Friday, 18 November 2022
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Farming with the Environment - Thirty Years of Allerton Project Research
For over three decades the Allerton Project, established by the Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust (GWCT), has been at the cutting edge of research into sustainable farming methods, biodiversity and habitat creation, and rural landscape management.
Combining a modern, productive farm with a full-time research team, the Allerton Project has advised farmers and influenced policy decisions since its inception.
Farming with the Environment presents and discusses 30 years of research into the challenges of integrating profitable farming with often competing environmental and societal objectives. The book is especially relevant to the implementation of the government’s Environmental Land Management scheme.
“The book draws together peer-reviewed research and some as yet unpublished work to tell a coherent story about the effects of different farming methods on wildlife and the environment that is very relevant to the development of current policy,” said Chris Stoate.
Topics included in the book are soil health and management, farmland ecology, development of management practices to enhance biodiversity, natural flood management, water quality and aquatic ecology.
The book is designed to provide accessible guidance and recommendations to farmers, conservationists and policymakers alike.
It reveals complex topical debates about land and wildlife management, examining the historical context and pointing the way for future direction of travel.
“I hope I have demonstrated how the findings of the Allerton Project’s research relate to agricultural and conservation policy more broadly as well as how they are applicable to similar projects throughout Europe,” said Chris.
“The book is also a celebration of the collaboration between the Allerton Project’s small research team and the many PhD students, research organisations, universities and NGOs we have had the privilege of working with over thirty years.”
Farming with the Environment – Thirty Years of Allerton Project Research, is published by Routledge and available from the GWCT Shop www.gwctshop.org.uk for £29.99.
This will make an ideal Christmas gift for those involved in farming and agriculture.
Flower Farm Spread. Tastes great, saves the planet.
The health benefits from eating spreads made with palm oil are real. But at what cost? Because palm oil deforestation is a very real concern and the loss of habitat is a dreadful scandal as it is further endangering already at risk animals such as the orangutan, pygmy elephant and Sumatran rhino.
But this is where Flower Farm Spread comes into its own. It doesn't use any palm oil, it is made with rapeseed oil, shea butter, some water, some lemon juice, some sea salt (not much!) some carrot juice, pectins some vitamin and and d and some natural flavouring.
The interesting fact about Shea butter is that it is a fully sustainable crop grown in Africa which does not require any deforestation or intensive farming.
Who is the person behind The Flower Farm? Meet Marcel van Wing, who, after witnessing first-hand the destruction of the tropical rainforest, realised that something had to be done to address this issue.
Marcel said: “The Flower Farm grew out of my personal love for the rainforest. I lived in Indonesia for four years and saw with my own eyes the devasting damage to the rainforest for the construction of palm oil plantations. And yet still, this continues.
"The Flower Farm is a member of the Global Shea Alliance, a non-profit organisation dedicated to shea sustainability. It also supports Orangutan Rescue, a non-profit which focuses on relocating endangered orangutans to a safe area of rainforest."
To learn more about The Flower Farm visit them at https://theflowerfarm.world.
Not only is it a great tasting spread it's also absolutely excellent in baking and cooking and my wife has declared it "absolutely brilliant for making light, delicious pastry and wonderful cakes! I give it my thumbs up!"
It comes in regular and light versions.
And here is a recipe created by my wife which you can try with Flower Farm Spread or "Eat Plants Free of Palm" as it says on every tub.
It requires 175g of Flower Farms Spread
175g of dark brown sugar
225g of Plain flour
3 eggs
1tsp baking powder
1tsp cinnamon
1tsp ginger
550g of luxury dried mixed fruit
400g of cherries
100g chopped almonds
zest of an orange
zest of a lemon
150ml of Vodka
Pre-heat your oven to 160C 325F or Gas Mark 3.
Cream together the margarine and the sugar. Beat the eggs and add the egg mixture a little at a time, mixing well.
In a separate bowl mix all dry ingredients together, then carefully fold this into the cake mix and stir well.
Add the dried fruit and 200g of the cherries to the mixture and make sure they are thoroughly mixed in. For a better result you could mix 100g of the cherries and the dried fruit and marinate them in the Vodka overnight. If you can't do this, just pour the Vodka into the mix once the dried fruits have been added and mix well.
Place the cake mix into a greased and papered cake tin (the Aldi one shown in the pictures is ideal) and put the remaining 200g of cherries on the top of the cake and put it in the oven for approximately two hours.
After two hours test the cake with a skewer. When it comes out clean, the baking is complete.
If it starts to look a little too brown, cover it with some aluminium baking foil.
Remove the cake from the oven and let it cool for at least an hour before you remove it from the cake tin.
At this stage you can add more Vodka to the top of the cake. You can also prick the cake in several places to ensure that the cake is well fed with the additional Vodka.
