Save Food, Save Money, Save Energy
Every time we go shopping there is another rise in the price of food.
According to the World Bank food prices have risen 75% globally. At the
same time a national report says that we throw away over 4 million
tonnes of food every year, costing each household at least 420.
The figures are staggering. Every day we throw away:
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5.1 million potatoes
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4.4 million apples
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7 million slices of bread
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1.3 million yoghurts and yoghurt drinks
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1.2 million sausages
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0.7 million eggs
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0.7 million bars of chocolate and unwrapped sweets
Financially this is appalling. Not only does it cost us personally to
throw away food, it also costs the country another billion pounds to
collect and dispose of it - mostly to landfill. But we are not just
wasting food and money. We are wasting energy too. Everything we eat has
had some energy used to produce it.
Fuel is used by farmers, in transporting their produce, often by air,
and much of it is processed or frozen before we buy it, using still more
energy. Then we store it and cook it. If it is then thrown away all this
energy is wasted, amounting to the equivalent of 18 million tonnes of
carbon dioxide emissions every year. That?s the same as the CO2 emitted
by one in every five cars on UK roads.
This is all bad news for the environment. When we know that we have
to reduce our carbon footprint to avoid disastrous climate change, it is
shocking that we waste so much. And it's a moral issue too. When
millions of people in the world don't have enough to eat, how can we
justify being so wasteful about our own food?
There are some things we can do. We can buy local food instead of
food that has travelled miles to get here. We can buy less processed
food. We can be smart about only buying what we need. And we can be
imaginative about using what's in the fridge or the store cupboard. All
skills that will be essential in a climate changing world.
This article appeared in the September 2008
issue of News Trader
How important is locally produced food?
Can West Somerset feed itself?
Finding out what you think about local food is the
aim of this short survey. Transition Minehead and Alcombe is keen to
pull together people who are interested in supporting local food
production. There are lots of different ways to do this. We are looking
at working with local farmers and growers to supply a box scheme or to
collaborate on a local Community Supported Agriculture (CSA)
scheme.
Get local!
article which appeared in the November 2007 issue of News
Trader
Minehead Farmers' Market
The farmers' market in Minehead was Forum 21's
first project. It was set up in 2000 and has been very
successful. West Somerset Farmers Market is open from 8.30am -
2.30pm every Friday at The Parade in Minehead.
In 2007, the farmers' market received an award.
For information about obtaining a stall, contact
The Secretary Cheryl Arvidson-Keating on
01823 432864 or 07970
594226
or e-mail cheryl@thegreenmeadow.co.uk .
Website : http://mineheadfarmersmarket.co.uk
Eat local, save money: article which
appeared in the News Trader June 2010 issue
