A summer break

Wednesday's cafe session and our community BBQ last night were our final gatherings before the summer break. Thanks to everyone who have come along and taken part in our sessions since January - here's a short reminder of all that we've been up to over the last seven months.

We'll see you again in September for more and better!

Vertical farm rising from a derelict site in Manchester

"At present the Biosphere offers a fairly limited diet of freshwater fish, mushrooms green leaves, apples, pears and the occasional citrus fruit or plum.

"But according to the project founder, the potential is limitless.The concept is based on the traditional African agricultural traditions where crops are grown above each other - for example, coconuts above bananas, over coffee and ground tubers such as yams.

"Mr Walsh [the architect of the scheme] believes pressure on land and declining energy resources will mean the West will be forced to give up growing vast horizontal fields of single crops in remote farms and transporting them hundreds of miles to urban centres to be consumed. Instead every building and open space in towns and cities will be put into production."

Read more: http://goo.gl/mag/wMxPRtr

Shared from the Justice Matters Facebook Page

Women in agriculture

This interesting resource from Oxfam covers producers of honey in Ethiopia, shea in Mali and vegetables in Tanzania - all very relevant to our focus on food and recent efforts to build bees hotels.

"Development actors are increasingly prioritising ‘investing in women’ to ensure food security and sustainability—as well as equity—in agricultural development. In this context, collective action is a critical but poorly understood way for women small-scale farmers to strengthen their engagement in agricultural markets. This report provides rigorous new evidence, from quantitative and qualitative research carried out in Ethiopia, Mali and Tanzania, on the economic and empowerment benefits of women's participation in collection action groups across different farming systems and markets."

Read more: http://policy-practice.oxfam.org.uk/publications/womens-collective-action-unlocking-the-potential-of-agricultural-markets-276159

Shared from the Justice Matters Facebook Page

Covered in bees

At our last gathering, Friends of the Earth came to tell us about their Bee Cause campaign.

Bee numbers in Britain have fallen dramatically in recent years. Three bumblebee species are already extinct.

Many factors are causing bees' decline - from habitat loss, to disease, to climate change. There is also growing evidence that some pesticides harm bees.

Bees are essential to our food supply, economy and quality of life:

• They pollinate 75% of our most vital crops and favourite foods. Without bees it would cost UK farmers £1.8 billion a year to pollinate our crops. That's more than it costs farmers to produce all the milk consumed in the UK every year.
• They're essential to our gardens, parks and countryside. Bees and other insects help pollinate over 75% of our plants, which in turn are vital to our insects, birds and animals.

Friends of the Earth are calling for the Government to adopt a National Bee Action Plan to ensure the way we farm our food, plan our towns and cities, and protect our wildlife, is better for bees. They are also calling each of us to plant bee-friendly flowers, buy local honey or go on a Bee Walk. You can help bees at home, out and about, or in schools.

In response, Justice Matters members spent time constructing bee hotels to make bees welcome in Barnet. Have a look at the photos, sign the petition and maybe make your own bee hotel!

Food, glorious food!

Food plays a huge role in our society. Eating together is a sign of hospitality and friendship, popular (and sometimes colourful) chefs are celebrated in our media, and programmes like Come Dine With Me and the Great British Bake Off are hugely popular.

Food is something that we love and often take for granted. We learnt this week that vast amounts of food is being wasted by consumers in the developed world. Meanwhile, we know that there are many people around the world - 870 million according to the World Food Programme - who go to bed hungry day in, day out. This inequality is truly shocking.

Over the coming few months, we will be looking at food and how it relates to justice. We will be exploring a range of topics - from hunger in the developing world to grow you own in the UK, from Fairtrade and unjust trade barriers, to Foodbanks and poverty closer to home.

Both the Old and New Testament of the Bible speak regularly about the issue of food justice, including guidelines to benefit those in need at harvest time, to strong words for those who seek to cheat the hungry out of their resources and those who embrace religion but lack a heart of compassion for those in need. We will be looking at some of these verses as we learn about the facts and seeing how faith and justice are inextricably linked.

Other charities are also focussing on the issue of food at this time, so we will be looking to get involved with Tearfund's new campaign, the Live Below the Line challenge and other opportunities to make a practical dent in this injustice.

It all begins this Wednesday at Coffee Republic from 7:30pm. We're kicking off the series with a guest speaker from Friends of the Earth and a practical activity to have a go at. As you can probably tell, we're really excited about this new theme and the gatherings we have planned, so we hope to see you at Coffee Republic or the Bohemia soon.

Oh, and to anyone fasting this week as part of the St Bs week of prayer and fasting, you might think its a little inconsiderate of us to be doing all this talk of food while you're trying to avoid it. But just consider this, as God says through the prophet Isaiah (58 v6-7):

"Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter — when you see the naked, to clothe them, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?"

So there you go. See you on Wednesday! 

Our Spring/Summer programme is here!

The new year is upon us and with it comes an exciting new theme for Justice Matters: 

Food, glorious food. 

From the joys of urban bee keeping, to the importance of Fairtrade, meat-free Mondays and the Live Below the Line challenge, there's something for everyone to get their teeth into.

Join us every first Wednesday in the month at The Bohemia pub (N12 9QH) from 8pm and every third Wednesday at Coffee Republic in North Finchley (N12 9QR) from 7:30pm. 

Get all the latest information - sign up for email alerts (see how in the column to the right), Like us on Facebook or Follow us on Twitter.

See you at a gathering soon!

Sam and Victoria, Sara, Lizzie and Elaine

Oxfam petition for action on hunger

On Sunday 12 August, world leaders meet in London to discuss hunger and nutrition. As they talk, 18 million people face severe food shortages in West Africa. Leaders must act now to protect families in desperate need across the region. And they must commit to supporting vulnerable farmers worldwide, so they can feed themselves and lift their communities out of poverty. It's not too late. If leaders prioritise hunger, we can save lives now - and create a future where everyone always has enough to eat. Join Oxfam, Africans Act 4 Africa and Avaaz in demanding that world leaders act now to provide food and water for the hard months ahead and invest in long-term solutions to ensure this never happens again.

Sign the petition now at www.oxfam.org.uk/sahelcrisis

Save the bees!

Friends of the Earth are asking people to sign their petition to save the bees.

Why?

Bee-cause...!

But seriously, read their petition to find out why the loss of bees is a major environmental issue.

Shared from the Justice Matters Facebook Page