manchester foe logo

Public Transport

We campaign for an affordable, reliable and sustainable public transport service for all. Investing in good public transport brings wide benefits for social inclusion, air quality and congestion.

In autumn 2019 we backed the Better Buses for Greater Manchester campaign.

Auto Draft

Taste Before Beauty

Taste Before Beauty was a 2012 campaign on food waste, targetting the wholesale end of supply chains.

Double UK Tree Cover

Trees have the potential to play an incredible role in combating climate chaos by removing planet-wrecking emissions from the air around us. They are also invaluable because they:

As well as all these advantages, trees have immense amenity value by improving the appearance of rural landscapes and city streets and squares.

However, despite the importance of trees, just 13% of the UK’s total land area is wooded. In contrast, the EU average is 35%.

We believe one of the best solutions to protect our environment is to double UK tree cover by 2045, but government targets currently fall well short of this goal.

More information:

Real Food Guide

The Real Food Guide has been created to provide information on what ‘Real Food’ is, why to buy and eat it, and how to find it in Manchester and the locality.

See the Real Food Guide.

Plastic Free GM

After the first experience of our Plastic Free Takeaways campaign in Levenshulme, we took time to decide on a more feasible and realistic plan of action for reducing plastic in Manchester and teamed up with several interested individuals and groups to work with councils on their Plastic Free Greater Manchester campaign and encourage them to enforce tighter regulations of waste in the hospitality industry.

We researched the best eco-friendly materials, in relation to the ones with the lowest carbon-emissions at different price points, so the businesses could be fully informed and in a better position to change their packaging.

Our plans were then to visit businesses, encouraging them to make the switch. An online questionnaire was developped to engage with them and collect feedback. After an initial run of visits, the campaign was put on hold due to a lack of human resources to expand further.

The aim of this campaign, in collaboration with councils, was to reduce plastic waste in the hospitality industry across Greater Manchester, not just one concentrated area. This is one step of the many changes that we need to make as a society to reduce the catastrophic impacts of climate change and reduce our impact on the environment.

Plastic Free Takeaways

Recognising the problems of littering and ocean plastic pollution are urgent problems, our campaign Plastic-Free Takeaways was asking take-away businesses in Levenshulme to stop using plastic food and drinks containers and cutlery, and instead offer compostable eco-friendly alternatives.

As a start, we created a leaflet and spent time at Levenshulme market to raise awareness of plastic as a global and local problem. We gathered consumer support encouraging local takeaways to switch to more eco-friendly packaging. Despite the overall high number of signatures, we had only a few of them for each takeaway and encouraging change was difficult.

We took time to decide on a more feasible and realistic plan of action for reducing plastic in Manchester and teamed up with several interested individuals and groups to work with councils on their Plastic Free Greater Manchester campaign.

Feeding the 5000

Feeding the 5000 is a campaign to raise awareness of the amount of edible food wasted in a city. This event was held in June 2013 in Manchester Piccadilly Gardens with a public feast of a delicious vegan curry made from ingredients that would have otherwise gone to waste, and more often than not gone in landfill! Along with participatory cooking sessions, educational and campaign stalls and more, this day brought more than 5000 people together to enjoy good food and learn simple ways they could reduce their own food waste and petition food businesses and the government to do the same.

Quarterly Food Socials

Our quarterly food socials are generally held on the third Thursday of March, June, September and December. The idea is to learn about sustainable food, eat, drink and generally be merry. In 2016 we look forward to arranging these on a whole group basis.

In the past our food socials have included activities like bring and share dinners and picnics, trips to farms and orchards, and talks and discussions about sustainable food issues including local, organic, seasonal, vegan, food waste, packaging, food miles and lots of other topics. At the heart of it all is a desire to meet new people, share food and recipes, and have a jolly good time.

Year of Pulses

The United Nations declared 2016 as the International Year of Pulses. ..but why celebrate our love of baked beans, houmous and mushy peas!?

Pulses are the ultimate superfood and play a central role in achieving a sustainable food system. Not only are they an excellent source of protein,  and a low carbon food source,  but they also have a positive impact on soil quality through their ability to fix nitrogen in the soil.

Throughout the year we invited people to share with us their beloved bean and lentil recipes- with a small but valuable prize each month!

Parsnip and split pea soup

We will also be highlighting local food outlets which celebrate the pulse on their menus and encouraging others to do so. Please send us your favourite..

