In these cash-strapped times,
local food producers offer consumers a way to not only save cash but
eat healthier too.  It’s a little known fact that locally produced
food can be cheaper than that available in the supermarket, the problem
is people just don’t know where to look.  Until now.  BigBarn,
the UK’s leading local food website, has just made finding out how everyone
can save by buying local that much easier. 

While
many Farm Shops have signs showing price comparisons with local supermarkets
and others check prices and are confident they are cheaper, consumers
only find out they are saving money when they visit the shop. 
Thanks to BigBarn all this has changed.  BigBarn already puts consumers
in touch with local producers through its popular postcode-generated
map technology and has now introduced a new £ flag to its maps, showing
producers who are cheaper than the local supermarket. 

All people have to do it visit www.bigbarn.co.uk and type in their postcode. 
Over 6,500 producers and retailers have icons on the BigBarn map from
farm shops to Farmers Markets.  Clicking on a producer’s icon
reveals what they offer, ratings and feedback from the public and the
ability to get in touch direct with the producer themselves.  Over
400 of these local producers and retailers have already registered cheaper
products.

How can this be?  The
supermarkets huge buying power does mean they can buy cheap, but the
supply chain costs mean that farmers only get 9p in every £1 spent
on food in a supermarket.  The maths is simple – if the producer
can sell direct for even 50p he will be getting five times as much and
giving the stretched consumer a 50% discount on supermarket prices –
a win-win, for all but the supermarket!  No wonder the new BigBarn
flag is proving so popular!   

Thousands of people have already
recognised the difference and changed to shopping locally every week
for essentials and the supermarket once a month for dry goods. Many
are even making extra savings by avoiding BOGOFs and impulse buys.

“Who’s?
Glass is a fresh, young, environmentally aware glass-making company
that specialises in unique, handcrafted recycled glassware. 
The fundamental ethos
of Who’s? Glass is to make the recycling of a used glass bottle as
environmentally friendly as possible – to transform, what in effect
is discarded domestic
or commercial waste, into contemporary useable glassware products.”
 

Established
in May 2008 and set in the picturesque port town of Bideford North
Devon, Who’s? Glass conveys
the essence and tranquillity of Devon’s rolling windswept moors and
turquoise green seas.  Who’s? Glass is a company committed to
the environment and is proud to offer a
clean alternative to the UK’s polluting glass making industry. 
Since the first bottle was collected, washed and reshaped, Who’s?
Glass has gone from strength to strength as Devon’s first and, at
present, only glass company specialising in recycled bottle
glassware.  And so the journey began….

Who’s?
Glass is made up of three talented
glassmakers, comprising of two generations of experience in this
genuine family
affair.  Lars Anders Persson is a Swedish Master Glassmaker with
over 40 years experience in the glass making industry. Lars has
helped create pieces for companies such as Tiffany & Co., Cartier
and Wedgwood, amongst many others, and has worked for some of the
world’s top glass houses.  Working alongside Lars is his
eldest son Anders, who has over 16 years experience in the glass
industry and is a keen participant in new technical developments in
recycled glass.  The youngest son, Matthew, completes the team. 
Matthew is a multi-award winning glass designer who has
designed ranges for some
of Britain’s top high street stores and last
year won the prestigious ‘Gift Of The Year’ award – made in the
UK category. As a group they are individual,
talented and outstandingly
creative and are committed in their quest to establish Who’s? Glass
as the UK’s leading producer of innovative recycled
glassware products.

Campaigners converge on Coventry for crucial climate change protest

Hundreds of campaigners from around the country will join forces with NASA’s Dr James Hansen, a world expert on global warming, in Coventry on 19 March 2009 for a national Climate Change Day of Action. The aim is to highlight the plight of millions of poor people in developing countries for whom extreme weather conditions are now a matter of life or death.

The Climate Change Day of Action has been organised by Christian Aid, in partnership with CAFOD, the Stop Climate Chaos Coalition and the World Development Movement. It will call on Prime Minister Gordon Brown, and other world leaders, to ensure that the plight of the world’s poorest countries is central to crucial climate change talks taking place in Copenhagen, Denmark in December.

