Local 4 Lent
“What are you giving up?” I was asked at work last week.
Britain is a largely secular country, and yet the idea of Lenten penance prevails.
I wonder if we simply realise that self-discipline, be it Dry January, WeightWatchers
or the gym, is easier to keep up if we do it together. We know that some of our
ways that aren’t good for us or for the planet, and a time to do it in a more
focused way makes sense.
A few years ago, I came across #Local4Lent. It’s a social
media campaign to encourage people to think more carefully about how and where
they buy food and other goods. Rather than giving up, it encourages us to make
positive choices about our shopping, preferring independent shops and suppliers
in our own area to big supermarkets and online retailers.
I’m not against supermarkets. They’re an accepted part of
life and can be very useful, and I shop there regularly. However, their huge
economic weight and their need to sell vast quantities of identical produce can
be problematic. For instance, I pass fields of asparagus on my way to work
during the spring and early summer. I can buy Kenyan asparagus at any time of
year in my local supermarket. Think of the pollution involved in shipping tons
of un-seasonal veg across the globe. In summer, I can buy English asparagus
there. Even if I could buy my local farmer’s, though, it would have been transported
to a packing factory in Lincolnshire, thence to a distribution centre in the
east midlands, and finally back up here to Yorkshire.
There’s also the question of who’s being paid what. I did
some research into milk prices. A popular supermarket sells a litre of semi-skimmed
milk at 79p. I looked up what it costs the average farmer to produce milk. The
answer varies from 26.7p to 36.6p, but that supermarket only pays its supplier 27.11p.
(sources https://dairy.ahdb.org.uk/market-information/farming-data/estimated-gb-milk-production-costs/#.XIa_srjLdhE
and https://www.foodmanufacture.co.uk/Article/2018/03/27/Manufacturers-pay-more-for-dairy-giant-s-milk
) While I accept that the supermarket isn’t making a full 52p profit, what
profit it makes is syphoned from the rural economy to the finance houses and
pension funds that tend to be institutional shareholders in those companies.
When we choose local produce and/or local, independent shops
over big companies, we are contributing a much greater percentage of our
spending to our own communities, to our neighbours, to the people paying – with
us – for our roads, schools, libraries and social care services. We are keeping
our own region alive and healthy.
I wrote last week about the obvious love the producers I met
in Wales have for their products. I’m sure every producer has such love. In my
own area, there are farmers who have diversified into curing and charcuterie,
distilleries, tea and coffee importers, chocolatiers, and cheesemakers. We are
lucky to have a fantastic fishmonger in the town, but I’ve had to change
butchers 3 times since we’ve lived her, as one after the other has had to
close. The monthly farmers’ market does well, but our nearest weekly market is
struggling.
The point focused times like Dry January, diets and Lent is
that the changes you make become habits. You won’t transform your life
completely, but you’ll start to notice better opportunities, interesting local
products. Even within most supermarkets, you can usually see a section for
produce from your own region. We’ve managed to find a local milkman, who not
only delivers locally-produced milk, he brings it in reusable glass bottles,
too! Our nearest deli serves delicious cakes and fabulous salads. No coffee-shop
chain can match them for quality, and there’s little difference in price. I
still spend a fortune on Italian wine and French brandy, but I buy from an
independent wine merchant, who’s always happy to chew the fat, regale me with
news of his last visit to Jerez or ponder with me which of his wines will suit
the fish dish I’m serving next week. People who love what they produce love to
tell you about it. Shopping becomes a social occasion.
You can find out more about #Local4Lent by filtering the
hashtag or following on Twitter, or find it’s page on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Local4Lent/
Next time: vermut, a Catalan obsession
Interesting blog. It is a shame that the dairy and meat industries tend to give so little back to the farmers who work so hard. It would be lovely to think that we could eat more seasonally and at a sensible price.
ReplyDeleteThanks for taking the time to comment. I think moving towards more local and more seasonal eating (and shopping locally for non-food items, too) is the only way of achieving a sustainable future. British farmers are working hard to produce high quality food, while reducing their carbon footprint and making a positive impact on biodiversity. We should be supporting them but can only do that effectively if we pay mor attention to our own shopping habits.
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