Category: Topical News

Posted on

Eat more plants!

Neil's Mini Allotment sWorld Vegan Day is celebrated on 1st November and marks the start of Vegan Month.

This year, the organisers, The Vegan Society, are hoping that a record number of people will pledge to try plant-based eating for at least one day, a week or – for a real challenge – the full month.

The seven-day and 30-day pledges are featured on the website and give simple and practical steps on how to begin your vegan journey. It can make you feel healthier, lighter and more energetic, it reduces your effect on the environment and on animals and can have a positive effect on you and on many other people.

At Seed Pantry we like to encouraging our green-fingered fans to sow, grow and eat more plants, their own vegetables, salads and herbs. This month is a great time to start thinking about setting up your own food plant space either in the garden, or if you don’t have the space, our popular kits let you grow your own in even the smallest of outdoor and indoor spaces such as balconies, window-sills and yards.

As well as being cost-effective and environmentally friendly, growing your own veg, salads and herbs means you can eat completely organic, highly nutritious, produce, grown and picked by you.

So during Vegan Month, why not start growing your own vegetables, salads and herbs at home and eat more plants.

There are events taking place around the UK on Saturday 1st November and during the whole month so visit the website to find out more: http://www.vegansociety.com/whats-new/events

Let us know if you take a pledge, experiment with a vegan lifestyle and do share any tasty recipes you find for plant based dishes.

Posted on

Take action against hunger this World Food Day

World Food Day takes place on 16th October and is a day for people around the world to come together to take action against hunger.

This year, the theme is Family Farming: Feeding the world, Caring for the earth. The UN estimates that there are 805 million hungry people in the world[i] with over 70 percent of these living in rural areas of Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Near East. Many of them are farmers, especially smallholders.

The organisers on the UN committee are asking people all over the world to toast a farmer to thank them for their hard work everyday to ensure our food is grown with care and is safe and healthy for us to eat. Just post a photo of yourself with a raised glass on Twitter or Facebook with the hashtags #ToastAFarmer and #WFD2014. Or share one of the photos of farmers from around the globe from the World Food Day website  – http://www.worldfooddayusa.org/take-action

In addition, there are activities and commemoration ceremonies taking place around the world, including sponsored Hunger Walks, World Food Day Dinners, Hunger Banquets as well as food drives, rallies and more.

Here at Seed Pantry we strongly encourage growing your own as much as possible, reducing waste, and eating wholesome, fresh, organic foods. Now is a great time to start growing, sowing and planting your own vegetable, herbs and salads and our seed kits and plants let you grow your own in even the smallest of outdoor spaces – from balconies, window sills and yards.

As well as being cost-effective and environmentally friendly, growing your own veg, salads and herbs means you can eat completely organic produce, grown and picked by you.

World Food Day was set up by the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations and 16th October is the day the organisation was founded in 1945.

Follow World Food Day on Twitter @WorldFoodDayUSA and use the hashtags  #WFD2014 and #ToastAFarmer to raise awareness of the day, or visit the website: http://www.worldfooddayusa.org

[i] Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations, 2014

Posted on

grow your own to cut Food Waste

Industry experts predict that food prices are set to rise by 5% during 2013, putting even more pressure on families struggling to make ends meet. Yet reports out in the media say that as a nation, we are throwing away unprecedented amounts of food, with the average British family wasting £680 worth of food every year.

On top of that, farmers are also wasting around 25% of their produce because of the strict requirements the supermarkets impose.

Overall, the nation is wasting a huge amount of food and although some of the factors are understandable, with a little effort, planning, savvy shopping and by making some small lifestyle changes, we can all do our bit to reduce the amount of food we waste.

Growing your own salad, vegetables and herbs at home can not only help cut your grocery bill, you tend to only pick what you need for a meal, so there is no wastage as the rest is left on the plant to continue growing. If growers have an abundance of larger vegetables and fruit, they can be harvested and frozen, pickled, made into jam or given to family and friends to enjoy. Plus it’s a great way to get all the family involved in an activity together, outside and learning a new skill.

Growing food at home, indoors, in the garden, or in an allotment is an education. It’s so fulfilling to watch how a tiny seed grows into an amazing, tasty vegetable. Growing your own food really helps to value the process and effort it takes to produce great-tasting vegetables, herbs, fruits and salads and it certainly makes me think twice about throwing it away after all the hard work, infact it just doesn’t happen!

Given the economic climate, finding ways to cut costs and eat more cost-effectively, yet healthily, has never been more important. You don’t need an allotment or a garden, a small yard, patio or even a windowsill is enough. For me and my family, it’s really satisfying to cook some great dishes with what we have grown at home – we have made our own tomato and basil sauces for pasta dishes, stir-fried vegetables to eat with noodles and have plenty of fresh salad leaves and lettuce varieties to make our own healthy salads. Money-wise, we worked out that by not buying supermarket lettuces and salad bags, we save around £25 per month and have very little wastage…and it tastes better too!

It is all too easy to throw away a mouldy lettuce you bought from the supermarket, but when you have patiently watched it grow you will be less likely to take it for granted and more likely to eat it before it goes to waste.

#foodwaste is trending on Twitter and it’s great to see that is has come to the fore as it will go some way to help people become more aware of what they throw away.

To find out more about ways you can help more visit: http://www.lovefoodhatewaste.com/