Food for thought we've been chewing on this month:
Seed saving movement calls for seeds to be publicly owned- Covid has led to a massive growth in demand for seed producers and seed banks, raising awareness of seed sovereignty, the right of growers to breed and exchange diverse, open source seeds, which can be saved and are not patented, genetically modified or owned by one of the four agrochemical companies that control more than 60% of global seed trade.
Exceptionally well-preserved snack bar unearthed in Pompeii - as a reminder that fava beans' popularity is nothing new we were intrigued to read that "crushed fava beans, used to modify the taste of wine, were found at the bottom of one jar".
Finding farming in our placenames - an Irish agriculture department project looks at how old townland names reveal historic agriculture practices, while...
Key to English place-names- provides a great resource for exploring English places named for the crops grown there. Peasenhall, Benacre and Linstead are fine examples from our neck of the woods in Suffolk, though Pouy Street is sadly nothing to do with lentils.
As a nation we really love bread. It's a staple of almost all British households, with 12 million loaves baked and sold every day. At Hodmedod we’re a little more particular. We love real bread.
Diversity is at the heart of resilient agroecological food systems. For that reason and just in time for Real Bread Week, we're delighted to be welcoming Flanders wheat into the Bean Store.
Hodmedod's miller (and engineer) Keith Malcolm takes a closer look at stoneground wholemeal flour to understand its properties and how they change with time.
Nick Saltmarsh
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