Latest news with #MarkRowe
BBC News
08-06-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Fears over future of Cornwall's small abattoirs due to costs
Small abattoirs in Cornwall could be forced out of business by rising costs of veterinary checks on them, those in the industry have Food Standards Agency (FSA) has been consulting on increasing fees and removing a discount scheme on the feared that would cost them tens of thousands of pounds extra a year and see more of them closing for government insisted it was committed to working with those in the industry to help them tackle the challenges they face. Mark Rowe, who owns Trevarthen abattoir and butchers, in Roskrow, said his bills were due to go up by £70,000 because of the proposed warned: "The legislation is forever changing and that means it's more of a cost towards a business. The costs just get more more each year and this is the reason why abattoirs are closing."He said they were "up for the fight" of staying open - but warned others may not survive."The structure of the rural community is so fragile. The government needs to be looking at funding for the local abattoirs."They're not going to be around in a minute and then you're going to be talking about importing from the other side of the world," he added. Kevin McFadden, who shut his small abattoir in St Just-in-Penwith a couple of years ago, said: "There's nobody opening up any new abattoirs. "To open one now would probably be in excess of £2m-£3m and it ain't there because there's no real return on that money."So this isn't going to come back. When we lose these skills and when we lose these abattoirs - that's it. "You can have your two or three acres, you can rear your animals, but there'll be nobody to kill them." Andrew Body, from Lodge & Thomas auctioneers, which runs the livestock market in Truro, said: "They're essential because they create competition to ensure that market prices are achieved for cattle, sheep, and pigs."They also provide a service to the farming community who rear their own stock and then want them slaughtered - very often they've got a business doing a farm shop."If we didn't have them here this side of the market wouldn't survive. We need them and somehow they do need to be kept going."A government spokesperson said: "Small abattoirs provide a competitive route to market for producers of rare and native breeds and we're committed to working with the meat processing sector in tackling the challenges they face."Our commitment to farming is steadfast and we're investing £5bn into the sector, the largest ever budget for sustainable food production, which will also help unlocking rural growth and boost farmers' profits."
Irish Examiner
23-05-2025
- Health
- Irish Examiner
Peter Dowdall: Why gardening boosts our mental health
Gardening has always been about more than just soil and seasons. It's therapy in its truest form. As the world spins ever faster and our lives become more screen-obsessed and stress-filled as we surround ourselves with gadgets designed to help us and to give us more free time to unwind, the garden remains a quiet sanctuary, a place to breathe, to feel, and to simply be. May is Mental Health Awareness Month, and surely now, it's time we recognise gardening not only as a hobby or a passion, but as an antidote, a treatment, a lifeline. There is something almost miraculous about how simply stepping into a garden changes us. The scent of the soil, the sound of leaves, the buzz of a bee, it's as if the natural world reaches out and settles a hand on our shoulder, saying, 'You're safe here, everything is ok.' This isn't just my sentimentality talking, research is now catching up with what gardeners have known intuitively for centuries, that gardening is profoundly good for our mental health. One voice on this subject is Dr Mark Rowe, a Waterford-based wellbeing expert who's done tremendous work linking the science of wellbeing with the everyday experiences that restore us. This year, he's chosen to highlight the role of awe, those moments that stop us in our tracks and fill us with wonder as a gateway to better mental health. 'In our fast-paced, hyperconnected world, awe is often overlooked, yet it's at the cutting edge of research on emotional wellbeing,' says Dr Rowe. I couldn't agree more, and there are few places where awe is more accessible than the garden. Watching a sunflower rotate with the sun, seeing a robin hop between branches as you weed, or noticing how the light shifts through a canopy of leaves, these aren't grand moments, but they are transformative. They ground us and give us time to pause. explains that awe can reduce stress, ease negative self-talk, and even improve physical health by slowing heart rate and boosting immunity. He uses the acronym AWESOME to describe the benefits: Awe is an Antidote to stress, it brings Wonder and inspiration, Enhances health, raises Satisfaction with life, fosters Other-centred connection, sparks More curiosity and creativity and strengthens Emotional wellbeing. I think most gardeners would say, without knowing the science, that their garden makes them feel exactly that, awesome. But awe in the garden isn't just about the general ambience. Certain plants have been shown to carry their own specific mental health benefits, plants that don't just feed the bees or the senses, but also our souls. The scent of lavender is more than lovely, it's medicinal. Its essential oils have been shown to reduce anxiety, improve sleep quality, and lift mood. A lavender-scented breeze is nature's version of a big, deep breath. While often associated with tea, growing chamomile, Matricaria chamomilla, in your garden brings its benefits closer to home. Its fragrance has soothing qualities, and the simple act of harvesting and drying the flowers to make tea becomes a meditative ritual in itself. Chamomile is often referred to as the 'plant's physician', believed to heal the plants growing nearby. Part of the mint family, lemon balm, Melissa officinalis, has a bright citrus scent and has long been used to reduce stress and promote better sleep. It's the kind of plant that makes you want to touch it; the more you brush it, the more it rewards you with fragrance. Roses, especially heritage and scented varieties, are beautiful, but they're also emotionally powerful. The scent of a rose has been shown in aromatherapy studies to lower anxiety and even reduce cortisol levels. While best known as a herbal remedy for depression, the bright yellow flowers of St John's Wort, Hypericum perforatum, can also bring joy just by their presence in the garden. A word of warning here, though, as those cheerful yellow blooms may soon become something you dread, as it is invasive. I would strongly suggest only growing this wonder plant in pots or very contained areas, as to leave it loose in the garden is inviting trouble upon yourself. Caution is always advised before ingesting any herbs for medical reasons. I am a gardener and not a medical herbalist or a doctor, so always seek professional advice. Even if you never grow a single lavender sprig or harvest a chamomile flower, the act of gardening itself, kneeling in soil, pruning back the old to make way for the new, tending and waiting, trusting and learning the value of patience, is therapy in motion. It puts us in touch with the natural world, reminding us that everything has its season, and that growth often comes after periods of dormancy. Gardening and just being in a garden allow us to lose ourselves. In a world where we're constantly expected to be something, to perform, to succeed, to post about it online, the garden gives us permission to simply exist. And in doing so, we often rediscover the parts of ourselves that got lost in the noise.
