Saving the planet ...one pizza at a time

It's always nice to see people making an effort to get their own personal attempt to save the planet noticed. A fine example is a chap, Mark Boyle, from Bristol, living without cash for a year, in a caravan. He is living on grown, foraged or scrap food, working as a volunteer and generally being a jolly nice chap. This is lovely and very commendable (if that's the way you want to go) though some commentators have raised the comparison to the life travellers/gypsies have lead for centuries. So, I guess the big question is ; what should one do and how should one do it? We as individuals can all try and do our bit with recycling, turning off the TV at night, shorten your showering time etc etc but it just feels so sad when corporate world does not join in with equal gusto. There is the argument that China has turned itself into one massive coal burning furnace, with smog so dense that people need to constantly squint to see where they are going. So what is the point in only boiling one cup of water at a time when all of your good work is being effectively negated elsewhere. We can only believe that the 'force of one' will become the 'force of many', so long as the message to do your bit gets passed on by like minded and willing folk. At What on Earth we feel that we are doing our bit by making organic food and running an 'eco as realistically possible' business...Please do your bit and let us know if we can help (hello@whatonearth.co.uk)
Also, next time you're in a supermarket.....have a word (see link below)!http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/cif-green/2009/oct/01/greenwash-supermarkets-fridges

SNOW, SUN AND STUFF.....

Wow, what a bizarre bit of weather that was! Our team of jolly drivers managed to fight their way through snow drifts and freezing temperatures to make sure that our customers got their orders. So now the snow is on the melt we can start the new year in earnest. We had a nice busy year last year and have some great new projects on the go for this year including some new desserts... (more about that as it happens!). The desire for good quality food seems to be unashamedly bashing this recession on the head!
Apparently our beautiful organic cheesecakes are also getting noticed further afield. We are off to Dubai to show a potential distributor our range of award winning frozen organic pizzas and organic cheesecakes. We are very excited about going and hope to get in a bit of sand surfing or maybe a bit of base jumping from that new big building.
Nearer home, selling our stuff online direct to our public has always been a bit of a struggle as we make so many different products...well the answer is now with us. Starting with pizza (soon to be joined by kiddies pizza and cakes) you can get them from www.goodnessdirect.co.uk and if you're quick you might even win some freebies!
Well, here's to a great year to you all and we at What on Earth hope that all your New Years resolutions are still intact and we promise to keep at least one of ours going....to blog more!

Boy... we're really a bit rubbish at keeping this updated!

Okay, okay What on Earth fans and followers... We must apologise for how absolutely rubbish we are at staying on top of this new online presence we've created for ourselves. Rest assured that any time we're not online updating this, we're toiling in the office or kitchen creating, perfecting and selling the products you love so much!

Last time we mentioned the lovely new branding on our range of scrumptious cakes... Have a looksee here:

http://lovelypackage.com/what-on-earth/

They are indeed lovely packages, don't you agree? If the sight of them is telling you to nip out and buy some cheesecake, please ensure you treat your tastebuds to nothing but the best in organic sweetness. Contact us for stockists!

We also promised all the gossip on our trip to the Anuga food show... Well, the highlight of the trip was when our beloved FD burned his feet, attempting to dry them with a hotel hairdryer! Seriously though, it was great to spend some time in Cologne and introduce our products to such a huge number of European and international contacts...

Now, What on Earth has done a lot of growing up this year... And we've finally reached a point where we can't close our office for a nice week-long holiday over Christmas. We're not going to be delivering to all our customers, but there will be a dedicated skeleton staff in for most of the period, so accounts queries and issues can be sorted out at any time.

And I, your humble blogger, promise to be back with more business-related chatter before the festive season kicks off for good...

Yours in delicious organics!

We've been so busy here at What on Earth, we've barely had a chance to flex our blogging fingers and get some words down recently...

Our fantastic new WOE brand cake packaging is finally at the printers, after what proved to be a long and arduous job translating ingredients into 6 alternative languages... Yes, it's true! What on Earth's scrumptious dessert range is going international. We just know they'll become as loved on the continent as they are back at home in the UK. Keep your eyes peeled for the new designs, the first person to get in touch with us after spotting them might just be in line for a freebie or two...

We're also slowly recovering from a frantic weekend at the Speciality & Fine Food Fair. There's nothing like standing back and watching industry giants stuff their faces with delicious organic products. We think we made some good contacts, but who could tell with all those mouths full of cake? In any case our staff loved visiting the fair and our office is currently overrun with samples and treats. Boy, it's a hard life working for an organic food company!

Another show we will soon be attending is Anuga in Cologne (10 - 14 October 09). Billing itself as the "World's most important food and beverage trade fair", we think it's the perfect place to make ourselves known to our European neighbours. There will be more info on this trip next month, including a run-down on all the mischief the WOE Team got up to while in Germany.

As the weather turns a wee bit chilly (it's still summer, it's still summer... repeat the mantra!), our thoughts here turn to all things soup. Anyone who's tasted our range will know we produce the best in handmade, organic, vegan soupy deliciousness! Ilze, our techie-genius here, is currently working on getting these out as retail products, but in the interim you are welcome to buy a 4L tub (perfect for an Autumn evening or six).

On a final note, Bron, the evil WOE HR overlord, is currently looking for amazing kitchen-gods & -goddesses to join our team before the Winter rush begins. Please email her on bronwen@whatonearth.co.uk if you know anyone who would like to join the fun here at What on Earth!

Although we are (fairly) famous for our award winning organic pizza we are hoping to become equally famous for our organic cheesecakes. We are busy making their boxes look beautiful and will be launching into the shops in September. Health(ish) indulgence. We will keep you posted about the definitive launch date.

The things we do........

It's funny growing up..as a business I mean. We have to adhere to standards of hygiene (not a bad thing!), standards of safety (not a bad thing either) and standards of filling in mountains of paperwork that involve the minutiae of everybody's working hours (not a bad thing again but tedious and time consuming). We have to say with a sense of deep pride that we have, as a result of growing up, in the last few months, achieved SALSA, BRC and passed both OF&G and Soil Association inspections. To top it off, and without the wish to sound boastful, 2 of our chaps have passed HACCP level 3 Examinations. This is good because it means that our customers now have the assurance that we can do the right job right......meaning we know how to make food in a safe and secure environment.....Bring on the next challenge...!

FSA report

Now, we maintain that we are not the kind of people to run naked around nuclear power stations or swim beside oil tankers but we do believe that people have a choice. This is where organic food comes into it. There is no argument that growing food at a natural rate, with no pesticides or growth enhancers, will provide food with a better natural flavour..... In vegetables the natural sugars will develop better and give that richer flavour we crave. It is your choice to buy into the belief that you will be doing better for you and the environment by buying organic. The FSA report states:

Gill Fine, FSA Director of Consumer Choice and Dietary Health, said: ‘Ensuring people have accurate information is absolutely essential in allowing us all to make informed choices about the food we eat. This study does not mean that people should not eat organic food. What it shows is that there is little, if any, nutritional difference between organic and conventionally produced food and that there is no evidence of additional health benefits from eating organic food.

Of course this does not highlight any detrimental health effects that may be present from convention factory farmed foods...

The answer is to read what you can, inform yourself to the best of your ability and make the choices that suit you.....