End cage cruelty
Sustain’s Good Food for Our Money Campaign is calling on central government to buy only cage-free eggs with taxpayers’ money. In June the Government published new compulsory standards for food bought by central government (includes all government departments, prisons and parts of the military) which specify ‘enriched’ cage eggs. These are very similar to conventional battery cage eggs and pose serious hen welfare concerns. You can support End Cage Cruelty in two ways – by liking the Facebook page www.facebook.com/EndCageCruelty and writing to government ministers to ask them to spend your money only on cage-free eggs. www.sustainweb.org/goodfoodforourmoney
Five-a-day into kids not landfill
Every week in the UK we each throw away five portions of perfectly good fruit, yet two thirds of us aren’t getting our 5-a-day. Not only is this total madness, it’s also a total waste of money, goodness and bananas. Innocent, the smoothie company, is launching a project to prove that you can do good things with leftover fruit – and improve kids’ health by turning excess fruit from supermarkets and cafés into smoothies for kids in schools. The schools’ programme kicks off with an eight week trial in a primary school in East Sheen (Richmond). With support from friends at A Taste of Freedom and Fareshare, the project will teach kids about food waste and make plenty of smoothies along the way. www.innocentdrinks.co.uk/tastenotwaste
What's Hot?
Dalston Cola – East London’s Passing Clouds serves up home made cola
Pop up pickle – The Table Café in Southwark, and caterers Vacherin, are selling chutneys and jams made in their kitchens using local produce
Natural wines – all the rage, as stocked by Tsuru Sushi, Elliot’s Café and beyond
What's Rot?
Costa and John Lewis both shifting from brewing up Fairtrade to Rainforest Alliance coffee
Spotted this new logo on the wall of your local cacfé? The Healthy Catering Mark, a scheme introduced by the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health, encourages food businesses – including fast food restaurants – to sign up to criteria such as letting customers put their own salt on chips. www.cieh.org
Porridge fans cause a stir
On World Porridge Day, Monday 10 October, Londoners can join porridge fans across the world by celebrating the Scottish national dish and raising awareness of the Mary’s Meals charity. Mary’s Meals provides a daily maize-based meal to 479,000 chronically hungry children in Malawi as an incentive to go to school. Its Golden Spurtle World Porridge Making Championships (a spurtle being a traditional Scottish kitchen tool) has inspired inventive and experimental entries from around the world – try the recipes for west coast seafood porridge with scallops, or clootie dumpling porridge at www.goldenspurtle.com. For details get in touch with their London coordinator, colin.macintyre@marysmeals.org
Nominate your favourite London fish place
Raymond Blanc, chef-patron of Le Manoir aux Quat’ Saisons, is on a quest to find the UK’s most forward-thinking restaurant or caterer for sustainable fish. Raymond has teamed up with the City of London Corporation, Sustainable Fish City, the Fishmongers Company, and SeaWeb Seafood Choices to launch the hunt for this year’s winner of a prestigious Sustainable City Award. If you think your favourite restaurant or caterer should enter ask them to register for entry now by contacting Sustainable Fish City at jon@sustainweb.org or 020 7837 1228. Entries close on 14 November.
A is for Apple
Apple Days are being celebrated all round London throughout October – from Hornsey to Clapham, Ealing to Walthamstow. For apple lovers, apple novices, kids and adults, there’s something for all tastes – apple stalls, juicing, apple bobbing, storytelling, apple cakes and preserves, cider tasting, displays of local apple varieties, talks and exhibitions – all things appley. To find out what’s happening near you go to
http://bit.ly/nqPC92
Soft drinks, hard sell
A report by the Children’s Food Campaign has exposed the misleading tactics used by soft drinks companies to market products to children and their parents, highlighting ‘fruit’ juice drinks which contain little or no fruit. Because water is the most sustainable and healthy drink for kids – and adults – the Campaign is calling for drinking water to be made available in parks and other public places. The London Borough of Lambeth has already installed, replaced or upgraded fountains in 20 parks following a petition by local residents. Join the campaign at http://tinyurl.com/waterinparks.
Want Real Bread? Look for The Loaf Mark!
The Real Bread Campaign has created The Loaf Mark for busy shoppers to see at-a-glance that a baker says: this is Real Bread. Bakers joining the new scheme sign an agreement to only use The Real Bread Loaf Mark to promote loaves that are made without the use of any artificial additives or processing aids. www.realbreadcampaign.org
Good food fit for London
Caterers, hotels, tourist attractions and venues are being challenged to serve ‘good food fit for London 2012’, in an ambitious campaign to promote the diversity, quality and ethical credentials of London’s food. The Food Legacy Campaign, part of the Mayor’s London Food Strategy and supported by a wide range of ‘champions’ and food and farming organisations, wants the capital to provide a warm welcome to visitors to London 2012 by using British and seasonal food, Fairtrade products, sustainable fish, free-range eggs, and promoting a wide range of delicious and healthy options. To register or sign up for news go to www.foodlegacy.org.
