Food for Thought: an essential earful, a knead to read & more
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If you haven't caught up with them yet you really mustn't miss the new Cereal podcast series from Farmerama Radio and Wendell Steavenson's Guardian long read Flour Power:
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Cereal #1: Flour, Water, Salt
In the first of this brilliant series of podcasts from Farmerama Radio, Katie Revell explores how the needs of industrial bread production have come to dictate the way that seeds are bred, grain is grown, flour is milled, and bread is baked and eaten - and meets campaigners, famers, millers and bakers showing that there's another way. -
Flour power: meet the bread heads baking a better loaf
Wendell Steavenson's Guardian long read explored the story of Professor Martin Wolfe's YQ wheat population and its adoption by bakers, inspired by Small Food Bakery's Kimberley Bell. We've been coping with a run on YQ grain and flour ever since its publication thanks to a mention of our small role in this!
More food for thought we've digested recently has included:
- Increased lifespan from beans (video) - Dr Michael Greger considers research suggesting that high consumption of beans and other pulses may be the most significant indicator of longevity.
- Multiple health and environmental impacts of foods - an examination of how the consumption of 15 different food groups is associated with 5 health outcomes and 5 aspects of environmental degradation.
- Behaviour change, public engagement and Net Zero - Committe on Climate Change report on the potential for people to make choices that can contribute to reducing emissions, and what this means for policy.
- Country-specific dietary shifts to mitigate climate and water crises - an evaluation of national variation among diet footprints concludes that reducing animal foods in general was more climate-friendly than eliminating meat.
- Farming could be absorber of carbon by 2050 - Guardian report on a paper describing how restoration of degraded land, preservation of forests and more tree plating, reducing waste and shifting to more plant-based diets could lead to agriculture becoming carbon negative.
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Also in Hodmeblog
Milling Offal - let’s eat more of it!
We only sell stoneground whole grain flours, these are made by milling the whole cereal seed and not sifting the flour. We do this because we know that wholegrain flours taste better and are better for us. But we've started selling bran and semolina, the by-products of white flour production - Josiah explains why.
Wimpole Home Farm - progressive farming on an historic estate
The National Trust began converting its Home Farm at Wimpole Hall to organic production methods in 2009. Farm Manager Callum Weir explains how this aligns with Wimpole's long history - and sustainable future. The Home Farm at Wimpole grows rye, naked barley, carlin and blue peas for us.
Black Lives Matter
In common with people around the world we were moved and troubled by the killing of George Floyd and have been deeply affected by the subsequent outpouring of grief and outrage. We wish to express our solidarity for the black community and all those who rightly demand justice and an end to racism and oppression.
Nick Saltmarsh
Author