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BRITISH LIBRARY


The British Library has recently launched a new interactive resource entitled Food Stories, a website that examines the revolutionary changes that have taken place in the production and consumption of food in the UK over the last century. The website can be found at:

www.bl.uk/learning/histcitizen/foodstories/index.html


Using recordings from the British Library Sound Archive, the animated resource covers a range of subjects: from tradition and ritual, cultural identity and migration to farming, technology, food miles and Fairtrade.
Detailed transcripts and background contextual information are provided for each recording.Teachers' Notes and Student Activities also accompany the website.
 

The recordings featured on the website were selected from the British Library Sound Archive life story collections focused on food. This collection, titled 'Food: from source to salespoint' holds over 300 life story recordings of people who work in all different aspects of food production in the UK – chefs, manufacturers, farmers, food activists etc. The recordings cover the period of time from the late 1880s to the present day and range from 4 hours to 30 hours in duration. The recordings have been archived at the British Library and are available, subject to copyright, to British Library users.

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There is enough food in the world to more than sustain the hungry while not disenfranchising the mobility and alertness of the rich and the aspiring rich, enough food to feed the world. Enough food to reach the hungry.

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COOKIT! and COOKIT-WRITEIT! (see www.gfw.co.uk)

Application forms are now available on line for this year's CookIt! and for CookIt–WriteIt! (for 15–18 year olds) both of which will be sponsored by Sacla'. The theme for CookIt! will be a two-course family meal (main course and pudding) for a special occasion using mostly fresh and healthy ingredients.

Sacla' will sponsor a judges' lunch to decide the CookIt–WriteIt! essay winner from a group of finalists. We also hope they will support a CookIt! stand at the next Childrens' Food Festival.

Please can all members support both competitions and spread the word, either by word of mouth, approaching local schools or by press coverage – the event has been really successful in previous years and we want this year to have more entries than ever before! For full information see the Guild's website www.gfw.co.uk.

GENERAL NEWS

DIARY

 

Strawberry Teas

 

Strawberry Teas is a UK wide fundraising initiative which recruits people to hold strawberry themed parties during June to raise money and awareness of Breast Cancer Care's work with their friends, families and colleagues. A Strawberry Tea can be anything from a strawberry cream tea in the garden, a healthy berry bonanza for the kids or an afternoon strawberry tea-break in the office. Whatever the supporter decides, Breast Cancer care will send a fundraising pack full of ideas, hints and tips to help with their event. If members want to back the fundraiser by helping to raise money, by writing about the even or creating a strawberry recipe for them, please contact Sarah Georgiakakis, telephone 020 7960 3532 or email SarahG@breastcancercare.org.uk.

 

 

Oxford Symposium on Food and Cookery

 

Friday 12 to Sunday 14 September 2008

 

This year's Oxford Symposium on Food and Cookery will take place at St Catherine's College, Oxford and this year's subject is Vegetables: as foodstuffs, symbols and as part of the whole of the human diet. What are the special characteristics of these members of the Plant Kingdom? Is the distinction between vegetables and fruits scientific or cultural? Do vegetables have a presence in myth, literature and art as much as fruit and flowers have? Is there a language and symbolism of vegetables as there is a language of flowers? Have they been seen as low-status, poor foods for the lower classes until recently? The history of particular food plants and the effect of these plants upon history and the human diet - for example the spread of vegetables in the Mediterranean with Islam, the voyages of discovery and vegetables from the New World, their uneven acceptance in the Old World, the Columbian Exchange, North v South, East v West, potatoes and famine, maize and monoculture, tomatoes revolutionizing cuisines. Changing tastes - the acceptance of new vegetables and the discovery of new flavours. Dietary prohibitions and injunctions – religious, cultural, philosophical and economic vegetarianism. Nutrition, health and welfare issues. The economic dimension. Biodiversity, plant breeding and scientific intervention on the genetic level. Human omnivory and evolution. How vegetables figure in food fashions. Changing agricultural methods of growing vegetables, changing modes of distribution and marketing.

 

www.oxfordsymposium.org.uk

 

Registration forms for 2008 can be downloaded from the website. We expect the Symposium to be oversubscribed, as usual, and advise booking early. A number of registration options are available, which include the choice of whether to stay in college, attendance at the Friday and Saturday night dinners, and a student rate for qualified applicants. If you have questions, please contact the Registrar, Patsy Iddison, 3 Upper Grotto Road, Twickenham TWI 4NG. Telephone: 020 8892 5587. Email: patsy@oxfordsymposium.org.uk.

