Foodlinks News Issue 2

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The latest issue of Foodlinks News is out!

You can read about our visit to the city of Vitoria-Gasteiz in Spain where we had a meeting with the City Council about new initiatives on organic peri-urban agriculture. We also share with you some stories from members of the urban food strategies community of practice (CoP). What kind of value did they get from participating in this CoP?

Furthermore you can see a list of upcoming and past events, new library resources as well as a list of some of our new members.

Would you also like to become a member? Sign up for the Short Food Supply Chain, Revaluing Public Sector Food Procurement or Urban Food Strategies CoP!

A key characteristic of the Foodlinks project is that it brings together different types of knowledge and experience from research, policy and civil society representatives. Foodlinks organises a collective process of sharing and integrating this knowledge around particular problems of food systems. You can read more about Foodlinks on our website and if you would like to receive the next edition of Foodlinks News you can subscribe here.  

Feeding Milan? Interview with Anna Meroni

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On the 2nd of October we went for a small trip to Venlo with Els and Femke to attend the Food First conference at the Floriade (http://www.foodfirst.eu/index.php?a=2oktober2012)

Was very interesting to hear about different initiatives around food in diverse countries such as the Netherlands, Kenya, Colombia and Italy. One of the speakers was Anna Meroni, involved in the project Nutrire Milano (Feeding Milan) which is getting big popularity among citizens and local producers. We had a brief interview with Anna to find out more:

Hi Anna, on the brochure of the conference you are introduced as the president of Nutrire Milano, could you please describe your role in the project?

Actually I am not the president, I am just here as a spokeswoman of the project. I have been involved in NM (Feeding Milan) since 2008 together with Slow Food Italy, the University of Gastronomic Science of Pollenzo and the Polytechnic of Milan, which I represent in the project. I am working there as a researcher in service and strategic design with a particular focus on sustainability and design for social innovation.

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Terug naar 3 pakketten, zelfsturing en certificering: Advies nieuwe opzet Agrarisch Natuurbeheer

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Op 4 oktober heeft een groep van 10 boeren (ook wel de Groep Schipluiden genoemd) ondersteund door CLM op uitnodiging van staatssecretaris Bleker advies uitgebracht over een nieuwe opzet van het nieuwe Agrarisch Natuurbeheer vanaf 2013. De aanbiedingsbrief en het advies zijn te vinden op de website over de aanstaande hervorming van het Gemeenschappelijke Landbouw Beleid (GLB). Die hervorming is relevant is voor de toekomstige financiering van het nieuwe ANB en de invulling van maatregelen om de landbouw te vergroenen.

Kern van het advies luidt:

Het agrarische natuurbeheer kan in de toekomst volstaan met drie eenvoudige pakketten, uitgevoerd door zelfsturende collectieven. Dat is de conclusie van een groep van tien boeren die op uitnodiging van Staatssecretaris Henk Bleker een advies heeft geformuleerd over de toekomst van het agrarisch natuurbeheer. De drie pakketten beschrijven het beheer voor drie biotopen: grasland, akker en kleinschalig landschap. Daardoor ontstaan geschikte leefgebieden voor allerlei soorten vogels, amfibieën, insecten, vleermuizen en andere zoogdieren. Ook voor de soorten waar Nederland internationale verplichtingen voor heeft.

ANB in nieuwe opzet kan deel uit maken van de beoogde vergroening van de landbouw en de certificering van vergroeningsmaatregelen met oog op vergoedingen vanuit EU-beleid:

De boeren zijn van mening dat certificering kansen biedt om de landbouw te vergroenen (pijler 1) met een breed keuzemenu van duurzaamheidsmaatregelen voor meerdere EU thema’s (biodiversiteit, water, bodem, klimaat, energie). Want zo stelde Wim Stegeman (akkerbouwer Flevoland): “vergroening gaat om verduurzaming en dat is breder dan natuur”. Het agrarisch natuurbeheer kan onderdeel uitmakenvan zo’n brede certificering.

Reduced fee for PUREFOOD winter school!

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UPDATE: The deadline for applications to the International Winter School and Forum on Contemporary Agri-food Issues, 12-22 November in Barcelona has been extended until October 11th.  There are now a limited number of spots available in the course for a reduced fee of €400.  If you would like to apply for a reduced fee, please add a paragraph to your application form justifying your reason for requesting the fee reduction.  If you have already submitted your application and would like to request a reduction in fees, please amend your application including a justification for your request and send to the contacts below.
For more information about the Winter School click on  Beyond Divides – Program and Application Form. If you want to participate, please complete the application form and send it to Jessica Spayde (spaydejj@cardiff.ac.uk) and Leah Ashe (lashend@gmail.com)  by 11 October 2012.

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challengedkidsinternational's avatarCKi - Challenged Kids International

Stanford University researchers conducted a meta-analysis* of seventeen studies in humans and 230 field studies of nutrient and contaminant levels in unprocessed foods (e.g., fruits, vegetables, grains, milk, eggs, chicken, pork, and meat). The study, published in The Annals of Internal Medicine (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22944875), concluded that “the published literature lacks strong evidence that organic foods are significantly more nutritious than conventional foods. Consumption of organic foods may reduce exposure to pesticide residues and antibiotic-resistant bacteria.” 

This conclusion has received vast media coverage – announcing that this meta-analysis demonstrates clearly that organic foods might not have more nutritious value than conventional foods and questioning the “value add” of producing and eating organic. Is organic food little more than a made up marketing scheme, another way for affluent consumers to waste money?This was the kind of questions that came to my mind when reading the articles from influential newspapers like…

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