For a bit off added decadence serve the cake with shots of chilled Vodka straight from the freezer!
At present it's available throughout Holland and also in Booth's stores in the UK https://www.booths.co.uk.
If you would like to stock Flower Farm Spread please contact them at
That's Christmas: The Perfect Christmas Gift Idea for any keen Garde...
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England's Northernmost Distillery Launches Its Inaugural Whisky Blend
Opening in February 2023, Ad Gefrin will comprise a £14m world-class visitor experience revealing the fascinating history of Northumberland's Anglo-Saxon 'Golden Age'. The immersive museum will showcase the court of the 7th Century Northumbrian kings and queens that drew people from all over the world to visit their summer palace nearby. One of the most exciting facets of Ad Gefrin is the complete integration of museum experience and whisky distillery - the county's first (legal) distillery in 200 years.
Tácnbora, which means 'Standard Bearer' in Old English, is a fitting name for the spirit that comes before all the others. The Venerable Bede records that King Edwin was always preceded by a standard bearer carrying a standard with a goat's head effigy, and that goat symbol is now central to Ad Gefrin's brand marque. The whisky blend will pave the way for the distillery's Ad Gefrin Single Malt in years to come
The Tácnbora whisky blend features Scottish and Irish whiskies, reflecting two of the peoples that would have made up the Anglo-Saxons of Northumbria (Scottish, Irish, English and Scandinavian). Future editions will reflect different pairings.
As for all four nationalities, Ad Gefrin are saving the option of bringing all four together for its exclusive blend for their Corenkyn (meaning 'Chosen Family' in Old English) founding members. Tácnbora has a strong Northumbrian provenance; the intertwining of the past and present, cultures and landscape, to bring people together to share.
Tácnbora is made with a mix of malt and grain whiskies and aged in virgin American oak and Oloroso sherry casks, creating a distinctive and palatable spirit. On the nose, it has notes of honey, vanilla, candied citrus peel and spices, backed up on the palate with the flavours of sultanas, cream soda and nutmeg. The finish lingers and coats the mouth with the tastes of honey, vanilla and sweet citrus.
The Distillery team brings youth, passion and energy together under the leadership of rising star Ben Murphy, Director of Distilling. Ben has enjoyed successful stints as Head Distiller at Berentsens Brygghus, Egersund, Norway; and at Poetic License Distillery in Sunderland.
Ben is passionate about traditional methodologies but not afraid to be innovative, either. Joining him is Craig Stock, a Canadian with diverse experience latterly at Durham Distillery; and recent postgraduate from Heriot Watt University's Institute of Brewing and Distilling, Germano Molinari of Sambucca heritage.
Whilst this is an exciting young team, Ad Gefrin enjoys an enviable level of knowledge and wisdom being invested in its whisky with non-executive whisky royalty on board through Alan Rutherford, former President of the Malt Distillers Association of Scotland, and Council Member of the Scotch Whisky Association and recipient of an OBE for his 'services to whisky'.
Tácnbora is now available to purchase online for £42.50/70cl.
Incidentally as a totally new whisky blend Tácnbora will make an ideal Christmas gift for the whisky aficionados in your life.
Start-Up Free-from Brand Crave Win - Channel 4 TV Show and Aldi Listing
The Store Cupboard episode of the Channel 4 TV Show Aldi's Next Big Thing aired last night (17th November) and follows British food and drink start-ups who are looking to become the next big thing.
Rob Brice and his free-from brand Crave successfully made it through the initial assessment rounds of the competition before making it to the final in the store cupboard category. “We almost didn't enter, as we thought they'd be looking for artisan foods, and we didn't think a vegan and free-from brand was what they were after but what the hell. They can only say no right? So, we entered online and thought nothing of it”, says Crave founder Rob Brice.
Having launched Crave in 2020, Rob set out to develop tasty foods which are allergen free so nobody need miss out. Having began with two very successful free-from chocolate bars, Rob then went on to launch the snacks, Pickled Onion Monster Feet and Smokey Flavoured Streakers. “My inspiration for Crave was seeing that so many free-from foods were either bland and boring or firmly focussed on health, so I wanted to shake things up a bit, bring bold flavour and add a bit of fun.”
Having passed the initial assessment rounds, Crave was invited to Aldi HQ to present products to Julie Ashfield, who is the Managing Director of Buying at Aldi.
“All I had to do was present some of our snacks, I think our pitch went down well and we tried to get across who we are and how we like to do things a bit differently. We always say "we stand out, so you fit in", so that's what we tried to do!
“The whole filming experience was surreal and unreal! As a start-up brand we were pinching ourselves to even have this opportunity and potential exposure on TV. It's a money can't buy sort of thing for us, and we were super happy to have got that far!”