Any more ideas ? please get in touch cat@manchesterfoe.org.uk

For more information on the UN’s International Year of the Pulse see IYP 2016 and see a summary below of the reasons why the UN  celebrated the pulse.

Find out more about why we  celebrate Pulses.

Use Your Loaf

What is really in YOUR daily bread and why?

This campaign is all about what’s in our food, using our favourite staple – bread. Our recipes and links will help you buy and cook healthy, seasonal, ‘proper’ food.


Good shop bought bread contains anything from 3-5 ingredients… cheaper bread 10-20 + ingredients… So why the difference and what are all those ingredients doing in your bread and doing to you once you eat it?

Here’s a couple of links to source local real bread . . .

Trove

EveryBread

Why not have a go at making your own bread . . .

Use Your Loaf campaigner Chris has been busy baking . . .

Once upon a time, Chris’s home made bread was so heavy it could have been mistaken for a house brick, albeit without the frog and the letters L.B.C.!

With perseverance, practice, some good tips and learning from the occasional mistake, Chris’s bread making is much improved, so if Chris can do it  . . . no excuses . . . have a go yourself !

Chris has adapted a series of bread recipes for you to try, with step by step instructions and pictures of his efforts . . .

Bread recipes . . .

cwb4

Classic White Bread Loaf

 

granary loaf

Granary Bread Loaf

 

ebr4

Emergency Breakfast Rolls

 

Sourdough Bread The sourdough method uses a combination of wild yeast and an acid-generating bacteria in place of baker’s yeast. You will need to create or obtain a sourdough starter first . . .

Ingredients

Sourdough Starter

 

 

sdb4

Sourdough loaf

 

 

 

Sourdough Fougasse

 

 

chocsl4

Sourdough Chocolate Bread

 

 

Here’s another Sourdough Bread recipe . . .

Fancy some vegan pancakes?

Sourdough Pancakes

Sourdough Pancakes

 

Stale bread to use up? . . .

Bread Pudding

Bread pudding
 

 

Recipes

Our tasty recipes help you to enjoy delicious sustainable food.

RECENT

Drop scones (egg- and dairy-free)

31st May 2020

Did you know that if you open a tin of pulses and drain it, you’re throwing away a completely animal-free alternative to eggs (look up ‘aquafaba’ online). Next time you open a tin of chickpeas or butter beans, try keeping …

Seaweed, leek and mushroom pasta

31st May 2020

A tasty seasonal recipe from Cat. Seaweed is a great way for us to ensure we get enough iodine, especially if we are vegan. Be careful, though, as overindulging can be too much of a good thing! Serves 2. Ingredients …

Celery, apple and cashew soup

31st May 2020

A recipe with seasonal ingredients Cat recommends, courtesy of the Guardian. Celery and apples are both in season in winter and partner each other very well. Cashews, with their high protein content, make this soup a nutritionally balanced meal. Serves …

Banana bread

31st May 2020

If you have bananas that have gone soft and are almost black, this will use them up! With bananas often ending up in our bins at the end of the week, this recipe (adapted from the BBC’s website) will help …

Smashed white bean and avocado sandwich

27th May 2020

What’s in it? 1 can white beans, rinsed and drained 1 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil Juice of half a lemon 1/2 small red onion, thinly sliced ½ cucumber, thinly sliced 2 avocados, pitted and thinly sliced 150g sprouted beans …

Chickpea, cherry tomato and feta salad

27th May 2020

Chickpea, cherry tomato and feta salad What’s in it? 1/4 cup canned chickpeas 1/2 cup quartered cherry tomatoes 1/4 cup crumbled feta 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice 2 teaspoons olive oil 1 teaspoon dried oregano 1/8 teaspoon salt Ground pepper …

Three bean pasta salad

27th May 2020

What’s in it? 150-200g pasta shells 300g green beans, trimmed and cut into thirds 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard 1/3 cup red-wine vinegar 2 tablespoons honey 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil 1 can pinto beans, rinsed and drained 1 can chickpeas, …

Mashed chickpea salad

27th May 2020

What’s in it? 1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed 1/2 cup celery, sliced 1/2 cup carrots, diced 1/4 cup spring onion, sliced 1/4 cup or so hummus or tahini 1 – 2 tablespoons mustard (stoneground or dijon) dash of garlic …

