bemoreeco

It looks like a cross between an orange and a black pudding, but this genetically modified purple ’super tomato’ could be the latest weapon in the fight against cancer.The fruit, which tastes and smells like a normal red tomato, has been given two genes from a snapdragon flower that produce the dark colour. 

The distinctive hue is created by antioxidant pigments that protect against diseases including cancer, heart problems and diabetes. These plum-like tomatoes have been genetically engineered to fight cancer

British scientists behind the crop believe their purple tomato is the respectable face of genetic modification and could help convince the public of the benefits of GM food. But critics say the potential health benefits are a distraction from the harmful environmental side effects of GM farming. 

The tomato  -  developed by the John Innes Centre in Norwich  -  contains high concentrations of anthocyanins, pigments found in blackberries and cranberries. Anthocyanins are chemicals called flavonoids which mop up potentially harmful oxygen molecules in the body. Although they are produced naturally by tomato plants, they are normally found only in the leaves.

The scientists transferred the genes from the snapdragons using specially adapted bacteria.

Food for thought: The tomatoes could be on sale within three years - but not in Britain. Professor Cathie Martin, who led the John Innes research  -  the results of which are published today in the journal Nature Biotechnology  -  said one tomato contained the same anthocyanins as a spoonful of cranberries.

‘Most people do not eat five portions of fruit and vegetables a day,’ she said. ’But they can get more benefit from those they do eat if common fruit and vegetables can be developed that are higher in nutrients.’

The scientists found that mice bred to be vulnerable to cancer lived longer when fed the GM tomatoes. They now hope to test the effects on men at risk of prostate cancer.Dr Lara Bennett, of Cancer Research UK, said: ‘It’s exciting to see new techniques that could make healthy foods even better for us.’

But critics warn that genetic modification is tied in with factory farming methods that harm communities  -  and that any seeds from a GM tomato could produce unexpected effects on the environment.

Friends of the Earth said: ‘GM crops cannot be deemed a “healthy” option.’

Article source -  Mail Online

Organise the perfect green Christmas this year and save money with our guide; reduce your carbon footprint and have a more eco friendly and sustainable holiday season.

1. Serve local, healthy and seasonal December foods at your events and xmas parties.  Choose vegetables that are in season and do not have to be flown in from abroad.  Broccoli, cabbage and onions can all be grown without the aid of harsh chemicals so you can spend your organic pounds elsewhere. Buy loose vegetables rather than packaged from a farmers market or try a vegetable box from Abel & Cole which are packed with the season’s best foodstuffs. Choose an organic Turkey or Goose. If you are a vegetarian or vegan go for a substitute from www.Ecotopia.co.uk or www.ethicalsuperstore.com Check out www.freerangereview.com to find local food to you! Click here for all foods that are in season. (located at the end of this post)

2. Decorating your house can be one of the most enjoyable parts of Xmas. Go for ethically made and traded decorations. Natural Collection, Big Green Smile, Nigel’s Eco Store and Vita Etica  all have a great range. Kids really enjoy making their own green decorations out of old scraps of material and leftovers. Try popcorn garlands – which are really fun and cheap to make and scour a woodland floor for fallen pinecones and twigs that are great for decorations!

3. E-mail party invites and Christmas cards rather than post them. There are loads of free Xmas themed party invite e-cards around or alternatively make your own out of scrap and recycled products. If you really want to send cards, choose charity ones or check out these really funky recycled ones. After the big day, make sure your Christmas cards don’t go to waste – take them to a Woodland Trust recycling point.

4. Christmas heating and lighting bills can be huge! Save cash and protect the environment by using energy saving devices such as standby busters and radiator boosters. Don’t forget to turn off the tree lights or better still try these solar powered ones.

5. Use recycled paper, gift bags or even colorful cloth to wrap the Christmas presents and instead of tape, use colorful ribbon to tie up the gifts.

6. Make a green statement this xmas! Send a message to the manufacturers of consumer goods by shopping for & buying only natural, non toxic, eco friendly, organic presents this year. Shop through www.moreeco.com for the largest selection of green retailers on one site and earn rewards and offset carbon at the same time.

7. Which makes a better tree? Artificial or a real one? Simply real ones are as they are great for the environment and can be replanted after use. If replanting isn’t an option, most local councils run Christmas tree recycling schemes. Contact yours or go to http://www.letsrecycle.com. If you need to use an artificial one avoid those made in China or Tawian which have transport costs associated with them. They also can be made with nasty chemicals, metals and plastics which can emit into our homes. Adorn with fair trade and ethical traded decorations or again make your own.

