Welcome to this week’s update.
Climate change forces species to the poles
As we bask in sunshine today after a week of floods and storms in what is supposed to be a British high summer, you may not be surprised to hear that for the first time, the link has been demonstrated between climate change and species adaptation. This item from the BBC News reports on the shift towards cooler climates of wildlife for whom their previous habitats have become too warm:
Analysing the range shifts of more than 2,000 species - ranging from butterflies to birds, algae to mammals - across Europe, North and South America and Malaysia over the last four decades, they show that organisms that experience the greatest change in temperatures move the fastest.
And what happens to creatures who already live at the coldest places?
“They die,” said Dr Thomas. Take the polar bear, it does most of its hunting off the ice, and that ice is melting - this July was the lowest ever recorded Arctic ice cover - it has nowhere to go.
This report makes stark reading and reinforces that the way our members work more important than ever. Producing food by wholesome means and not shipping it all over the world is one way in which we can slow down the rate of climate change.
Wholesome farming methods reduces bacteria resistance to antibiotics
I also spotted this article in the Washington Post which shows that organic farming reduces the resistance of bacteria to antibiotics in poultry, once the routine feeding of antibiotics ceased:
All the farms tested positive for the bacteria. But the farms that had recently become organic had significantly lower levels of resistance.
Of course one of the WFA’s primary requirements of our members is not to engage in the routine use of antibiotics, and given the worry about long-term antibiotic use, it’s good to read the evidence in this article which validates what I’m forced to call wholesome or organic farming methods. It would be nice to refer to these simply as good, normal farming methods, not the exception.
Soil Association ditches the rock stars
Talking of organic, Helen Browning, who heads up the Soil Association, has been saying that the espousal of the organic movement by celebrities isn’t helpful, because it gives it an elitist air. I was pleased to read that their new strategy, to be published next month, appears to emphasise the local element as well as the organic:
The Good Food for All programme will send in teams to prove that “local, seasonal and organic” food can not only be affordable for everyone but improve health and behaviour.
You can read all about it in this article.
Totnes on TV
And finally, someone pointed me towards a TV programme, Town, that aired this week, looking at Totnes in Devon. It covers, among other things, the Transition Town movement which is very active in Totnes. I haven’t watched it yet, but you can catch it on iPlayer for another few days: click here.
(The WFA has several producers based in Devon, two of them in Totnes itself. Check out the list here.)
Have a great week, everyone.