World Environment Day 2019

Right now we have about 30 years left of soil healthy enough to grow food. Right now we’re looking at severe water shortages in the UK within 25 years. Right now people are dealing with floods, fires and typhoons – all consequences of climate change that are becoming more common place.

The way we live is having a catastrophic effect on nature. HOWEVER! Today we can collectively swing our future onto a positive path.

Everyone keeps saying there is no magic wand. But have you ever met an Abel & Cole customer with an organic carrot in their hand and a picture of a positive future in their mind? That is power.

Pick an organic carrot from your veg box, brandish it to the world and shout, “Together we can make a difference!” (OK, so you might look like a bit of a wally, but if you want clean drinking water in your old age, it’s probably worth it.)

Pop on your favourite happy song, get that sunny grin on your face and have a think about everything you buy.

Start with food. Organic farming works with nature, not against it. Organic soil actually captures carbon – 450kg more per hectare than non organic soil. If all UK farmland went organic the amount of carbon captured would be equivalent to taking one million cars off the roads. Impressive. Organic soil is also more resilient to floods and droughts, two things we are becoming increasingly familiar with.

Do business, but better. Shop organic with Abel & Cole and you support a bevvy of independent growers and makers who go the extra farm mile to do business more sustainably. Like James Foskett  who grows organic sweet potatoes in Suffolk so we don’t have to import them from overseas (saving tonnes of carbon). Or Black Isle Brewery who feed their sheep the organic waste from the brewing process.

"We couldn’t exist without wildlife. Without our wildlife we wouldn’t have any crops; they’re much more effective than the pesticides we used when we were a conventional, nonorganic farm.” James Foskett

Walk on the wild side. Over 200 species are becoming extinct every day and this is crippling eco systems everywhere. Eco system services (these are services nature ‘gives’ us, like bees pollinating food crops and water filtering through soils) are worth $125 trillion yet every day our planetary support system gets weaker. The great news is that wildlife is 50% higher on organic farms. So just by committing to an organic diet you’re already making a big difference.

Be particular about plastic. We all know plastic is not fantastic, that’s why most of our fruit and veg is plastic free. Any packaging we do use is recyclable or compostable. We’re always reassessing our packaging, our recent innovations have included bags made from veg starch and reusable card punnets. Find out about NuCao and their amazing snack packaging (snackaging?). Right now we’re analysing the environmental impact of our milk cartons.

In our 30 years we’ve worked our organic cottons off to be a positive alternative to the negative  effects of conventional farming and mass consumption. We only work with farmers who protect and assist biodiversity and healthy organic soil, and who carefully consider how they package and transport their wonderful food and drink.

And then ask yourself…

How do you buy clothes? How do you source energy? If you garden, where do you get your water? How do you travel around? Ask your workplaces, schools and cafes what they are doing to change their impact on the world. Nudge your friends and family to reconsider their choices.