The Day of Action will begin with a service at Coventry Cathedral at noon attended by Dr Hansen, and the Right Reverend James Stuart Jones, the Bishop of Liverpool, together with more than a thousand campaigners. This will be followed by a New Orleans style funeral march around the city by hundreds of ‘mourners’ dressed in black in remembrance of those who have already died as a consequence of extreme climate change.

The march will begin at 1.30pm at the old Cathedral ruins in Coventry town centre and end by the Civic Centre, Little Park Street at 2.30pm.

The ‘mourners’ will then visit the nearby headquarters of power company E.ON, with the final message of the day: ‘No to coal!’ Protestors will show their opposition to plans by E.ON to build a new coal-fired power station at Kingsnorth in Kent by ending the funeral march at the company’s front door.

The Copenhagen talks in December must agree new carbon capping limits to come into force when the first phase of the Kyoto Protocol ends in 2012. Vulnerable communities in countries with the least responsibility for carbon emissions are now bearing the brunt of the impact of climate change through droughts, floods, desertification, an increase of extreme weather phenomena such as hurricanes and typhoons, and a higher incidence of disease.

The organisations participating in the Climate Change Day of Action are concerned there will be no agreement in Copenhagen if richer countries refuse to show leadership over cutting their own emissions, and agree to shoulder the cost of helping the developing world with clean development and adaptation to climate change.

If the Kingsnorth power station gets the go-ahead before technology is developed to capture and store carbon emissions it would emit in excess of seven million tonnes of CO2 a year – more than the combined annual emissions of the 30 least emitting countries or nine times the total annual emissions of Rwanda.

Dr Hansen, Director of NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space, who recently publicly warned US President Barack Obama about the importance of tackling climate change said: ‘Time is running out for the climate and the vulnerable people of our planet. Campaigning on climate change has never been more crucial. Make sure you add your voices to the Climate Change Day of Action.’

Hansen also recently described plans for a new coal-fired plant at Kingsnorth as: ‘A terrible idea. One power plant with a lifetime of several decades will destroy the efforts of millions of citizens to reduce their emissions.’

Fruit Passion to build on links with Costa Rica and Brazil

Fairtrade brand Fruit Passion have gone to great lengths to produce their new blend of Orange, Pineapple and Passion Fruit.

Fruit Passion was the first Fairtrade juice in the UK and their ethics remain the same – paying growers a fair price to enable them to plan for the future and build sustainable businesses. Katy Tysom – Fruit Passion Brand Manager explained, “At Fruit Passion we have been working with growers in Cuba since we
launched in 2001, and thanks to working closely with Traidcraft, we
have established some great trade agreements with the co-operatives. 

“As you can imagine working within Cuba has specific issues of its own,
in terms of trade, but now the workers here are really seeing massive
improvements in their working and family lives.  It’s been wonderful to
be a part of it, and for me, one of the nicest things is hearing their
stories, and seeing their photos of the new additions bought with the
premiums.

“We are also now working with Costa Rica and Brazil, for our newly added
Fairtrade ingredients pineapple and passion fruit.  We’re keen to
continue to build our links with the growers and support them via
Fairtrade.  Our exciting plans for the year ahead include a new format
– a 330ml bottle for on-the-go drinking, because, now, you can buy
fairtrade coffee almost everywhere on the high street and we hope to be
able to bring fairtrade juice to the same audience.”

Fruit Passion and Fairtrade are helping farmers around the world and we
can enjoy the juices safe in the knowledge it is benefitting more than
our tastebuds.

Available from Sainsbury’s, Waitrose, The Co-operative, Traidcraft, all good independent stores.

For more information go to www.fruit-passion.co.uk or email; fruitpassion@gerberjuice.com

With all the dodgy dealings and financial problems over the past year it’s difficult to know who you can trust with your money. The global banks are not your only option, why not switch your account to an ethical bank?

What is an ethical bank?
Ethical banks – including Triodos Bank, the Charity Bank and the Co-operative Bank – are breaking the financial mould, with a more progressive approach that values people and planet as well as profit. Ethical savers benefit from a ‘dual return’. As well as the interest they earn from their savings, they know that they’ve made an investment for good, and their money’s working in a way that they’re proud of.

