Trollburger – Organic & Ethical Fast Food

On a night out in Brighton, I recently stopped to get food at a hut under the station that sold burgers. Whilst waiting for my burger, (vegetarian – plenty of veggie options available) I noticed a few familiar friends on the shelves and quickly  realised that this wasn’t an ordinary late night burger bar –  the Biona ketchup and the bags of Cavolo Nero gave away the fact that this place belonged to someone who wasn’t just buying in cheap – this was an ORGANIC fast food place! So a few days later I went back and spoke to Paul Clark, the owner of Trollburger in Brighton.

Paul is passionate about good, ethically grown food. All of his ingredients are organic or are locally grown and all of his produce is purchased from independent growers. He started out as street food stand in April 2012, serving burgers from a trailer in a car park as The Troll’s Pantry, before taking to a pub kitchen. In October 2016 he went back to his roots and created Trollburger. He says ‘I’m now done with pubs and feel the street is where I should have been all along.’ Part of the reason for this is that there is opportunity to engage with his customers which is an important part of what he does.   He feels (rightly) that there is a real problem with organic and ethical food – in that it is often seen as pretentious, and reserved for fine dining in expensive places.  A lot of people feel that eating responsibly is something that is not available to them, whether it’s unaffordable or just out of reach through location.

One of Paul’s reasonings about burgers is that they cross class boundaries – everybody loves a burger! This takes any pretentiousness away, as they are being cooked and eaten in such a relaxed and fun environment that it’s impossible to argue that this organic and ethically sourced food is not for everybody. Being face to face with his customers also allows Paul to talk to them about his passion for food (which is infectious) and to encourage people to do their bit for the ethical food movement.  As he said to me, he ‘feels part of a movement that’s swept across Brighton’, and it’s really good to see street food take such a strong stance on sustainable food, championing local produce, animal welfare and zero food waste.

The beef in Troll burgers is sourced from Sheffield Farms, and the home-made seasonal sauces, pickles and veggie patties are all topped with High Weald Dairy cheese and served in a Flint Owl bun. Trollburger is about creating affordable mouth watering dirty burgers, made using the finest local and seasonal ingredients. If you’re ever in Brighton, you should definitely take a stroll under the arches and go grab yourself one. And in the meantime, remember that ethically sourced food is not for someone else, it’s for everybody. Organic and locally sourced is the way that food should be, even if you’re drunk and stumbling home at three in the morning.

Why Organic, and Why Greener Greens?

Organic means working with nature, not against it. It means higher levels of animal welfare, lower levels of pesticides, no manufactured herbicides or artificial fertilisers and more environmentally sustainable management of the land and natural environment – this means more wildlife!

We’ve broken down the reasons why we think that organic – and Greener Greens – is so important. Let us know what you think!

 

You can find out about our growers, what we do and how you can change your lifestyle and support your local community through simply eating by visiting our website.

An Interview with Daniel of Orchard Eggs

Orchard Farm Biodynamic Eggs are laid by these beautiful free range & happy hens. This, along with their nutritional diet gleaned naturally from the biodynamically farmed orchard and added grains and the farmers that lovingly care for them,  is why you will never taste eggs as good as these anywhere else. They’re big, full of rich yolk, and taste amazing.

The eggs that we sell are biodynamic, organic and local to Sussex. The hens are all reared on Orchard Eggs Farm. Daniel and his family strongly believe this is the greatest way to grow healthy birds and ensure that the eggs are of exceptional quality.

They rear Lohmann Browns hens as they have a friendly nature and produce excellent quality eggs. They keep them protected in a tunnel whilst they are young and once they are fully feathered and strong enough to withstand weather conditions (usually between 4 and 6 weeks) they are allowed to roam around the orchard. During the initial early growing stage, they develop a strong immune system adequate for our ecosystem that prevents them catching diseases and keeps them totally free from antibiotics.

The hen houses are moved to different plots within the farm as new flocks are introduced. This is prevents disease and helps new hens to develop their immune systems. It also keeps the ground suitable for growing the apples and pears as the hens aerate and fertilise the soil.