Mojito cakes

27th May 2020

This is an energy-saving recipe for the microwave contributed by Ian Cummings, finalist in the Great British Bake Off 2015, to celebrate Earth Hour in 2017. These cakes take less than 10 minutes to prepare. Ingredients: For the cakes: 60 …

Soda bread

27th May 2020

Ingredients 250g plain white flour 250g plain wholemeal flour 100g oats 1 tsp salt 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda 50g margarine 250ml soy milk 250ml rapeseed oil Method Preheat oven to 200°C/gas mark 6. Mix the flour, oats, salt and …

Dutch-style cupcakes

27th May 2020

Ingredients 200g plain flour, sifted 200g caster sugar 4 tablespoons almond meal or more flour 1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda 5 tablespoons rapeseed oil 1 teaspoon vanilla 1 teaspoon cinnamon 1 teaspoon white vinegar 225ml water 2 apples, thinly sliced …

Beetroot and pear cake

27th May 2020

Ingredients 120g beetroot (grated) 100g chopped pear or apple 110g sultanas 60g chopped walnuts or almonds 140g self-raising white flour 180g self-raising wholemeal flour 170g sugar 1 tsp cinnamon 1 tsp ginger 100ml rapeseed oil 100ml soya milk 200ml water …

Nut roast and veg

24th Apr 2020

This recipe is one from the 8th Day Cooperative - it might take a while to make but it definitely serves more than the 4-6 suggested!

Ful medames tagliatelle

22nd Apr 2020

This is a combination of my favourite foods!

Mushroom and courgette risotto

22nd Apr 2020

Add 1 cup of risotto rice (short grain) and 1/2 tsp of dried thyme - stir in and then add 1/2 cup of white wine or beer. Stir this in until evaporated and then start adding hot vegetable stock a cup at a time, stirring constantly and adding the next cup of stock when the liquid has evaporated.

Winter salad

3rd Mar 2018

In an effort to boost the immune system, and to eat seasonally and veggie, here is a little recipe Cat made.

Recipes for your bee-friendly rapeseed oil

20th Feb 2018

Have you already bought some high-quality bee-friendly British rapeseed oil produced while avoiding the use of harmful pesticides? If you’d like more information about the issues, you can find out more here. But if you’ve already got a bottle of …

Sourdough September Logo

UYL - Sourdough September again !

30th Aug 2017

Sourdough September is when the Real Bread Campaign goes on a mission to help everyone discover that: life’s sweeter with sourdough! Have a go at making your own sourdough bread . . .

Eating Better for a Fair Green Healthy Future

How to make an energy-saving dessert in 9 easy steps

23rd Mar 2017

We can’t all star in the Great British Bake Off like eco-friendly baker Ian Cummings (pictured right) – but we can all help to save energy when we cook. Ian is celebrating Earth Hour 2017 (25 March) by sharing his energy-saving favourite recipe – delicious …

Sourdough September Logo

UYL - Ready for Sourdough September?

28th Aug 2016

Sourdough September is when the Real Bread Campaign goes on a mission to help everyone discover that: life’s sweeter with sourdough! The Campaign is encouraging Real Bread bakers everywhere to organise their own local events and activities from 1-30 September, …

Food Waste – Kerry’s Bill

On 9th September, Kerry McCarthy MP will be introducing her Food Waste (Reduction) Bill in the House of Commons.

This Bill seeks to ensure that more of the obscene amounts of food needlessly wasted through the food industry supply chains – from production through to retail – is prevented or available to charities, for redistribution to people living in food poverty. (more…)

Chick Pea & Sweet Potato Curry

This recipe was contributed by Julie for our recipe competition in 2011.

Chick Pea & Sweet Potato Curry

This recipe was contributed by Julie for our recipe competition in 2011.

Have I Got MOOs For You

Manchester FoE has been raising awareness about the new Sustainable Livestock Bill, introduced in June by MP Robert Flello. In our August newsletter we reported how Withington MP John Leech took part in a Rainforest Free Lunch photo shoot to show his support.

coMOOte 039Since then Manchester FoE have conducted a coMOOTe/MOOvement day of action (www.jointhemoovement.co.uk), raising awareness of the campaign and encouraging people to join the movement for planet-friendly meat and dairy farming…

On Thursday 7th October Manchester Friends of the Earth campaigners coMOOted to the city centre in cow heads and outfits in support of rainforest-free meat and dairy. We got the bus from Chorlton to Oxford Road, walked to St Peter’s Square and then took the Metrolink to Piccadilly Gardens where we handed out MOOvement business cards to commuters, before MOOving on to Piccadilly where we hopped on a train to give out more cards.

