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LETS-eat wotzitallabout?

Is it a question of health, environment issues, economics, or just plain old common sense?
Well its all of these and more. LETS EAT is not a project that can be completed in three months, its an ongoing re-education programme, that could point us in the direction of a better quality of life for less cost in terms of cash, resources, and wear and tear on the environment.

The cumulative effect of what seems a simple exercise, i.e. people eating more locally produced organic food could bring new insights to what health really means. The quality of a national health service should no longer be appraised in terms of how many our hospitals can treat, but rather by how few actually need treatment. Access to a good basic diet I believe is the starting point. LETS can make it cheaper and presents many opportunities for community building whilst partaking in a basic essential for life ...the getting and eating of food.

EAT LOCAL

By eating local organic produce we automatically find solutions to many problems. Not least, common sense seems to find its way back home.

At present everyone sells coals to Newcastle. This has led to the huge juggernauts on our roads practically 24 hours a day, (the warehouse on the motorway) at huge cost, to the environment via pollution and cut down , to the tax payer via road repairs, and not least to the quality of life for those living nearby. Add to this the quality of the food that is being delivered, very little or none of it being organic or locally produced and we have the basis for the need to return to good old common sense......EAT LOCAL.

Could it be that certain parties have a vested interest, indeed a closed market for certain goods non-organic?
And could this have anything to do with the kind of food we are offered and the way that it is grown, packaged and distributed?
When we buy food from a supermarket we have little idea of its history. Apart from country of origin we wont know who grew it, or if any pesticides, herbicides were used. Also there is no social interaction other than the exchange of one commodity, food, for another, cash.

All this can be remedied by consumer supported agriculture. This is happening with bag/box systems springing up everywhere, more farm shops about to open and plans for more subscription farming on the table. Here in the West Midlands there are two bag systems that accept local money and plans to link up land with labour using local money to grow soft fruit and veg, which is at present being imported. The main task as we see it right now is to find new growers and to establish once more the trust between consumer and producer.

POLICY NEEDED

We need a policy for food production that relates to the people and the land here. Many of us feel that we have to stand against E.E.C. "directives" and that we, the people here should be deciding.
I am not asking farmers and agriculturists to stop producing subsidy supported crops and foods and miss out on "set-aside", even though the continued production of these foodstuffs is having a detrimental efffect on the planet and everything on it, as well as adding to the food mountains.

I am asking ordinary people everywhere to put health and common sense first along with the quality of community life.
When it comes to eating basic food ...EAT LOCAL, and if you can use "local money" (LETS) to pay for some of it well......

We look forward to hearing your views,

John & Mandy Winkworth, Co-ordinators "LETS-EAT"

LETS Connect LETS-eat update August 1995

Having operated an organic bag/box system here in Telford since April we have come to the conclusion that we are only just beginning to see the direction we need to move in from now on.
The produce we offer in our bags comes from outside of Shropshire, from Gloucester, Hereford and worcester, Hampshire, and Lincolnshire.

Without wishing to knock the great steps forward which have been taken by our Green Growers, & Organic Marketing Co., we must face up to the fact that we are still a long way from "LOCAL".

It is with this in mind that we are about to set up a truly "local & fresh" marketing co.
This could we believe greatly enhance our bag system by steering us in a truly local direction. As with Eric Booth of the Soil Association's proposal of working with the local authority we hope that others will be able to replicate this model in their own counties all over the U.K.

We will be starting small, on 3 acres of organic ground (since 1958) and aiming to fill the gap in the soft fruit and fancy salad market, on a local level, naturally.
We want to produce this food bio-dynamically while at the same time teaching people what bio-dynamics is all about, thus creating employment and training opportunities through a basic interaction .....that of getting and eating food.

We also aim to attract small scale organic growers, gardeners, allotment holders, by offering a central point where produce, surplus to personal requirements can be dropped off (very gently and easily).
We will be offering to pay for this with local money, and will distribute it for the same.

LETS will play a major role in our plan. We have realised over the last two years of promoting LETS locally, nationally, and internationally, that it's we, the people who understand and have been inspired by the vision of the potential of LETS, who have to take the initiative.
I am happy to say that we have an opportunity to do just that here.

We have given serious thought to our intention of calling our produce "JIMS fresh & Local", after all, if everyone knows and trusts Jim there is not much more to say, except that we are talking about empowerment for individuals, getting rid of red tape and bureaucracy, and addressing many local and planetary problems all at once.
We mean business, good community business. There are many initiatives that we can share using LETS, and little or no need for feasibility studies, (there is no training like the event) or revenue type funding in any of this.
We aim to achieve autonomous lifestyles that are sustainable and dignified for everyone.

