This time last week I was getting ready for the BOOM Awards ceremony at the amazing Borough Market in London. The BOOM Awards enjoyed their 30th anniversary this year to help celebrate the beauty of all things organic! Founded by the Soil Association, the idea behind the awards is to celebrate innovation in the organic market. By making some noise and shouting about how wonderful organic is we can help to spread the word and support the growth of this sector. Organic means something special to me, a true return to our farming roots and one which embodies our respect for the environment as well nourishing our internal health.
Photo Courtesy of the Soil Association
The BOOM awards recieved over 500 entries this year and I am pleased to say that one of those was from my company The Nude Spoon. The awards had multiple categories to help promote awareness of organic across multiple sectors. The entries included online and supermarket retailers, catering companies, vegetable box services, restaurants, and a variety of food products, even health bloggers who promote organic food and living.
We had been shortlisted for our healthy, organic, dairy free ice cream and so had the pleasure of attending the awards ceremony for the announcement of the winners. It was an incredible evening with delicious organic food, cookery demos, live music and the ceremony itself, and we were truly honoured to have left bearing an award for our coffee ice cream which won best in the chilled and frozen category! It was a true pleasure to be a part of the BOOM Awards 2016 and to be a part of helping promote healthy, organic produce.
Receiving our award presented by Rebecca from Abel and Cole
Photo Courtesy of the Soil Association
I am a huge advocate of organic because it helps support our natural ecosystem and works in harmony with nature. Soil depletion, mono-cropping and factory farms are sadly a result of modern, industrialised farming. The Soil Association implements higher standards of animal welfare as well as a strict no GMO policy. Independent studies have shown higher levels of antioxidants, polyphenols and vitamins and minerals in organic food due to the fact that the plant has to protect itself from pests and harsh environments, making it hardier and richer in these valuable compounds. Multiple pesticides have been linked with chronic diseases and are known to contain carcinogenic compounds, not to mention their immune suppressive properties! Check our my resources page to find out about the dirty dozen and clean fifteen, this is a very helpful list which indicates which foods are the most contaminated and must be bought organic whilst others have much lower chemical residue, often due to thicker skins or hardier shells. To find out more about organic you can visit the Soil Associations website and see a list of their standards.
All Photos Courtesy of the Soil Association
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