Cows Around Town 1

Our cows really are "milking" their moment of fame...

Cows Around Town 4

The following Saturday was the Food Day of Action, with an exciting tour round some of Manchester’s iconic places: Piccadilly Gardens, the Town Hall, Market Street and St Ann’s Square including some cow-themed stops at Trof bar in the Northern Quarter, Milk St – and the Bull’s Head, of course!

We know we can ditch factory farming and feed the world a healthy and tasty diet. But we need the Government to help farmers move to planet-friendly farming.

We want you to join our MOOvement by persuading your MP to make the Sustainable Livestock Bill into a beefy new law. The Bill has its second reading in Parliament on Friday 12th November, and we need to ensure as many MPs as possible are there supporting it to ensure it has a chance of being passed. So far, over 40 MPs nationally have committed to supporting the Bill.

[flickrset id=”72157624989043731″ thumbnail=”square”]

[flickrset id=”72157625127666974″ thumbnail=”square”]

Fix the Food Chain

coMOOte 001It’s time for Real Food. It’s time to rethink our use of artificial fertilisers and pesticides that damage our health, and the wasteful transportation of produce across the world that contributes to climate change. Above all, it’s time for a fair deal for consumers, producers and the environment.

Did you know that the meat and dairy industry produces 18% of global greenhouse gas emissions – more than every plane, train and car on the planet?

Intensive meat and dairy production relies on imports of soy from South America, where rainforests are being cleared and local communities displaced to make way for vast soy plantations.

Our campaign is calling on the Government to fix the food chainby shifting subsidies away from factory farming and instead supporting farmers to grow their own animal feed…

Our Real Food Guide website helps you discover what real food is and why it’s better for your health, the environment and your local community. There are also examples of different ways to get your hands on real food, and a directory of local real food outlets at www.realfoodguide.org.uk.

We’ve been helping local communities protect their local shops from the threat of new supermarkets – find out more about our Tesco campaign.

From 18th April 2004, new European legislation came into force on the labelling of food containing GM products. If you see any GM labelled food, please e-mail info@foe.co.uk, stating the date spotted, brand, product, the supermarket and the town/city.

Take action: ask your MP to help fix the food chain, support our campaigns to fight supermarket power, and join the battle against GM…

Find out more: read Friends of the Earth’s briefings on the ‘oil for ape’ scandal, and the impact of supermarkets on local communities and the environment…

Tony Lloyd gets amongst the cows

Manchester MP Tony Lloyd took time out from the Labour conference in Manchester this week to pose with local campaigners to pledge his support for a new law to halt the environmental damage being caused by factory farming. (more…)

Tony Lloyd promises local cows that he will vote for rainforest-free food

Manchester MP Tony Lloyd took time out from the Labour conference in Manchester today to pose with local campaigners to pledge his support for a new law to halt the environmental damage being caused by factory farming. (more…)

Fix The Food Chain – summer 2010 update

John Leech supports rainforest-free lunches and Robert Flello launches livestock bill.

Factory farming of poultry, pigs and cattle in Europe relies heavily on high-protein animal feed. This has created a global food chain depending on feed crops from the other side of the world, such as soy from South America, where rainforests are being cleared and local communities displaced to make way for vast soy plantations. The UN has estimated that the livestock sector is responsible for 18% of the world’s total greenhouse gas emissions.

On Friday 4th June, Lib Dem MP John Leech joined Manchester FoE for a photo shoot to show his support for Fix The Food Chain. This national campaign urges the Government to fix the food chain by shifting subsidies away from factory farming towards supporting farmers to grow their own animal feed.

John said:

“I am very concerned about the effect that the way in which we raise farm animals in this country is having on areas of natural beauty and global importance like the Amazon rainforest. Though it is difficult to have a rainforest-free lunch when we are eating meat and dairy, FOTE’s campaign shows that it is possible to farm animals without causing such significant damage to our planet. I fully support their calls for policies which will help British farmers to rear animals that are born, bred and fed British.”

Robert Flello MP’s Sustainable Livestock Bill requires the Secretary of State to introduce an action plan to improve the sustainability of livestock farming and the consumption of livestock produce – how we produce meat and dairy and how much we eat. This bill was introduced into Parliament in June, and we now need to ensure that it gets supported by MPs at its second reading on Friday 12th November.

