We enjoyed a great evening with Colwall Greener Group on the 2nd December where we ran a Food Conversation for 18 of their members.
It was great to be able to invite discussion around the huge topic that is the food system and put real voices into the mix instead of the "we all know what people think about food" that gets banded around. So what did the Colwall Green group really think?...
The evening kicked off with some thoughts on what we thought we knew about the food system, followed by showing a short film the Food Farming and Countryside Commission have produced called "Opening the Chicken Wrap" a 4.5 minute whizz through a staple lunchtime grab and go.
We invited reflections on the film, one stand out reflection being a degree of shock that around half of UK farmers earn below minimum wage, despite the perception of wealth.
We then discussed the positives of our food system:
- convenience
- cheap
- choice
- the rise of local milk delivery and vending machines
- greater movement towards vegetarianism
- growing awareness of where food comes from
- less seasonal hunger
and the negatives...
- environmentally destructive practices
- ultra processed foods
- food waste
- additives, preservatives and forever chemicals
- explotation and criminality in the supply chain
- food poverty
And some of the changes the group would like to see being made and who is going to make them!
- celebrating seasonal food in the media!
- educating children on how to cook and about nutrition
- use the tax system to encourage sustainable and healthy food choices
- change regulatory and labelling laws for transparency on explotation and environmental distruction. Organic, regenerative and sustainable should not have to pay for certification!
- change company law so that supermarkets pay a fair price to farmers instead of shareholders
- support more UK farming instead of global trade deals
- generational plan to improve farming practices
- limits on ultra processed foods
- more regenerative farming
- ban Uber eats (and similar)
- better education on our food choices and impact
- reduce the use of human digestible food used for animal feed
We also reflected on the power of the pounds in our pockets to make changes from the ground up by supporting the changes we want to see. We spoke about "swapping one thing" to a locally produced product which reduces food miles, puts more money in farmer's pockets and supports nature and river friendly farming practices. We also reflected on the fact that we have the food system we want, cheap, convenient and full of choice, because our buying habits reflect those needs. So it's up to us to make changes too and drive the market towards the food system that is fair for people and planet.
This event was supported by the Herefordshire Community Foundation