 

 

The Sophie Coe Food History Prize

 

This prize, in memory of the distinguished food historian Sophie Coe, is presented each year at the Oxford Symposium on Food and Cookery. The £1,500 cash award is given to an essay or article on some aspect of food history, embodying new research or providing new insights. Work published in the preceding 12 months is eligible as is newly written, unpublished material. Authors of Symposium papers and other food-history work are encouraged to apply. This year's deadline for submissions is Tuesday, 8 July 2008. The winner will be selected by a small panel of anonymous judges Full details and entry conditions are available on the Symposium website. For further information, contact the Prize Secretary, Harlan Walker: Harlan.w@btinternet.com.

 

 

Foods from Spain National Primary Schools Competition

 

Last year's Foods from Spain National Primary Schools Competition, received more than 450 healthy eating collages from around the country. The best pictures were displayed at the first ever Children's Food Festival in July, and then at the Unicorn Children's Theatre.

 

This year, the competition is running again - this time with £3,000 as the top prize and more runners up prizes. Classes must design a collage, to represent 'Healthy eating with fresh fruit and vegetables from Spain'.

 

They must use materials from glossy magazines or comics or cut-up old clothes or even fruit peel and dried fruit and nuts.

 

The closing date for entries is Friday 23 May 2008.

 

First Prize: The winning class wins £3,000 towards facilities for the school

Second Prize: £1,000 towards facilities for the school 

Third Prize: £500 towards facilities for the school

Four x Year group winners (years 3, 4, 5 & 6): A set of 30 Foods from Spain sports bibs 

Runners Up: A set of 30 Foods from Spain pencils

 

The competition is open to all school children in years 3 to 6 inclusive in England and the equivalent school years in the rest of the UK.

Entry packs have been sent out to schools and can also be downloaded from www.foodsfromspain.co.uk.

 

Foods from Spain is headed by food writer and Guild member Maria José Sevilla.

 

 

TESCO AND FREEDOM OF INFORMATION

 

The NUJ is calling on members to write to the Chief Executive of Tesco to condemn a libel action against two Thai journalists and The Guardian. Several well known authors, including Nick Horrnby, Mark Haddon, Joanne Harris, Marina Lewycka and Deborah Moggach, have sent an open letter calling on Tesco to drop its 'grossly disproportionate' action.

 

A former MP and a business journalist in Thailand face prison sentences and £18m in damages after criticising the supermarket's aggressive plans for expansion in the country.

 

NUJ General Secretary, Jeremy Dear, said: 'Tesco's bid to silence its critics should be vigorously opposed by all those who believe in freedom of expression. The chilling effect of such actions would be to deny the public the right to know about the practices of major corporations.'

 

According to the Times, Tesco's chief executive, Sir Terry Leahy, has said the company tried 'time and time again' to engage with its critics. In a further statement, Tesco said: 'Despite numerous attempts to get them to set the record straight, this has not happened.'

 

Nonetheless, the NUJ parliamentary group will be tabling an early day motion condemning the company's actions. If this is something you feel strongly about, you can find a model email to send to your MP by clicking on www.nujcampaigns.org.uk/cgi-bin/show_campaign.cgi?c=4.

 

JOB OPPORTUNITIES

 

Bettys Cookery School in Harrogate, part of Yorkshire family business Bettys & Taylors, is searching for a new Tutor and trainee Tutor. Very special skills are needed. A chef's technical knowledge is necessary, but also the confidence and people skills to communicate a love of food to customers, together with an ability to demonstrate dishes.

 

Applicants do not have to be professional chefs - gifted cooks with professional aspirations may suit, and the trainee post could be right for a 'foody graduate.' 

 

If this could be you, please send a handwritten letter explaining why and enclosing your CV to: Richard Jones, Bettys Cookery School, Hookstone Park, Harrogate HG2 7LD.

 

For more information about the Cookery School, click on www.bettyscookeryschool.co.uk.

 

 

Environment UK magazine is a quarterly that has been running for two years. It was set up as a networking tool for environmental professionals to encourage communication across industries. They are happy to receive news stories, case studies and feature ideas for future issues of the magazine or their website. Contact editor, Alex Stacey: editor@enuk.net.

