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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.

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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, …

Winter salad

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

(more…)

#LovePulses on World Food Day

The theme for UN’s World Food Day this year (celebrated on 16 October) is ‘Climate is Changing. Food and Agriculture must too’, highlighting the need to feed 9 billion people sustainably by the year 2050. (more…)

Meat Free May – Chilli Non Carne

Low fat vegan recipe, fake meat free.

Ingredients
3 cups mushrooms
1/2 red onion

1tbsp mild chilli powder, or 1 heaped tsp hot chilli powder
2tsp paprika
1tsp cumin
1tbsp vegetable stock powder
2tsp garlic powder or 2 minced garlic cloves
1/2tsp dried majoram (optional)

1 can kidney beans
1 can chopped tomatoes

Pulse of the month! Black Badger Peas

year of the pulse logoThe United Nations has 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.

(more…)

Why Pulses in 2016?

Pulses in farming

Pulses have a positive impact on soil quality because they help fix nitrogen in the soil. This contributes to higher yields in subsequent crop rotations.

However it is not the only reason. Pulses have a direct positive impact on soil quality because they help feed soil microbes, which benefits soil health. Pulses have also been shown to produce greater amounts and different types of amino acids than non-legumes and the plant residues left after harvesting pulse crops have a different bio-chemical composition than other crop residues.

It is this diversity in soil composition that comes from a good pulse rotation, which help crops to thrive and which offers greater protection against disease-causing bacteria and fungi.

Pulses as low carbon

Pulses are also a protein source with a low footprint, in both carbon and water. For instance, the water footprints to produce a kilogram of beef, pork, chicken and soybeans are 43, 18, 11 and 5 times higher than the water footprint of pulses.

Pulses have a lower carbon footprint in production than most animal sources of protein. In fact, one study showed that one kilogram of legume only emits 0.5kg in Co2 equivalent, whereas 1kg of beef produces 9.5 kg in CO2 equivalent.

The very low contribution of legumes is well illustrated in the graph below.

Full lifecycle Gfreenhouse gas emissions from common proteins and vegetables
Full lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions frm common proteins and vegetables.

It shows that lentils are one of the foodstuffs that contributes the least emissions, far fewer than turkey, salmon or other common sources of protein.

Pulses and health

Pulses are part of a healthy, balanced diet and have been shown to have an important role in preventing illnesses such as cancer, diabetes and heart disease.

Pulses are a low fat source of protein, with a high fibre content and low glycemic index.

Pulses are very high in fibre, containing both soluble and insoluble fibres. Soluble fibre helps to decrease blood cholesterol levels and control blood sugar levels, and insoluble fibre helps with digestion and regularity.

Pulses provide important amounts of vitamins and mineral. Some of the key minerals in pulses include: iron, potassium, magnesium and zinc. Pulses are also particularly abundant in B vitamins; including folate, thiamin and niacin.

Pulses typically contain about twice the amount of protein found in whole grain cereals like wheat, oats, barley and rice, and in most developing countries constitute the main source of protein for most populations.

Regarding protein sources- pulses stack up surprisingly well when compared to animal – based protein sources,

some examples are:

Antonio Carluccio's Pasta e Fagioli

Antonio Carluccio’s Pasta e Fagioli- Pasta and Bean Soup
Serves 6
300g fresh borlotti beans, or 200g dried beans soaked in cold water overnight and drained

6 tbsp olive oil
 (more…)

Antonio Carluccio’s Pasta e Fagioli

Antonio Carluccio’s Pasta e Fagioli- Pasta and Bean Soup

Serves 6

300g fresh borlotti beans, or 200g dried beans soaked in cold water overnight and drained


6 tbsp olive oil
 (more…)

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