We are please to announce that the next event is the suppliers technical conference which will be held at Warwick University Scarman House Conference Centre starting at 6pm on 11th November and 9am on 12th November 2015. There will be a drinks reception and themed dinner on the 11th and then a conference on 12th […]

The University of Reading has produced factsheets on pollinator management, covering a variety of topics such as food and shelter.  They were  presented at the recent Waitrose Science Day and are now available on the portal along with a recent video entitled “How to Save the Bees”.     The University of Reading page: University of […]

The FAO have released a new book this week, ” Coping with Climate Change”.  It is available for free on the link below. The key message is that genetic diversity is important to coping with climate change, and that more needs to be done to understand and utilise this diversity in food production. It warns […]

The United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) has announced that 2015 is the International Year of Soils. This campaign aims to promote the importance of soils for a healthy ecosystem, improved rural livelihoods, and food security. The key messages are the various methods to protect our soils through sustainable soil and land management, and […]

One of our key suppliers Barfoots of Botley has recently been featured on the popular BBC programme, The One Show.   Food critic Jay Rayner, visited Barfoots to understand all their work on sustainable agriculture, particularly around anaerobic digestion, waste control and energy production.   Barfoots built their anaerobic digestion plant in 2010 which generates […]

This new report form Newcastle is another positive pointer for organic foods. Organic farming continues to play an important role in our business and is really important to our customers. The issues raised in this report mostly tie in with those we have raised in the Waitrose Farm assessment and the current drive in conventional […]

Last week another report was published linking neonicotinoids to a decline in farmland birds. Many other reports have some chemicals in this group with the decline of bees and pollinators. The reasons for this decline are hotly disputed with land use being  cited as a key reason. However with the EU three neonicotinoids ( clothianidin, imidacloprid […]

The Waitrose Science Day will take place at the University of Warwick on Tuesday 18th February 2014. The day will be a fantastic opportunity for delegates to hear updates from suppliers, academics and Waitrose representatives on key projects relating to sustainability and the Waitrose Farm Assessment.   A provisional program for the day is available here.   Registration […]