Green Drinks event encourages a greener loaf

• Nov. 5 by Rebekah Douglas (1)

Tuesday evening saw the launch of Birmingham’s first Green Drinks event, set up especially for local brummies who are looking for a place to meet like minded people and discuss their environmental concerns.

The evening, hosted by Malcolm Currie of Globally Local, was a success, gathering a number of people from different organisations under the same roof to share their thoughts and learn new things about being green.

Organisations such as, Green Party, Vegan society, Sustainable living, Birmingham friends of the earth, Oxfam and Transition Birmingham all had representatives present to have a chat about their work and interests, sample some food and listen to what guest speaker Tom Baker had to say.

The event, hosted at Locanta restaurant, took its green theme very seriously, offering a menu of vegetarian dishes on a recycled green paper menu made from green wash, instantly showing dedication to saving the environment!

The atmosphere was a conversational and lively one, which was boosted by the introduction of Tom who got the crowd talking even more. He introduced his theme ‘Bread in the environment, towards a greener loaf’ and spoke of his passion for bread making and how he aims to increase localisation of bread crafting and bakeries in Birmingham.

Tom, who is a nutritionist for the NHS as well as running his own business ‘Loaf online,’ intrigued the audience with facts of our general bread consumption, stating that 76% of us eat bread everyday and that only 5% of us eat bread of craft bakery.

He also claimed that 99% of bread that we can buy in the UK is transported and with 9 million loafs being transported every day, we are sure to filling ourselves up with the unnatural kind, which is full of additives. Tom said:

“You only need four ingredients to make natural bread, which is flour, water, salt and yeast.

“Bakeries used to be at the heart of the local economy, I would like to see more craft bakeries finally do something for the planet.”

Toms insight to the bread making world and his motivation to cut ‘the food miles’ had people asking questions and sharing opinions for over half an hour. Guests were keen to find out more about bread making and how it is done. Tom added:

“How long does it take to make a loaf of bread? If it’s more than three hours you’re getting close to having real bread. If it is less then it probably contains additives.”

He generated a barrel of laughs within the room when claiming:

“There are currently 7 million bread makers in this country not being used.”

He gave an example of a successful group titled the Oxford Bread Group, which are currently the most well established bread making group in the UK. Their aim is to stop people buying cheap additive full bread from Tesco, and start enjoying the privileges of a real cared for loaf of bread.

After Tom’s talk the atmosphere continued to be friendly and welcoming, with people wandering around the room generating critical conversations with strangers and learning new things about being green. The monthly event is sure to continue to be a success in future months, with confirmation of Marc Reeves, Editor of the Birmingham Post, set to be a future guest speaker.

Green drinks will take place on the first Tuesday of every month at Locanta and welcomes anyone who wants to put their mind to good use and learn more about the environment we live in and how to improve it!