8. How do we give children what they desire but without poisoning our planet? Take electronic toys for instance. There are 900 million batteries used each year in the UK alone and many are in toys. But only 2% of batteries are currently recycled - the rest end up in landfill sites and are poisoning our planet! So what do you do? Choose an eco toy. Green and eco-friendly toys shouldn’t cost the earth so choose from a great selection here that don’t require batteries. Alternatively go for rechargeable batteries which will save you pounds throughout the year.

9. Recycle your unwanted presents. Unfortunately everyone receives at least one unwanted gift at Christmas. Many recycle their unwanted presents to charities. Local hospitals and hospices are often very pleased to receive unwanted smellies to give to patients. Or you could try Nigels Eco Store’s regifting forum  or www.freecycle.org and swap them for other people’s unwanted gifts.

10. Don’t go overboard especially in the current climate and remember -  reduce, reuse and recycle.

December Food In Season

VEGETABLES:

Artichoke

(Jerusalem), Brussels sprouts, Broccoli (purple sprouting), Beetroot, Cabbage(red), Celeriac, Celery, Carrots, Cauliflower, Chicory, Chard, Celeriac, Cardoons, Cabbages, Endive, Garlic, Kale, Kohlrabi, Lamb’s, Lettuce, Leeks, Onions, Parsnips, Potatoes, Pumpkin, Rocket, Shallots, Spinach, Swede, Turnips, Watercress

FRUIT & NUTS: Apples, Chestnuts, Pears, Pomegranate, Quince, Rhubarb

MEAT, POULTRY & GAME: Goose, Grouse, Hare, Mallard, Partridge, Pheasant, Rabbit, Snipe, Squirrel (grey), Turkey, Venison, Woodcock

FISH: Bream (black), Herring, Mussels, Oysters (native), Scallops, Turbot

CHEESE: Stilton, Wensleydale

List courtesy of www.naturalmatters.net

A lot of people nowadays are questioning the quality of the food that they buy at the supermarket.

What do we mean by hoofprint? Well anyone concerned about climate change would do well to limit their beef intake, argues Duncan Clark at BBCGreen. I like beef and as all ways as a family we buy Organic Beef. However, when we start talking about Organic / Eco living and our carbon footprint, is a conflict with what we eat. For example producing a single kilogram of the beef can result in a whopping 36.4kg of CO2 – the same as driving a gas-guzzling SUV for 50 miles. What are we meant to do eat less meat or become vegitarians.

Many of beef’s emissions come from growing cattle feed. It can take 10kg of beans or grains to produce just one kilogram of beef. Growing all this feed requires a great deal of energy – for making fertiliser and pesticides, powering farm vehicles and transporting the final crop to market.

So is it possible to get a pound of flesh without a tonne of guilt? In the case of beef perhaps not, although if it’s grass-fed it is a bit greener, since it reduces the demand for feed. But even the most overtly “ethical” beef available – organic, free-range, grass-fed, locally sourced – produces large quantities of methane.

So what are you going to go. I feel that if you are worried about your carbon footprint, buy local, organic and grass fed beef.

To read the full article at BBCGreen <click here>

Organic food can be expensive, but you can eat organically without spending a fortune. Lily Barclay at BBCGreen has done some research to find out more.

In recent months, rising food prices and an economic slowdown have led many people to question the cost of their shopping basket. With organic products typically more expensive than their non-organic counterparts, could these be among the first to go? 

There is still a huge interest in eating fresh, natural produce and you don’t always have to spend big either. If price is your main motivation, there are plenty of opportunities for budget organic shopping. There are 4 areas you shouls focus on. They are;

Vegetable Boxes - Ordering an organic vegetable box can be convenient and cost effective. It means you’ll get fresh, home-grown products delivered directly to your doorstep.  It is worth shopping around to find an option that suits your household’s needs and your wallet. Organic vegetable boxes can vary from around £7 to £25 depending on size and variety. One of the main financial benefits is that, by eating locally, you cut out the rising fuel costs that have made imported products more expensive.  UK organic box scheme Riverford, for example, recently claimed that its boxes are 22 per cent cheaper than organic fruit and vegetables bought online from Tesco, Waitrose, and Sainsbury’s.

Supermarket Sweep - Not all organic varieties cost the same, and shopping around can definitely pay off. Nearly all mainstream supermarkets now carry an in-house organic brand, which can be cheaper than specialist labels. We took a virtual tour of Tesco to make a price comparison of our own.

