OTB announces change at the top

Adrian Carne has been announced as the new Chairman at the Organic Trade Board.
Adrian, who is Managing Director of Yeo Valley, will be supported by two new Directors in the form of Harriet O’Regan, of Arla Foods, who takes on the role of Marketing Director, and William Burgess, of RB Organic, who is now Membership Director
Roger Kerr, of Organic Farmers & Growers, will continue as Director, overseeing the organisation’s finances as Finance Director, while Martin Sawyer, of Soil Association Certification, continues as Operations Director, overseeing the OTB’s legal responsibilities.
The OTB also announced new members to its marketing committee, dedicating time and resource to driving organic.

European government considers sustainability charge on meat

A new report presented to the European Parliament calls for fair meat prices to reflect its environmental impact.
The Parliament was presented with a plan to increase the price of meat across the EU to reflect its environmental costs, including CO2 emissions and biodiversity loss. The fair-meat pricing proposal, also known as a ‘sustainability charge’, is set out in a new report, which calls for a new pricing model to be included in the European Green Deal and Farm to Fork Strategy. It would apply to member states from 2022.
The report was written by the TAPP Coalition, which comprises leading farming, health, and environment organisations, and a key aspect of the proposal is that revenues from the sustainability charge, projected at €32.2bn per year across 28 EU Member States by 2030, could be used primarily to help farmers to invest in more sustainable agricultural practices. It could also be used to lower VAT and consumer subsidies on vegetables and fruits, provide financial support for low-income households, and support developing countries to adapt to climate change and protect forests and biodiversity.
Philip Mansbridge, Executive Director (UK) for ProVeg International, one of the TAPP Coalition members, explained: “The time has come for us to act decisively with policy on the environmental consequences of animal protein, the price of which has been kept artificially low for far too long. Here, we have a solution that is fair for farmers and supports the transition to a more plant-based food system that we so urgently need if we are serious about mitigating climate change.”
Pier Vellinga, Climate Professor and TAPP Coalition Chair, added: “Including the environmental cost of animal protein in the price is a crucial element of meeting EU targets for climate, biodiversity, public health, and animal welfare.”

Vegan sweetness

A new vegan confectionery range is hitting the shelves of UK stores this spring.Plant-based chocolatier Mummy Meagz has created its Original Rocky Road Bars, which have a gooey Belgian chocolate centre and crunchy biscuit pieces. The bar is then carefully topped with fluffy pink and white marshmallows and wrapped in iconic pink stripy Mummy Meagz packaging. As well as the original, there are three other flavours in the form of Sea Salt and Cinder Toffee, Minty, and Orange.They are free from gelatine, milk, eggs, gluten and nuts, the impossibly indulgent bars are suitable for people following a wide range of diets, including vegans. They also contain no GMOs and are made using only Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) certified palm oil.

A message from Bio-D

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We’ve recently found ourselves in an unprecedented situation, currently there is a huge demand for packaging and products which means there may be some temporary changes.

At Bio-D, we’re committed to sustainable and environmentally friendly practices across everything we do, so we haven’t taken these decisions decision lightly.

Due to a demand in packaging, we might not be able to always use our 100% post-consumer recycled bottles. We’d like to reassure customers that we will be limiting our use of virgin plastics as much as possible. We’d also like to remind customers that this packaging is still fully recyclable through your kerbside collections.

Hand wash pumps are, understandably, also in high demand at the moment. They’re proving difficult to get hold of so we’re advising customers to save their existing hand wash pumps and re-use them where they can.

We’d like to thank our customers for their support and understanding.

Biodegradeable.biz

Lucy Bee donates 30,000 free soaps to charities across the UK

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Lucy Bee, the home of coconut oil, has donated thousands of its natural soap bars to charities across the UK, helping to protect against the spread of COVID-19.

Thirty-five charities from emergency services, care homes, homeless shelters and food banks will receive the soap bars, helping to support those on the front line and the most vulnerable in the community. Age UK in Manchester, London Ambulance Service and Action for Children are among those that will benefit from the soap bars.

The soaps were manufactured in partnership with the UK’s largest manufacturer of soaps, Soapworks. Lucy Bee provided all the materials for the soap base, and Soapworks turned these into soap bars free of charge. Soapworks provides employment and opportunity in an otherwise deprived area in Glasgow.

Created for charity, the soap bars are fragrance free, palm oil free, made using Lucy Bee organic coconut oil and come in a recyclable plastic wrap. Each soap bar lathers onto the skin so will last for months.