The threat of climate change and the rising costs of imported foodstuff on our nation's food security is something most Brits prefer not to think about. The thing is, it's not that scary if we personally take a little more responsibility for what we eat. How? By growing our own.The Soil Association is pushing a campaign aptly titled "Dig For Victory" to encourage people to be more self-sufficient when it comes to their food. They would like more of us to learn simple agriculture skills and start growing our own fruit and vegetables and have also proposed every child to visit a working organic farm before they turn eleven.

Patrick Holden director of the Soil Association told The Independent on Sunday "there is this perception out there that farmers have a huge knowledge and you couldn't possibly do it. But the truth is the principles [of gardening] are just scaled up in agriculture. We need to affirm that Britain's citizens do have the ability to grow their own food."

It was National Allotments Week this week a few weeks back (11-17 August) and a number of allotment sites opened their garden gates for those keen to sneak a peak. If you would like to know more about owning your own allotment visit The National Society of Allotment and Leisure Gardeners.

With energy and food prices expected to rise, it is as good a time as any to learn a new hobby. With readymade vegetable gardens available now, it has never been easier to start.

There is no denying the devastating effect fossil fuels, such as coal and oil, have on our environment. Though we are still heavily dependant on them, at least we are now changing our approach to energy usage by searching for alternatives that lower our carbon emissions and nature destructing ways. Biofuels, have until recently, been thought to be a suitable replacement for fossil fuels - renewable, clean, carbon neutral. Unfortunately this is not quite the truth.

Crops grown for biofuels need very large areas of land to produce energy. This type of agriculture is called monoculture and hugely upsets the biodiversity of our earth's vegetation. It clears lush forests abundant with thousands of species of plants and animals to make way for one plant crop. Only 2% of the rainforests in Indonesia and Malaysia will be left by 2025 if we keep clearing the land to make way for monocultures to support our fuel requirements. The amount of carbon sequestered by a dense rainforest filled to the brim with plant diversity is greater than a land covered in sugar cane.

Also each crop planted has a different effect on the soil. Some crops are known to rapidly increase soil erosion and exhaust many of its minerals particularly if they are not rotated with other types of plants. Also the pollution created in the farming and production of biofuels can be on par with fossil fuels.

Finally, one of the biggest concerns with biofuels is that they are diverting crops, like wheat, sugar and corn which have traditionally only been grown solely for food, to produce fuel. As the percentage of supply for food goes down and the demand from an ever increasing population goes up; unfortunately, so too does the cost of food.

Four good reasons being a vegetarian is better for the planet and you:

1. Animals contribute significantly to global warming. The vegetarian Society's Silent But Deadly campaign is getting the word out there that farmed animals contribute 18% of greenhouse gas emissions. Scary when compared to the entire world's transport system which is believed to emit 13.5% of total gas emissions.

2. Raising cattle is tortuous to our land and uses far more energy and resources than growing fruit, vegetables and grains. You could feed twenty vegetarians on the same piece of land you would need to feed one meat eater. Also animals hard pack the soil, destroying plant species and making it more difficult to grow crops on in future.

3. We now know meat is not essential to a healthy, balanced diet. Complete proteins found in animal products can also be found in foods like soya. Plus nuts, seeds, beans, pulses and grains like quinoa are all good sources of protein. There's strong supporting evidence organically grown produce contains more nutrients and minerals than chemically sprayed crop varieties so you can get even more iron from your organic vegies like spinach.

4. It's trendy. The Food Standards Agency's Consumer Attitudes to Food Standards survey this year found that 2% of people in the UK are now vegetarian. Stella McCartney, Anthony Kiedis and Leona Lewis are but a few well-known vegetarian celebrities paving the way with a greener diet.

If you love meat too much maybe just try cutting down a bit for the sake of our animal friendly earth, and certainly go for organic as it is kinder to the animals and the environment.

For those interested, the London Vegan Festival is on September 7th and will be held from 11am to 8pm at the Kensington Town Hall, Hornton Street, W8. Adults cost £1 to ender and kids under 16 are free.

 

The rising cost of energy and animal feed has seen an increase in the price we pay for meats (nearly 14% in the last year). We have also seen a rise in the cost of animal derived products such as butter (up 31% in the past year).

The good news for organic meat eaters, according to Robin Maynard, campaigns director for the Soil Association, is ‘over time the rising costs of oil and fossil-fuel derived inputs such as fertilisers and pesticides should favour the economics of organic farming and production compared to non-organic.' He continues with the fact that 26% less energy is required for organic farming.

Don't assume a diet that includes meat and animal products has to be more expensive in the short term though. Organic British butter for example, is currently cheaper than the well know brand Anchor Spreadable.

Try searching for locally bred animals and weigh up whether indulging in a chemical free plump piece of rump, less frequently is worth it by considering the savings to the environment and your health. Also helping organic farmers to grow and become sustainable in both a business and ecological sense enables them to pass the energy savings on to us consumers.

The EU will soon require all foods containing six specified artificial colours - sunset yellow (E110), quinoline yellow (E104) allura red (E129), carmoisine (E112) tartrazine (E102) ponceau 4R (E124) - to have warning labels on packaging due to their link in causing hyperactivity in children. The UK Food Standards Agency is asking food producers and manufacturers to voluntarily remove them altogether.

Food companies will have two years to add labels such as "may have an adverse effect on activity and attention in children." Unfortunately imported food will not be required to follow the new EU labelling system so it's best to continue reading ingredient lists if you're concerned about the effects these colours have on your kids.

Beyond making kids hyper these colours may have other adverse effects on your family's health. Tartrazine, for example, can provoke asthma attacks and interfere with digestive enzymes.

With no real purpose other than to delight the eye and entice the kiddies, the quicker we see the back of these artificial colours the better.