 

Mexico Food

http://www.cicilsiptic.org/

Sunday 11 to Saturday 17 May 2008

National Watercress Week

www.watercress.co.uk

 

Monday 12 to Sunday 18 May 2008

Coeliac Awareness Week

www.coeliac.org.uk

 

Wednesday 14 to Friday 16 May 2008

Salon International De L'Alimentation, Shanghai New International Expo Centre, China

www.sialchina.com

 

Saturday 17 and Sunday 18 May 2008

Royal Welsh Agricultural Society: Smallholder and Garden Festival at the Showground, Llanelwedd, Builth Wells, Powys LD2 3SY

Food from field to plate including Welsh Farmer's Market and large display of pig keeping

www.rwas.co.uk

 

Press tickets available, contact Rhian Davies on 08719 198325.

For other information call Liz Wright, Smallholder Editor, on 01354 741538 or email liz.wright1@btconnect.com.

 

Saturday 17 and Sunday 18 May 2008

Wholly Herbs at West Dean Gardens, West Dean, Chichester, West Sussex PO18 0QZ

www.westdean.org.uk

 

Thursday 29 to Saturday 31 May 2008

The Split Food Festival in Croatia.

www.1001delicija.com

For press info, contact Ingrid Badurina, Ingrid.dabdurina@1001delicija.com

 

Thursday 29 May to Sunday 1 June 2008

Taste of Edinburgh at The Meadows, Edinburgh

www.channel4.com/taste

Contact Amanda Parkinson on 020 7257 6476 or amanda.parkinson@wildcard.co.uk

 

Saturday 31 May and Sunday 1 June 2008

Bristol Vegan Fayre at Bristol Harbourside

www.bristolveganfayre.co.uk

 

Sunday 1 June 2008

Open Farm Sunday.

Organised by LEAF (Linking Environment and Farming), this is a chance for everyone to visit a working farm somewhere in the country to learn more about food production. See www.farmsunday.org.

 Press inquries: Naomi Barry, telephone: 01189 475956 or email naomi.barry@ceres-pr.co.uk.

 

Tuesday 3 June 2008

Institute of Hospitality 2008 Annual Lunch at the Royal Garden Hotel, Kensington, London

 

Tickets for the annual lunch are priced at £85 per person, with a discounted rate of £800 for tables of 10. For bookings and further information, contact David Golder, Institute of Hospitality Events and Branch Co-ordinator, on telephone: 020 8661 4924; or email: david.golder@instituteofhospitality.org or visit: www.instituteofhospitality.org.

 

Thursday 5 to Sunday 8 June 2008

Taste of Leeds in Millennium Square, Leeds

www.channel4.com/taste

Contact Amanda Parkinson on 020 7257 6476 or amanda.parkinson@wildcard.co.uk

 

Thursday 12 to Sunday 15 June 2008

Taste of Dublin in Iveagh Gardens, Dublin

www.tastefestivals.ie

 

Tuesday 10 June 2008

National Children's Nutrition Conference: 'Better Nutrition, Better Learning, Better Futures', at St David's Hotel, Cardiff

 

Speakers will include: Jane Hutt AM, Minister for Children, Education, Lifelong Learning and Skills; Professor Amanda Kirby, Medical Director of the Dyscovery Centre at the University of Wales, Newport (www.dyscovery.co.uk); Professor Michael Crawford, Director of the Institute of Brain Chemistry and Human Nutrition at London Metropolitan University; Dr Paul Clayton, Immediate Past President of the Forum on Food & Health at the Royal Society of Medicine; and Professor Bonnie J Kaplan of the Faculty of Medicine, University of Calgary, in Canada.

 

Contact the Dyscovery Centre on 01633 432330 or email trainingdyscovery@newport.ac.uk. Bookings received on or before Wednesday 30 April cost £80, and £95 after that date, with a concessionary charge of £65 for students

Saturday 9 and Sunday 10 August 2008 Chilli Fiesta at West Dean Gardens, West Dean, Chichester, West Sussex PO18 0QZ www.westdean.org.uk 

Sunday 24 and Monday 25 August 2008 Wirral Food and Drink Festiva www.wirralfoodfestival.co.uk  

Saturday 6 and Sunday 7 September 2008 Totally Tomato Show at West Dean Gardens, West Dean, Chichester, West Sussex PO18 0QZ www.westdean.org.uk 

Friday 26 to Sunday 28 September 2008 Cornwall Food and Drink Festival 2008 on Lemon Quay, Truro.For further press information or images, please contact Alexis Thornely on 01392 278801 or email pr@onevoicemedia.co.uk.  