The Break The Bank Campaign is an opportunity for you to do something to make a difference. it’s very simple.

1. Select an ethical bank (yes, they do exist) either by searching online or following this link to Ethical Junction’s ethical finance directory > > >

2. Close your existing bank account and open one with your chosen ethical bank.
    
3. Send an email to info@ethical-junction.org with the following words in the Subject line:

I broke the bank at [name of your old bank] and joined [name of your new bank]

We will then add up all the banks that have been left and all the banks joined and publish the results on 1 May 2009.

Enjoy making a difference today!

Join the campaign and spread the word. Break The Bank is on facebook >>> 

Click here to enter a prize draw for a £169 Samson 6-in-1 Juicer from Energise Your Life > > >

The Samson Juicer was recently voted “Best Buy”
Masticating Juicer by Which? magazine. It now also comes with an upgraded augur and strengthened juicing screen.

Energise Your Life supply quality products that help you live a healthier life. Visit their website to find our more > > > 

Choose a juicer quickly and confidently with Energise Your Life’s easy guide

There are plenty of new fads around as we enter a new year, and often health-related ones are the shortest lived of them all.  Take juicing for example, a quick and easy way of ensuring all the vitamins, minerals and other trace elements needed for optimum health.  Juicing is a great way of managing a safe, full system detox, or ideally as a very simple daily way of ensuring five-a-day of fruit and vegetables – in fact with a juicer you will probably double or even treble this intake with ease!

But, what kind of gadget is the best?  Picking the
wrong type of machine for your exact needs could make the difference
between many happy years of daily juicing and the associated health
benefits, and one which ends up at the back of the cupboard gathering
dust.

Energise Your Life (www.energiseyourlife.com)’s top UK website not only
sells a multitude of health gadgets from juicers, sprouters, ionisers,
filters and milk making machines, but is also a mine of information for
a healthy living lifestyle.  Offering impartial advice, helpful buying
and usage guides and clear comparison charts, Energise Your Life also
offers competitive prices – up to £104 off juicer RRPs – and free next
day delivery in the UK.

Here’s a link to the Energise Your Life juicer comparison chart,
comparing in comprehensive detail ten different automatic juicers
according to twelve criteria including ease of use and cleaning, juice
quality and yield, whether it juices wheatgrass, speed, warranties and
what else it makes, such as pasta, icecream, nut butters and sorbets,
and price comparison.

Energise Your Life’s top recommendation is the Samson 6-in-1 juicer –
awarded Best Buy Masticating Juicer by Which? Magazine and scoring top
marks in all categories.  Fantastic value at £169 (£30 cheaper than
RRP) the Samson juices fruits and vegetables as well as wheatgrass, and
can be used for making icecream, pasta, dips, noodles, nut butters and
sorbets.  Its compact size doesn’t take up too much surface space, and
it comes with a ten year motor guarantee.

A great mid-range juicer is the Solo Star II (£225), which in tests has
shown to produce over 20% more juice than the Oscar Vitalmax, and since
its recent introduction into the UK is proving to be a best seller
amongst juiceaholics.

If you’re serious about your juicing and want the optimum nutrition and
best quality juice around, it’s worth seeing the purchase of a juicer
as an investment.  Energise Your Life offers the Green Star GS2000
(£355) and the Green Star Gold – (at £395 saving £104 on the RRP) –
these truly are the Rolls-Royces of juicing and offer fantastic
performance, quality and longevity.   These twin gear juicers give such
high performance they are the favourite choice of raw food fanatics and
give the best results of all for wheatgrass and green juices.

Juicy facts:

• Drinking juiced fruits or vegetables gives your body and
  instant concentrated boost of nutrients, enzymes, vitamins and minerals
  in a form easily absorbed and digested by the body – entering the
  bloodstream within 30 minutes of consumption
• Juicing is healthy because the amount of vegetables or fruits
  juiced is much higher than eating whole items; not only this but it
  increases the amount of raw food in the diet, which has been shown to
  improve energy, detoxifies the body and boosts the immune system.
• Chlorophyll from green juices detoxifies the liver and builds
  red blood cells and is even thought to help prevent and remove cancer
  cells.
• Raw vegetable juices are alkaline, helping reduce acidity and its associated negative health implications.
• Some juices are even thought to be medicinal, such as
  cucumber and onion which help the pancreas produce insulin, and the
  natural antibiotic properties of garlic, onions and tomatoes.
• Juices could even help slow down ageing!  The minerals
  calcium, silicon and potassium are vital for cell health – a lack of
  these nutrients almost certainly speeds up cell death and thereby the
  ageing process.