We have asked Daniel a few questions about his farm and his hens. We think it’s important that our customers know where our food comes from.

What inspired you to begin farming?

My dad taught me how beautiful nature is, and how complex the systems work together, I wanted to work with these systems and create quality food.

 

What makes the land that you farm so special?

It’s treated with respect, we feed the soil, and in return, it can feed all that’s growing.

 

What is so important about Biodynamic Farming for you?

For me Biodynamic farming means that the farm becomes a sustainable “organism” where all the processes on the farm work together and are in balance.

 

What makes your eggs stand out from others?

Maybe our customers can answer this question better. But we think it’s their quality, flavour, natural deep yellow/orange colour of the yolk and freshness.

 

How do your hens differ from those in industrial egg farms?

Guided by the cockerels, our hens roam freely 24/7. This encourages them to express their natural behaviour and source their food whenever, wherever! They are really relaxed, fully beaked, not treated with antibiotics and not vaccinated. They are happy birds, part of the farm, where they keep control of pests, keep the grass short, and fertilise the soil.

 

Your hen houses are moveable, why is this?

Our houses are movable, so we can give our birds a fresh run, and manure is evenly spread through the orchard, and parasites are better controlled.

 

Do you have any particularly favourite hens? Charlie, (Jill – the owner of Greener Greens’ daughter)  is a shepherdess and has 15 sheep, but her favourite, Pixie, lives in the house with her!)

All our hens our brown, but a few summers ago, one hen created a nest in the orchard, this resulted in a white hen. It does live in the orchard by itself, and always comes up to us when we are working.

Orchard Farm eggs are yours to add to your box order or bespoke order from £2.32 for a box of 6. Large are £2.72 for six. Try them, they’re just gorgeous!

Update on the EU Seed Legislation

As many of you already know several organisations have been running campaigns to highlight the impact of a draconian revision to EU Seed Legislation which was being voted on today, Monday May 6^th.  Several of you will have signed the petitions and indeed may have effected your own lobbying. Those that did will probably know the outcome, but for those that didn’t the campaigns did make a difference, although issues still exist and moreover the giant agribusinesses will continue to lobby as the law goes through the EU, and then is translated into UK laws.

The following summary is taken from the Real Seed Catalogue:

The “Plant Reproductive Material Law” regulates all plants. It contains immediate restrictions on vegetables and woodland trees, while creating powers to restrict all other plants of any other species at a later date.

Under the new law, it will immediately be illegal to grow, reproduce or trade any vegetable seed or tree that has not been tested and approved by a new “EU Plant Variety Agency, who will make a list of approved plants. Moreover, an annual fee must also be paid to the Agency and if not paid, they cannot be grown.

Following a huge outcry and intense lobbying from consumer groups, small-scale farmers, gene-banks, and even some member-state governments, a few last-minute alterations were made, which while not perfect, have reduced the impact quite a lot.

The key last minute concessions that were made – and this really was only due to public pressure are as follows:

• Home gardeners are now permitted to save and swap unapproved seed without breaking the law.
• Individuals & small organisations can grow and supply/sell unapproved vegetable seed – as long as they have less than 10 employees.
• Seedbanks can grow unapproved seed without breaking the law.
• There could be easier (in an unspecified way) rules for large producers of seeds suitable for organic agriculture etc, in some (unspecified) future legislation – maybe.

But the rest of the law is still overly restrictive, and in the long run will make it much harder for people to get hold of good seeds they want to grow at home. There are also clauses that mean the above concessions could be removed in the future without coming back to the Parliament for a vote.

The main registration system is no good for home gardeners -varieties suitable for home use don’t meet the strict criteria of the Plant Variety Agency, which is only concerned about approving the sort of seed used by industrial farmers.

Because of this, seed companies used to be able to register and sell ‘Amateur’ varieties that didn’t pass the tests, for home growers. Under the new system, they are now called ‘Niche’ varieties and there is no testing or registration at all, but there is a big catch: any company with more than 10 employees is now banned from producing them.So new varieties for home growers can only be developed by tiny organisations, and they may not have the resources to do it well. There will be very little professional development of varieties for home gardeners or small-scale sustainable agriculture. “