Food Lochaber – local food for local people
We all depend on our food supplies, and our gratitude to the workers who risk their lives to deliver them can’t be underestimated.
Right now food and where it’s coming from could hardly be more important, from the eight largest supermarket chains who represent 90% of the UK market, to those who pick, process and prepare what we eat, the system is being tested during this pandemic. Perhaps we are all now beginning to value the key role played by those involved in food production and retail, the true cost of which has until now been borne by an unsustainable global system which depends on fragile ‘just in time’ logistics and the exploitation of seasonal migrant workers. One theme that emerged from the IPCC reports is that where we find inequality we see exploitation translated from the way we treat each other to the natural environment.
The drive for cheap food commodities pushes the food production system into damaging the land on which future productivity depends. This damage is not factored in to the true cost of food, but rather is passed on to us all in the form of low wages, animal cruelty, pollution, poor public health, the climate and ecological emergency, depletion of fish stocks, and soil degradation.
Now is the time to start the food revolution that builds local networks and keeps food miles low. The new growing season is well under way and Food Lochaber will be reopening for orders on April 23, so you can enjoy tasty in-season vegetables grown with organic principles, sustainable free-range meat from animals raised with love, and hand-made treats.
All Food Lochaber produce is grown in Lochaber by local crofters and small-scale producers using sustainable methods and organic principles, using natural fertilisers like seaweed, leaf mould, wood ash and lime. Our food is grown in Lochaber, keeping in mind the quality we want to feed our families and yours. Find out more and order online at www.foodlochaber.org
■ Food Lochaber orders recommence on April 23 at www.foodlochaber.org