Isonomia

by Tristram Stuart

On Saturday 12^th May, Bristol will be the first city outside London to host a Feeding the 5000 (F5K) event. Between 1pm and 5pm, anyone who comes to visit College Green will have the chance to disprove the old adage – there really can be such a thing as a free lunch, thanks to the support of local charities, businesses and volunteers, including some of Bristol’s top chefs such as the Fabulous Baker Brothers, Tom Hunt and the Thali Café.

Read more on Fed up with the food waste scandal…

by Thomas Vergunst

Demand for it is expected to rise by at least 50% by 2050. China, Morocco, the US, South Africa and Jordan control 85% of global reserves, which, according to some sources, are only expected to last another 50-100 years. The price in the EU rose by 800% in 2008 and the UK imports over 600,000 tonnes each year, at a cost of over £100m. But this isn’t a fossil fuel or a rare earth metal – it is phosphorus, an essential plant nutrient and an element for which there is no substitute. Therefore, as supplies of rock phosphate start dwindling there will be no possibility for shifting to alternatives – we will be forced to improve both the efficiency with which we extract/use the material and the rate at which we recover it from our waste streams.

Read more on We can’t afford to waste phosphorus…

by Peter Jones

A talk by Helen Browning, CEO of the Soil Association, on 2 November left me pondering the problems of farming and waste.  Helen is a compelling speaker and, despite battling the after-effects of a cold, tackled a lot of topics with energy and thoughtfulness.

Read more on Slurry seems to be the hardest word…