Saturday 11 and Sunday 12 October 2008 Apple Affair at West Dean Gardens, West Dean, Chichester, West Sussex PO18 0QZ www.westdean.org.uk 

Saturday 25 October 2008 Feast of Food, food and drink festival in Marlborough, Wiltshire SN8 1PA10am - 4pmA fundraising event for Cancer Research UK www.marlboroughcancerresearch.org

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Poets, writers, artists Wherever you are in the world,  protect and promote your current theatre, art, poetry, music campaigns  We want to emphasise real links between the arts and food economics and to help fair trading and direct online access for small food producers. 

Over the past seven years, London Food Film Fiesta has begun a dialogue between artists, musicians, authors, filmmakers and poets and also with representatives of the food industry from over 30 countries, as a consequence of the very active website. Essential world regions where ‘artistic transactions’ might beneficially occur are being studied and explored.

We wish to identify artists and arts organisations that might be able to contribute to the restructuring and growth of this website. In particular, we want to initiate contact between artists and relevant local food growers or suppliers. We believe that much talent is unexplored or inhibited, simply because someone happens to live in the ‘wrong’ country. Our target is to bring together the artistic element for the proposed mainstream event, to be held at one or more venues in London within the next four years. Food is something that crosses all generations and international communities. It is socially inclusive and cohesive, it is necessary to our survival and, in an aesthetic context, has unlimited appeal. The wealth of the planet is becoming increasingly polarised in the global market. Market growth is at the expense of the freely given, the non-monetary transactions of human communication. Everything that springs from affection and creative expression is an action that does not exploit the poor.

All usefulness has one thing in common – an obsession with wealth. The real problem in the world is not the poor, but the rich. The opposite of poverty is not wealth, but sufficiency. Poor people want enough for their sustenance. They want to be relieved from insecurity, which threatens them with constant eviction and hunger. They want a period of security, peace and stability to bring up a new generation and nurture creative talent.

BBC Good Food Shows

 

 

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Supermarket Wars Food and Poverty

Holding on to the Aid Line
  OxfamDEC
Myanmar (Burma) DEC Cyclone Appeal  
 
 


Dear Food in the Arts supporter,

Twelve days on
An estimated 1.5 million people remain in urgent need of clean water and sanitation, 12 days after Cyclone Nargis struck Myanmar (Burma), on 3 May. The official death toll has reached almost 32,000, with more than 34,000 people still missing.

If you have already responded to the Disasters Emergency Committee Appeal thank you, your support is already helping to save lives.

If you have not yet given a donation, please do so today.

Already, local organisations in Myanmar, funded by Oxfam, are delivering relief to 22,000 people, and repairing damaged wells in the Ayeyarwaddy and Yangon regions. They're distributing rice beans and oil; clean drinking water; plastic sheeting for emergency shelters; and first-aid kits. This is only the start, as we plan to scale-up our response in the days ahead.

Oxfam will continue to work with partner organisations while pressing for more aid workers and technical experts to be allowed into the country to help assess, prioritise, and organise relief work.

Read why aid workers on the ground are vital

Fast response is crucial. Water-borne disease thrives in conditions like those in the Delta region. Sarah Ireland, Oxfam’s Regional Director, says: “It’s a ‘perfect storm’ of factors such as lack of water, sanitation, heavy rain, lack of food, as well as disease, such as cholera, that could all combine to endanger 1.5 million lives.”

If you haven’t already done so, please act now, and give whatever you can afford.

Please give whatever you can afford to help all of those suffering in Myanmar (Burma).

To donate by telephone please call Oxfam on: 0300 200 1999, or the DEC direct on: 0870 60 60 900.

Thank you for your support,

Yours sincerely,

Jane 

Cocking

Jane Cocking,
Humanitarian Director, Oxfam.

PS: Our thoughts go out to all those affected by the earthquake in China, our affiliate organisation, Oxfam Hong Kong is responding. You can find out more and donate online on our website.

 

Oxfam works with others to overcome poverty and suffering.
Oxfam GB is a member of Oxfam International.
A company limited by guarantee and registered in London No. 612172.
Registered office: Oxfam House, John Smith Drive, Cowley, Oxford, OX4 2JY.
Registered Charity No. 202918. Tel: 0870 333 2700
www.oxfam.org.uk

Oxfam : Be Humankind