PEELING BACK THE LAYERS

This newspaper will be championing the cause of a pioneering local food network in the 2017 Get Involved competition, which could be used a model for a national rollout of similar projects aimed at turning back the clock on decades of big store dominance

WEXFORD’S Karen Nolan has a mission in life. To try to connect local food producers with their customers and to show that there is a realistic alternative to the chemically-driven produce which so often crowds the shelves of our shops and supermarkets.

She says she doesn’t have all the solutions, ‘ but I do know that we need to start caring about how, where and by whom our food is produced’.

‘I’m passionate about food sovereignty and environmental issues,’ said Karen, who formed ‘Your Local Food Network’ to create opportunities for interaction within local communities, and has recently set up a website www. yourlocalfood.net

She believes that similar networks could be replicated throughout Ireland.

The website’s primary function is to accumulate a directory of local producers and create awareness of what is being produced on our doorstep.

‘ There a preference for those that produce using organic methods and exercise responsible stewardship of soil, water, and other natural resources; biodiversity; non-toxic growing practices; economic viability; transparency and an annual open farm policy.’

Your Local Food Network aims to give local growers and farmers a place to come together and celebrate good, hard, honest work - the work done by the hands of our neighbours.

Karen says that food grown simply and naturally, without the addition of synthetic chemicals, has become a premium commodity that so few of us can afford to buy and one that costs money for a farmer to earn the right to label his or her produce organic.

In the name of ‘progress’ we allowed substances-toxic to the environment, our health and the fertility of our planet to permeate our food sources.

These pesticide- and herbicide-laden ingredients are processed, packaged in plastic, and placed on shelves to be bought at a low price to feed our families. How has this become the norm?

Karen says organic food should be the norm. Would it not be fairer to penalise those who are placing poisons in our food chain rather than those that farm naturally?

But it’s not even a case of organic verses non-organic. We shouldn’t be having that conversation. It’s a case of placing economic and social value on food that is ethically farmed in an organic manner by people that we know and trust.

‘How easily we were seduced by the convenience of large scale, internationally-controlled supermarkets. Operating a system of high volume turnover and market price fixing enables them to offer flexible opening hours, low prices and a huge range of fashionably exotic foodstuffs.

This universally accepted model sees Ireland import 70 per cent of our food, while Irish food products to the value of €4 billion leave the country annually.

‘Does any of that make sense? Something tells me we need a collective slap about the face with a wet fish.’

Karen said long term, there are not many who benefit from this arrangement.

‘We’ve got to peel back the layers and ask ourselves – who controls the market prices? How are the large pharmaceutical companies infiltrating so many aspects of our lives? The answers to these questions will invariably lead back to a small group of very wealthy people whose sole focus in life is to remain that way.

‘Our passive shopping habits make them richer while our communities are silently robbed of their independence and natural resources. Society has been deliberately constructed to distract us from the absurdities happening beneath our noses, as zillions of us worldwide labour on the hamster wheel of modern day living.

‘Supporting our local small growers and producers that farm in an organic manner is one of the most profound things we can do for our families, communities and the future of the planet. We are infinitely more powerful than we believe. Collectively, we can change.’

Your Local Food Network aims to help Wexford people to access food that is grown close by and without the intervention of chemicals.

‘We aim to provide support to smaller farmers and growers by way of showcasing their produce and working methods while promoting them within their local community.’

‘It’s good to think about where your food comes from. It’s important to trust the source. We want you to get to know your local food producers and form lasting mutual relationships!’

Pop-up market hubs, foodie get-togethers and greet-the-grower events are all in the pipeline.

Your Local Food Network aims to give local growers and farmers a place to come together and celebrate good, hard, honest work - the work done by the hands of our neighbours.

Anyone who wants to find out more about the network or to join it should visit www.facebook.com/yourlocalfoodnetwork and the website www. yourlocalfood.net.

SUPPORTING LOCAL GROWERS AND PRODUCERS THAT FARM IN AN ORGANIC MANNER IS ONE OF THE MOST PROFOUND THINGS WE CAN DO FOR OUR FAMILIES, COMMUNITIES AND THE FUTURE OF OUR PLANET