer: 0117 314 5170

Notes to editors:

[1] Read the full report and summary of findings here:
http://www.soilassociation.org/Whyorganic/Climatefriendlyfoodandfarming/Soilcarbon/tabid/574/Default.aspx

[2] Soil carbon facts & figures:

• Soil is a major store of carbon, containing three times as much carbon as the atmosphere and five times as much as forests. About 60% of this is in the form of organic matter in the soil.
• The large size of this store means that soil carbon changes can have significant effects on the level of atmospheric CO2. Each 1% increase in average soil organic carbon levels could in principle reduce atmospheric CO2 by up to 2%.
• Soil carbon losses account for a tenth of all the CO2 emissions by human activity since 1850. However, unlike the losses of carbon from the burning of fossils fuels, the soil carbon store can be recreated.
• The principal component of the soil carbon store is humus, a stable form of organic carbon with an average life-time of hundreds to thousands of years.

Organic turkey is recommended in the green Christmas guide in this month’s Ecologist Magazine. How to be festive and green… (The Ecologist )

Get your organic turkey from Sheepdrove Organic Farm.

Place your order before time runs out…
17 Nov 2009

The Nutcracker is coming to Sheepdrove! This enchanting Christmas story comes to life with a very unique musical storytelling, on 4th and 5th December 2009. Delicious refreshments are included in the price of the ticket.

These are the only two dates available for the performance. Book now – don’t miss this chance to see a unique Nutcracker production!

Visit our website for more event details…
For bookings please call 01488 674737

The Soil Association has published a new report, Food Futures: Strategies for resilient food and farming.

It calls for a new cross-Governmental food strategy, and includes a series of recommendations for building resilience into our food systems including:

• Raising the target for greenhouse gas cuts in agriculture from 6% to at least 20% by 2020, in line with other sectors;
• Increasing farm payments to those farmers who maximise carbon storage in the soil – and making the minimisation of soil carbon losses a condition of the Common Agricultural Policy subsidy payments;
• Increasing research and development funding for sustainable farming from 11% to at least 50%;
• Promoting healthy diets linked to the outputs of a more sustainable food system – i.e. less meat and much more seasonal and organic vegetables, fruit, wholegrains and starchy carbohydrates (with red meat and dairy reared on grass preferable to intensive pork and poultry reared on grain);
• Supporting public sector caterers to increase the amount of unprocessed, locally-sourced and organic food they serve; and
• Encouraging local authorities to re-introduce ‘growing belts’ and market gardens close to urban centres – and create more allotments to encourage family and community ‘grow your own’ initiatives.

The Soil Association’s Policy Director, Peter Melchett, said:
“We’ve got to make fundamental changes to food and farming if we’re going to meet the Government-agreed climate target of a cut in greenhouse gas emissions of 80% by 2050 and reduce the £6 billion burden on the NHS from diet-related illness.

“We need a joined-up strategy that links changes in diet to changes in our food systems. We can’t make plans for what people might eat in future in a different box to how that food is produced.”

We added another feature article on the Sheepdrove website about All the World’s Water – to give you another global perspective on the size of  The Water Ball…

Preview this file with the Google Earth Plugin (learn more)

Google Earth users

Download the Google Earth KMZ file free >
20091105030452-4af2b154cedc69.99453783.kmz

Make it an organic turkey this year.