This is where we are at this time, there are many people around the country doing similar things and we will be sharing all that and more when we send you the first edition of "LETS CONNECT" in small magazine form but which we are sure will grow. Organically of course!

Best wishes,

John & Mandy Winkworth

BRISTOL LOCAL FOOD LINK

This is a project being headed by the Soil Association and Bristol & Avon Community Enterprise Network.
It aims to establish a network of community based initiatives making wholesome, fresh food available throughout the city of Bristol.
Local agenda 21 requires that we find new ways of addressing the problems of sustainable communities, though there have been few ideas of how the critical area of food and agriculture can be brought into this process.
A number of interesting models are now emerging which link together the issues of :
Health & diet;
land use and environment;
transport & distribution;
training, employment and local enterprise;
environmental & health education;
community participation, probably the most important of all.

These initiatives usually focus on one particular aspect. The "veggie box" system is a good current example, delivering reasonably priced ,local organic vegetables in Bristol, or the Swindon Nutrition Initiative on the benefits of growing and eating your own produce. The Salford community gardening project using land around and on top of inner city tower blocks.

In some cases the impact has been significant, such as in the rapid growth over the last 3 years in local Food Links between local communities and organic growers so that about a third of all organic growers are now involved.
There is a need to demonstrate how to integrate the many potential benefits from Local Food Links.
The wide spread take up of such initiatives will go along way to meeting the needs of local communities through providing access to good healthy food, reducing environmental impact, empowering local people, education on diet and environment, local employment and reestablishing a link with the land.
They are a powerful vehicle for meeting local Agenda 21 and the "health of the nation" targets.

For more information on the Bristol Local Food Link project, contact Eric Booth at:
The Soil Association
86 Colston St.
Bristol, BS1 5BB
or Tim Crabtree at:
BACEN,
Hebron House,
Sion Rd.
Bedminster
Bristol, BS3.

GROWING FOOD in CITIES

A new project to highlight the potential for regenerating the environment, improving public health and contributing to community development in cities through urban agriculture.

Why grow food in cities?

Our cities are highly unsustainable. Not only do our current urban consumption patterns damage the environment,they also undermine public health and community values. Until recently community development, environmental regeneration and health have been seen as separate, often conflicting issues.
Thinking has now changed; a key conclusion to emerge from the Rio Earth Summit is that these problems are highly interdependent.
Agenda 21, a major policy outcome of the Summit, embodies this belief.
GROWING FOOD in CITIES will explore ways of implementing the Summit's principles at local level by looking at food growing in cities and its potential for linking health, the community and the environment.

GROWING FOOD in CITIES is being spearheaded by the National Food Alliance, (NFA) and Sustainable Agriculture Food and Environment (s.a.f.e.) and already has a working party that includes many community organisations.
For more information and what you may be able to do to help, contact:
Tara Garnett
NFA,
511 Worship St.
London, EC2A 2BH.

The SAFE Alliance is a coalition of groups working together to research and promote sustainable agriculture.
It includes farming, organic sector, environmental, third world development, animal welfare, consumer and conservation organisations.
The alliance has established itself as a major voice in the debate on agriculture and food policy, and works with a network of similar alliances across Europe.

WOULD YOU TRAVEL 12,000 miles FOR YOUR DINNER????

FOOD MILES: THE DANGERS of LONG DISTANCE FOOD TRANSPORT

What we eat everyday is of crucial importance but do we ever really think about where this food comes from and why? Most of us have occasionally wondered why our food comes from far flung places and why it is so heavily packaged or processed.

For some foods the reasons are easy and obvious, but for many this isn't the case. All to often the production and transport of these foods has serious implications for consumers, for farmers and growers both in the north and south and for the environment. Yet rarely are these often complex problems identified and considered.
The Food miles campaign reveals some of the wider social and ecological concerns caused by the international food trade, and suggests how to reduce excessive and unnecessary food miles.
This is just the start of the campaign it will take a long time to achieve change but achieve it we must.

The SAFE Alliance believes that people can make a difference and by following one or more of the steps outlined in the FOOD MILES Booklet, you can make a start, and could even find yourself enjoying a healthier diet! GET "THE FOOD MILES REPORT": The dangers of long distance food transport. @ Ł2.50 [UKP] from:
The SAFE ALLIANCE
38 Ebury St.
London, SW1W 0LU

What is going on in your back yard and how can we link it up to LETS?
Are you involved with food production? Are you a food retailer dying to accept local money?

Are you a commercial grower in need of local labour at harvest times? Community Supported Agriculture does after all start with the community.
So come on folks........
LETS GROW FOOD and LETS EAT LOCAL!

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Last Revised 06 January 1996 by Nigel Stewart