This October we are celebrating Bake With Compassion Month especially as it was World Food Day on the 16th, so we are giving away more yummy Respect Organics cakes (an assortment of organic carrot cake, chocolate cake, banana loaf and ginger crush cake) along with a gorgeous ‘Cooking from the farmer’s market’ cookbook.
The competition ends at midnight UK time on 31st October and the lucky winner will be picked at random from all our e-newsletter subscribers on 1st November 2014.
Congratulations to last month’s competition winners Denise Jenkins who won a selection of Respect Organics cakes and to Emily OMara who won a lovely fresh organic Veg Box from Goldhill Organics.
Click here to enter our prize draw >>
Cooking from the farmers market
Cooking from the farmers market by Tasha De Serio and Jodi Liano
We were inspired to get this cookbook for you after our Web Manager Anna at Compassionate Dorset / The Compassion Collective blogged about it!
Anna says, “It is packed full of recipes, mostly using fresh vegetables so plenty here for vegetarians. And of course it’s so important to support local farmers. Here in Dorchester, Dorset, we have a farmers market every Wednesday and the fruit and veg is so much cheaper and fresher you really can taste the difference and it makes you feel good. (They do a delicious rye flour sough dough bread there too which I am particularly fond of so always stock up while we are there!).”
Choose Organic and Free-Range
Currently 2 out of 3 farms worldwide are intensively factory farmed in an unsustainable way and you may be surprised to know that many farms here in the UK are factory farms, so its important to look out for local, organic and free-range food.
Eating local and seasonal food is the key. Our country is choc-full of fantastic artisan producers, and if you don’t have the time to shop around every week, why not make a visit to your local farmers market or arrange for a home delivery? Also some supermarkets are better than others at stocking regional produce.
Organic and free-range food is not only much more planet-friendly (and is kinder to animals too of course), but is also better for your health and tastes much nicer too. Look out for Soil Association logo on your meat and dairy labels and avoid the Red Tractor logo if you are concerned about animal welfare. Eating less meat is also a good idea – it is better to spend a little more money on quality food, and just eat it a little less often – vegetables and pulses are much cheaper than meat too.
Or Grow Your Own!
Growing your own vegetables in a veggie patch or in pots can be great fun and extremely satisfying! If you don’t have your own garden or enough room to grow anything, or if you do but aren’t green-fingered yourself, there are Landshare schemes where garden owners who have an unused corner of their garden allow local gardeners to come in and treat it as if it were their own garden. Garden owner benefits include the chance to link with other Gardenshare Owners and the pleasure of seeing a developing vegetable plot emerging. (Or maybe they are number hundred-and-something on the allotments waiting list and are getting a bit hungry!).
Any why not raise your own free-range chickens in your garden and enjoy fresh eggs every day?! The British Hen Welfare Trust rehomes thousands of commercial laying hens destined for slaughter that deserve loving homes (they make great pets too!) and they still lay enough lovely fresh eggs for you and your family.
Check out our Sustainable Living section for lots more information and tips on buying more sustainable food and products.