John Leech MP enjoys rainforest free lunch to show support for planet-friendly farming

IMG_6638News release

John Leech MP joined Manchester Friends of the Earth today to show his support for rainforest-free meat and dairy.  He is one of more than 160 MPs to back calls for farm animals to be born, bred and fed British, instead of being reared on imported animal feed grown on deforested land.

The green campaigning charity’s Fix the Food Chain campaign is striving to reduce the impact of the UK’s factory farms which are wiping out rainforests and forcing communities from their land to make way for vast soy plantations for animal feed.

Manchester Friends of the Earth’s Food Campaigner Georgia Tsakiri said:

“It’s great that MPs like John Leech are waking up to the impact of factory farming and supporting the switch to planet-friendly meat and dairy farming.

“Friends of the Earth is campaigning for a new law that will cut the meat and dairy industry’s impact and will support farmers and consumers to make greener choices.”

John Leech MP said:

“Unfortunately, there is no such thing as a rainforest-free lunch if you’re eating meat and dairy, but it is possible to farm animals without trashing the planet.

“I back Friends of the Earth’s call for policies that will help farmers to rear animals that are born, bred and fed British.”

Friends of the Earth’s Fix the Food Chain campaign highlights some shocking facts:

· On current trends animal feed production and cattle ranching alone and will destroy 40% of the Amazon rainforest by 2050.

· The meat and dairy industry is responsible for a fifth of global
climate-changing gases.

Click on the photo on the right for a high-resolution version.

More photos of John Leech MP enjoying a rainforest-free lunch are available on our Flickr page.

ENDS

Notes to Editors

[1] Photos available at:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/manchesterfoe/sets/
72157624077267417/

[2] John Leech MP is one of 160 MPs to have backed Friends of the Earth’s call for action to reduce the environmental and social damage being driven by the global meat and dairy industry. For more information on these impacts see Friends of the Earth’s What’s feeding our food? report.

[3] The UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation, “the livestock sector emerges as one of the top two or three most significant contributors to the most serious environmental problems, at every scale from local to global.” Livestock’s long shadow report.

[4] Friends of the Earth have tabled a Sustainable Livestock Bill and wil be working with MPs in the new Parliament to make it law.

[5] Friends of the Earth believes the environment is for everyone. We want a healthy planet and a good quality of life for all those who live on it. We inspire people to act together for a thriving environment. We campaign on a range of issues including climate change, biodiversity, waste, transport and food. For further information visit www.foe.co.uk.

MP Is Hit with Chicks

As part of World Food Day on 16 October 2009, we were joined by Liberal Democrat MP John Leech and Chorlton councillor Paul Ankers in our office on Oldham Street. In this unique indoor picnic event, Mr Leech was invited to strike a blow against intensive farming by hitting an egg-shaped piñata. This giant papier-mâché egg contained hundreds of animal-shaped postcards which had been signed by his constituents in support of our Food Chain Campaign.

[flickr id=”4025009879″ thumbnail=”small_320″ overlay=”true” size=”small_320″ group=”” align=”center”]

John Leech MP has a smashing time cracking the
food chain, no yolk

During the course of the evening, guests were invited to savour delicious vegetarian and vegan dishes which were prepared by our volunteers using organic and Fairtrade ingredients. A short film was also shown, ʻKilling Fields: the battle to feed factory farmsʼ, which reveals the true cost of growing soy in South America. The film was produced by a coalition of campaign groups including Friends of the Earth, Food and Water Watch and Via Campesina.

Following the film screening, a lively discussion took place where guests talked about what actions the UK government and the EU must take in order to reduce the global environmental and social impacts of factory farming. The Food Chain Campaign highlights the link between factory farms and rainforest destruction to grow animal feed, and calls on MPs to fix the food chain by supporting small farmers and spending taxpayersʼ money only on planet-friendly farming.

We want each political party to promise to fix the food chain by including their commitment to planet-friendly farming in their election manifesto. The piñata event was the finale of our groupʼs summer of action, during which weʼve raised awareness at many of Manchester’s summer festivals and collected 672 postcards from local people who support the campaign.

Find us on

Facebook

Support Us

Donate or join us using a standing order or PayPal.

Our Campaigns

Twitter @foemcr