Over the past few months, the ethical brand consultancy Scamper Branding have been pushing the boundaries of affordable web design and are now able to develop professional websites for a fraction of the usual cost.

“From our experience in web design and discussions with our clients, we found that there was a huge disparity between the cheap template websites that don’t meet clients needs, and custom designed websites that are very time consuming and therefore expensive to build” says Scamper’s Tom Greenwood.

“What many companies need is something in between, giving them a high
level of style and functionality at a price they can afford.”
By utilising the open source WordPress content management system (CMS)
and modifying the style and functionality of existing design themes,
Scamper are now able to give their clients advanced websites for the
cost of much more basic ones.

“We believe so strongly in this technique that we decided to practice
what we preach, and redesigned our own website according to these
principles. You can see the result at www.ScamperBranding.com” says
Vineeta Greenwood, co-founder of Scamper.

Now, to celebrate the launch of our new website, we are offering
Ethical Junction members free carbon neutral hosting with all WordPress
sites, as well as 10% off any sites ordered before the 1 April
2009.

Crunch your way healthily through the credit crisis by growing fresh vitamins and minerals on your windowsill !

Start the New Year afresh and give your bank balance a break after all the excesses and expense of the festive season – growing your own sprouts is the healthiest way of joining the raw food revolution and adding concentrated fresh vitamins and minerals to your daily diet, plus it will save money by bringing the farmers market into your home. Energiseyourlife.com aims to encourage everyone to consider their health-enhancing and longevity-promoting kitchen juicers, sprouters and water purifiers, to give the consumer control over their own health, in their own homes.

But why sprouts? Aren’t they those horrid green things we eat for Christmas dinner, which children hate and which make the kitchen smell for days afterwards… The answer is no! The sprouts we’re talking about here are actually micro greens – fresh salad leaves at the very beginning of their growth cycle, when they are at their freshest and healthiest. These tiny mini greens contain minerals, vitamins, antioxidants and even protein, giving you a daily dose of all the nutrients you need with no need for a daily synthetically produced vitamin pill. Sprouts aren’t just for health freaks either – they can be an important natural boost for the elderly, children, and the infirm, as well as a rich source of nutrients for vegans and vegetarians.

Oriental medicine has used raw sprouts for thousands of years for medicinal purposes. Increasing energy levels, vitality and
even helping prevent and convalesce from disease, raw sprouts are easy to grow with the EasyGreen MikroFarm Sprouter – harvest a handful of delicious, vitamin-packed mini salad leaves as and when you need them, to add to soups, salads, sandwiches and packed lunches for a quick fix of minerals and vitamins and a lasting energy boost.

Doing it yourself can be fiddly and time consuming, with daily water changes, muslin cloths, daily strainings and quite a fiasco – but the EasyGreen
MikroFarm Sprouter makes it easy, with their simple sprouter system, seeds, oxygen (the key ingredient in growing sprouts!) and water: the sprouts stay freshly watered and oxygenated, ensuring no mould growth and only the freshest, healthiest greens for everyday consumption.

Not only that, but with Energise Your Life’s range of sprouters, juicers and other healthy living gadgets, you can ensure optimum health within your own kitchen for years to come.

The EasyGreen MikroFarm only uses 100% recyclable packaging, including compressed paper chipboard
packaging, and uses no plastic at all, just recycled paper and organic ink. Energise Your Life are the exclusive distributors in the UK and Ireland for the EasyGreen MikroFarm.

The EasyGreen Sprouter is currently priced at £149 at www.energiseyourlife.com – the perfect Christmas gift or start to the New Year!

Vintage Roots annual wine tasting and Christmas offers
Henley River and Rowing Museum
Saturday 29 November

Vintage Roots are also doing lots of special offer organic wines, beers, spirits and gift ideas for Christmas season. Visit their website to
find out more.