Savvy Shopping - Avoiding pre-packaged supermarket food, such as salads and ready meals, will save you money, which you can invest in good quality raw produce. Many of us are guilty of buying two for one ready-made food, half of which quietly perishes at the back of the fridge. Taking the time to choose and prepare loose fruit and vegetables will save you cash that you can spend on an organic alternative.

Meaty matters - When it comes to money and organic meat, thinking quality rather than quantity is often the key. The recommended adult portion size for meat is 3oz (about the size of a deck of cards). Rounding up your meal with cheap grains, such as couscous, rice or quinoa is a good way to save a few pounds. Premium cuts, such as chicken breasts, don’t necessarily give the best taste. Organic chicken legs and thighs can often be a cheaper and tastier alternative. Replacing meat altogether with other sources of protein such as organic beans is another great money saver.

Waste not, want not - Simply thinking ahead by planning your meals and shopping list in advance could make a huge difference to your weekly shopping budget. Every year, UK households waste 6.7 million tonnes of food – that’s £420 a year for the average UK household. Being inventive with leftovers by turning dishes such as pasta and rice into salads, and freezing stews, curries and lasagnes gets the most out of your organic produce. Juicers and blenders are also a good investment buy for turning overripe fruit into smoothies and juices.

For full BBCGreen article <click here>

When it comes to the environment, it makes sense that bulk buying is a greener alternative to buying smaller quantities. There is less packaging involved than with traditional retail packaging.

When you buy a large amount of the same product, there is only a minimal amount of packaging involved. Your purse also sees the effects. For example, a 5 Kg bag of good potatoes costs £1.99 at our local Sainsbury’s, about 40p per kilo. But I can buy a 25Kg sack of the same variety for £2.99 at the market or farm shops; that’s only about 12p per kilo.

Other items which you can make substantial savings on are toilet rolls, cleaning products and laundry liquids. You can also join a bulk-buying group, where people band together to buy things at the price that retailers buy them at. 

I have found that most of the Eco online retailers also offer bulk buy options on purchase and even sell the 5lt Ecover bottle  saving even more on waste.

Click here to see which retailers offer bulk but products online.

Yesterday Sainsbury’s joined the great supermarket battle for the environmental initiative by opening the UK’s greenest ever superstore. The new store in Dartmouth, Devon, is built entirely from timber (not steel), collects rainwater to flush the toilets and uses wind turbines to power it’s checkouts. Better still, Sainbury’s have begun powering delivery lorries with methane-gas produced from rotting rubbish.

Sainsbury’s have really pulled out the stops on this one. The company has planted 400 trees to replace the 200 needed in construction, and engaged in no less than 38 energy-saving tactics. These include burning wood-chips in the biomass boiler, installing LED lights and solar-powered fans. Even in construction, Sainsbury’sclaim 90% of waste was recycled.

This very much seems to be the blueprint store for all of the supermarket’s new stores. Sainsbury’s anticipate that this store will use over 50% less electricity from the grid and produce 40% less CO2 than their normal stores. Sainsbury’s also hope to use 60% less rainwater than the typical supermarket store.

(Via: Brand Republic)

Since the beginning of 2008, a loaf of bread will probably cost you over a pound. It was only 50 – 60p at the turn of the century, so that is quite a big increase. Likewise, other items are noticeably more expensive. Rice and Pasta cost up to 60% more than they did last year.

But lets focus on bread for a minute. There are 4 major factors making bread so expensive at the moment.

1)  Rising fuel costs. Everything costs energy to make and deliver, and the rising cost of oil had made it more expensive to bake bread. So supermarkets like Waitrose, Tesco and Asda are charging more for it.

2)  Wheat costs more. Farmers have been financially encouraged to use land which would traditionally have grown wheat and other crops, to grow corn-based ethanol and other plants which can produce biofuel. This means less land for wheat and higher prices. The irony is that this second problem was meant to resolve the first.

3)  Rising demand. Emerging countries like China, India and Brazil have a rapidly growing middle class. This middle class is discovering they like different things in their diet, namely bread. This creates a bigger demand, and higher prices.

4)  Bad Weather. Bad weather isn’t so new to us in the UK, but the last two years haven’t been kind to farmers. Around the world harvests have not been good and this has helped caused food crisis.

Are the prices going to stay this high? No, at least not in the short term. We’re likely to see a small dip in the future as the oil speculators drop their prices, the government reconsiders biofuels and the weather might improve. The prices wont drop down much, and then it will just be temporary.  But in the long term, yes, we’re going to have to get used to paying £1 and beyond for a loaf of bread.

It might be time to bake your own.