After a successful presentation to the Aldi team, Crave was then selected as one of two brands in the store cupboard category to be announced as finalists. The next stage of the process required them to come up with a brand-new product complete with a packaging design within two weeks.
Crave's new product development resulted in a maize snack with a Flamin' Hot flavour; Wots'inits are of course gluten free, lactose free and vegan, developed as an 80g share bag as well as a smaller multi pack option.
“We travelled back for the final and presented our new product to the team, lots of work had gone into it, the packaging and product itself. To then hear Julie call our name out as the winner of our category. Well, I was gobsmacked. I turned to my fiancé, open mouthed and both of us immediately burst into tears.”
The winning products from Aldi's Next Big Thing will appear as Specialbuys in stores nationwide.
“The listing in Aldi for us is huge, our biggest order to date and we hope the start of a beautiful relationship! The Aldi team have been great to deal with and we like to think they get Crave, what we're about and what we're trying to do.
“It goes to show vegan and free-from can be in the mainstream. Julie and the team loved that Crave is all about delivering those normal food products that people may be missing out on, they loved our cheeky tone of voice and what we do.”
Winners of the other categories include:
Dinners episode: Mud Foods Chip Shop Chicken Curry Pie
Bakery episode: Harrison & Griffiths Rum Cake
Healthy & Wholesome episode: Freddie's Farm Fruit Shapes
Fresh & Deli episode: The Greek Farmer Charcuterie
Crave's Pickled Onion Monster Feet will be on shelves from today, along with the brand's Smokey Flavoured Streakers. But shoppers need to get in quick to get a chance to try, as with all Specialbuys, once they're gone, they're gone!
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Thursday, 17 November 2022
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"Beep, beep, here's your shop!" Co-op introduces food delivery robots in Cambridge
Following a popular pilot in nearby Cambourne earlier in the year, with 98% of people revealing they'd saying recommend the delivery robots to friends, the decision was made by the Highways and Transport Committee to welcome the robots to the streets of the city of Cambridge, with the grocery delivery service available to 12,200 residents within the Cherry Hinton and Queen Edith areas of Cambridge.
Orders are made via the Starship food delivery app, available for download on both iOS and Android Stores, with groceries picked fresh in local Co-op stores on Perne Road and Cherry Hinton Road and delivered quickly and conveniently within the community.
Residents can order their delivery to arrive within under an hour and watch the robot travel in real-time via a special interactive map. Once the robot arrives, residents receive an alert and can meet and unlock it via the app.
Councillor Alex Beckett, who is the chair of Cambridgeshire County Council’s Highways and Transport Committee, said: “We're excited to see how the robot delivery service integrates into the day-to-day lives of the residents of Cambridge.
"The advancement of technology has been a backbone of Cambridge for many years now and this is just another step towards a cleaner more sustainable future. As well as a reduction in short car journeys, the robots will provide assistance to working families and the elderly who struggle to leave their houses to go shopping.
"The pilot gives us a chance to showcase how history and technology can combine throughout the city streets as we become the leading light in the future of personal, eco-robotic delivery services.”
Chris Conway, eCommerce Director at the Co-op, said: “Co-op is committed to exploring new and innovative ways to increase access to its products and services. Our members and customers lead busy lives and so ease, speed and convenience is a cornerstone of our approach.
"Co-op stores are well placed in local communities to provide quick and easy home deliveries , whether its for a full shop or for last-minute top-ups. We're pleased the trial has expanded into Cambridge and has been seen to contribute to the reduction in unnecessary car journeys while providing flexible options online for shoppers within our communities.”
Andrew Curtis, who is the UK Operations Manager at Starship Technologies, added: “We're delighted to be expanding our on-demand, quick, sustainable grocery delivery service to an additional 12,200 residents in Cambridge.
"Our friendly robots have been very well received, and as a result are actively reducing traffic congestion and carbon emissions in the areas they operate in. We're really looking forward to working closely with Cambridgeshire County Council and the Co-op, and hope to further expand our service over the coming years.”
The robots are battery powered, lightweight and travel at the speed of a pedestrian (no faster than 4mph). They use a combination of sensors, AI and machine learning to travel on pavements and navigate around any obstacles, while computer vision-based navigation helps them map their environment to the nearest inch.
An average delivery for a Starship robot consumes as little energy as boiling a kettle to make just one cup of tea, thereby delivering tangible environmental benefits compared to driving to a store.
Starship, which was created by the co-founders of communications system Skype in 2014, currently operates a fully commercial service in five countries around the world and partners with Co-op in several towns and cities in the UK including: Milton Keynes, where Co-op was the first supermarket to use autonomous robot deliveries; Bedford and Northampton.
(Image courtesy of OpenClipart-Vectors and Pixabay)
That's Christmas: Co-op says "No! to big TV adverts this Christmas
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