Down To Earth Community Supplies Limited

Avoiding meat and dairy is ‘single biggest way’ to reduce your impact on Earth
https://www.theguardian.com/…/avoiding- meat-and-dairy-is-si…

Plastic The Problem with having been serving our customers for so long is that we forget that what we have been doing for 40 years has now become the latest thing. Take packaging for example. When we started back in 76 we had large bins of grains, beans, pulses, herbs and spices that people would request an amount and then we would place in paper bags or biodegradable cellophane. Due to not being able to keep up with demand back in the early 80's we removed the bins and all o...ur in store packaging was either biodegradable cellophane or paper bags. For the last 10 years or so we have been refilling customers bottles with Ecover Laundry liquid , Washing Up liquid or Fabric conditioner. We encourage our customers to bring in their own containers for flakes including Porridge and Muesli or we provide paper bags. The overuse of plastic is something we need to urgently address so it is encouraging to see other businesses adopting the practices we have been using for decades.
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Having been serving wholefoods to our customers for over 40 years we certainly aren't the new kid on the block.Consequently many of our products have stood the test of time. Our three in house Mueslis for example are little changed from the first day we started selling them back in the late 70's and still as popular. We use a range of nuts ,seeds , dried fruit and Organic flakes. All are free of added sugar. For those looking to cut down wheat we have our Wheat free Muesli.For those who like a crunch to start the day we have our Crunchy. The Super Muesli is a luxurious blend of chopped apricots dates raisins nuts and seeds.Some things don't change.

Cheap enough to bath in! Just naked Organic Peanuts , Crunchy or Smooth .£3-29 for 454gms

Another week another vegan cheese this time mozzarella style :)

Just a heads up to all you Brazil Nut lovers, I include myself as one. Due to a crop failure the price is forecast to double, this is compounded by the fall in the pound against the dollar. We could buy a box for less than £200 this time last year they are now over £300 from our favourite wholesaler but will rise further as new stock comes in. Some wholesalers don't have any at all while others are quoting £400! The word on the "street" is that by autumn we will not have any supply at all. On the flip side Apricots are slowly falling from their peak in 2015 again due to a crop failure of 80%. If we get a good crop this year which seems likely we should see some bargains. http://www.independent.co.uk/…/brazil-n ut-prices-rise-reduc…

" the UN says that the single most important step an individual can take to reduce global warming is to adopt a meat and dairy-free diet.”

And finally a word from our Sponser :)

Is always exciting this time of year as the summers fresh fruit has been dried and s now appearing in store. The 2016 Apricot crop iis a stunner. We are particularly enamoured with the 2016 Turkish Unsulphured Apricots. Plump, moist almost not dried enough with a deep mellow sweetness that only these sun dried beauties can deliver. Relatively cheap compared to the previous couple of years reflecting this year abundant crop.Once you try these sun dried apricot you won't go back to the traditional orange sulphured variety. Full of iron, vitamins and trace minerals.

Traditionally our American Cranberries came with a sugar glaze.This not only acts as a natural preervative but softens the inherent tartness of this populer dried berry. Many customers have asked us to source a sugar free version. This usually costs much more then the traditional cranberry. But we have managed to buy some Cranberries just with a natural apple juice glaze for around the same price. Slightly more tart but with that wonderful zing we look ffor in a cranberry. Full of vitamin C and high in antioxidants get them while you can !

Well it's been a few months since the last of the Spanish baby figs ran out so I am glad to annouce they are back! These dried figs are called « Calabacita », from the Extremadura in Spain. Not very well known in the European market, the figs have a flavour and a texture very different from the Turkish fig. They have abundant flesh, are tender, taste really sweet and their skin is very thin. Sun dried, the figs are 100% natural. They do not receive any treatment, they are just rolled in certified gluten free rice flour The figs are small, between 100 and 140 pieces per kilo. One of our customers soaks them in brandy and hands them out as presents.

Just in New Crop Chilean Jumbo Golden Raisins. Succulent, sweet yet with a mellow sharpness.

These Organic Unsulphured Apricots are soft, moist, sweet and full of flavour. Great to give you a boost on those walks inthe Peaks

Just arrived, Mr Poppies Raw Chocolate.. 70gm bars, Euphoric Orange Uplifting Mint, Super Root (ginger maca beetroot and carrot),Flower Power (rose and elder flower) and 88% strong. The latter has an uplifting kick to it. If you haven't tried raw chocolate this is some of the finest we have tasted . Vegan. Soya, gluten and cane sugar free.

There is a God!! . Should have them in stock in a week r so :)

Rambo Radish !

Down to Earth was founded on the principle that a good wholefood diet organic where possible with little or no meat provides all the nutirents that we need. The article below although aimed at pregnant women and acknowledging the crucial role of folic acid and Vitiamin D agains highlights the total waste of money most vitamin and mineral supplements are.. I have also linked to a much older article aimed at the wider use of V&M's. I have seen many customers fooled into thinkin...g that spending a large amount on some obscure supplement like, Hell's teeth extract with added vitamin M or Natural rainforest Crustacean nut with Goji extract is the answer to their prayers.These are obviously made up but you wouldn't believe the weird concoctions I have been asked for over the years. There was a phase of taking super strength versions of the regular vitamins which later was found could cause complications particularly with the liver.Such things are tantamount to snake oil and shoul;d be avoided.What we eat is what we are, eating a good wholesome diet rich in natural unrefined wholefoods with lots of fresh fruit and vegetables is far superior to spending huge amounts on a magic pill. There is no magic pill, yet a seemingly inexhaustable supply of people who think there is..I remember back in the early 90's the solgar rep, a vitamin and mineral company was trying to get us to stock supplements to no avail. When he finally realised we were not going to bite he said "Americans have the most expensive urine in the world because of the unassimilated vitamins and minerals they excrete" the very ones he was trying to sell us!! https://www.theguardian.com/…/vitamin-s upplements-waste-mon… https://www.theguardian.com/…/pregnant- women-waste-money-vi…
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Save the Rain Forest eat Brazil Nuts!
The Brazil Nut tree is indigenous to the rain forest it cannot be farmed. So eating Brazil Nuts encourages the protection of its environment. If you look at the close up of our Organic Bolivian Brazil Nuts you can see the flesh is almost totally white. As the nut ages the natural fats oxidise and become translucent losing that bright white. A natural source of selenium. This batch of Bolivian Brazil Nuts are particularly fresh crunchy and crisp.

When I first started there was no such thing as vegan cheese. Well you could make it yourself with soya flour hard vegetable fat and Marmite!!!. Now we are spoiled for choice, hard ,soft, ready grated, flavoured from chilli to walnut, melty, slices you name it we have got it :)