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| A sustainable and healthy lunch? |
There are many other problems, but lets focus on these. Follow the money. Why does all of this happen? Because there is huge amounts of money generated by all. Unsustainable fishing is all about costs. Huge supertrawlers can catch and process fish and have them ready for your supermarket at fraction of the finacial cost to you the consumer. We all love being environmentalists until it hits us in the pocket. There are big profits for everyone factory fishing but the environment is suffers. Palm oil production is decimating huge swathes of Tropical rain forests, removing the habitat for all manner of residents of such places, such as Orang Utangs. The only reason Palm oil is used is because it is cheap. It has no other place in the food chain. It makes production of the products it contains more profitable for both manufacturers and supermarkets. The overuse of anti biotoics has seen the rise of all manner of nasty superbugs. In factory farming anti biotics are routinely used and with bugs getting ever more resistant, we are on the edge of the cliff with resistant bacteria. Again the sole reason this happens is to make the chicken, lamb and beef we eat cheaper. Pesticides are a cheap fix. Monoculture farming, where a single crop is planted over acres and acres results in these areas becoming a haven for whatever pests destroy such crops. it is easy for the bugs to hop from plant to plant and decimate while areas, heavy usage of pesticides are the only solution if you plant intensively. There is an environmentally better alternative but it is far more expensive to manage. You simply plant small areas of each crop and plant hedgerows and other plants in between that attract the predators that stop pests thriving. Then there is the plastic packaging we all seem to love to have our tomatoes and sweet corn wrapped in. We get the products home, throw the packaging in the recycling bin and think we've done our bit. Sadly in the London Borough of Barnet, all of the recycling has recently been going into Landfil as the refuse processing chain fell apart. Much of what we think is being recycled isn't. Even worse, as a member of the Mill Hill litter pickers, I see just how much of this is simply thrown away. Why so much plastic? Again the reason is that it's cheaper than more eco friendly alternatives.
How can we actually get change. What can we do to address these issues, which we've been aware of for decades? I've come to the conclusion that democracy in the UK is a myth, a smokescreen to fool us into thinking we matter. I would always advocate voting, campaigning and fighting, because if you give up and stop, the bad guys will always win. But big business controls our political process. If you don't believe me, have a look at what the most successful Labour PM of all time makes his money doing these days. Follow the money. Money talks and there are always "sound economic reasons for doing nothing".
But we as cocnsumers, have power in the marketplace. We can make choices. We can exercise power. Every day, millions of us buy these products. Most days on average 500-1,000 people read this blog. just suppose, just 500 people decided to say "we will change our behaviour, we will alter our shopping behaviour. If for arguments sake, lets take the lower number and say if those 500 people spend £100 a week on groceries, that is £50,000 a week. Over a year, that is £2,600,000. That is a large enough amount to influence any business. I hear you saying "but how will they know". Well Tesco's, ASDA, Marks and Spencers, Waitrose, Morrisons etc know to the last tin of beans what is happening in their supermarkets. Barcodes mean that every trend can be spotted and analysed. They also read blogs that mention them. Just suppose this blog sparks a wider conversation? The most read blog on this site was read by nearly 30,000 people. If this post went viral in such a way, the buying power of those readers would be £3 million a week and £156 million a year.
For the last six month, I've been working on mending my ways. How could I personally change what I do, so that I personally am making better choices. Lets start with what I eat.
1. Buying Fish - Lets start with the issue of fishing.If I buy fish, I only buy those that are caught by sustainable fishing methods. I find it quite irritating that in supermarkets, fish is one of the most overpackaged commodities. But you can make informed choices.
Check on the GOODFISHGUIDE website -for guidance on what is sustainable. I recommend using a good fishmonger, such as Elias fish in Mill Hill East. They also don't use all of the packaging yoou tend to get if you buy a bit of cod off a supermarket shelf. Abel and Cole also do organice, sustainable meat and fish boxes.
We eat fish 2-3 times a week. That is around £15 a week, £780 a year. If my 500 readers do the same, that is £390,000 a year in economic choices made.
2. Avoiding Palm Oil products.
Last year, I wrote a blog on the subject of Palm Oil. I applauded Iceland for their policies and listed how other supermarkets had risen to the challenge. Sadly there has been a degree of backsliding from them. My advice? Read the label on the product. If you find a product in your shopping basket with Palm Oil, tweet the retailed and ask why they are selling it. We have not knowingly had a product containing Palm Oil in the house for a year, apart from some my Sister in Law brough over for Xmas. I've no idea how much we were spending on Palm Oil products previously. If we say £15, That is around £15 a week, £780 a year. If my 500 readers do the same, that is £390,000 a year in economic choices made.
3. Anti Biotic farming methods.
As Mrs T doesn't eat meat and the kids have left home, we hardly ever buy meat these days. That is a shame, I love a bacon buttie and good roast beef. When we do, we eat organic. Riverford do organic meats that are recommended.
If we guess that the average Barnet Eye reader spends £25 a week on meat,If my 500 readers do the same, that is £650,000 a year in economic choices made.
4. As for Pesticides in plants, since I was diagnosed with Cancer in 2011, I've tried to avoid these. We have over the years used organic delivery services that provide veg boxes. We use Abel and Cole and Riverford mainly. This weeks was the medium, magnificent mixed box from Abel and Cole for £19,95. That will more or less see us through the week for fruit and veg. Most days we make fresh vegetable soup for lunch, it takes exactly 15 minutes and I do it whilst reading and researching blogs (or my book). Here's a hint for crafty consumers. If you do what Mrs T does, order from one for a couple of months then switch to the other. After a while, the lot you are not using will ring you or email you special offers to tempt you back. Another hint. If you work and don't have access to a stove, you can make a weeks worth of soup and freeze it. Bung a few croutons, and various sauces such as tabasco etc in to vary it from day to day. I bung some bacon in if I am taking it to work (so long as Mrs T isn't looking). So if we say I spend £19.95 on organic veg, If my 500 readers do the same, that is £518,700 a year in economic choices made.
5. Packaging.
Both Riverford and Abel and Cole use cardboard boxes and packaging that they recycle. If you compare the equivalent products bought from M&S that is a lot of plackaging. That is another good reason for using such services. We have a drawer in the house where we put all plastic bags etc when we shop at Iceland & M&S. I always try and buy loose veg. Firstly they are cheaper and secondly, I take the same plastic bags back to use, to put the individual items in. That is a simple way to help the environment. We can make informed choices and taking a couple of plastic bags with you is a great way to make a small difference. If all of my 500 readers just reused 3 bags a week that is 1,500 less bags a week.
As I am about to make lunch, I thought I'd put myself to the test. I am making a pot of soup for Mrs T and myself. What have we got?
1. Olive Oil. This article is quite interesting. It is a glass bottle so presumably recycleable.
2. Oxo stock pot. Hmm. Mrs T likes these and buys them. I prefer the cubes. I really don't like plastic packaging. The ingredients are sound.
3. Turmeric. This is in a plastic bag. Again, could do better.
4. Smoked Paprika. Again in a plastic bag, could do better.
5. Pepper. We buy these in a cardboard box and fill the grinder, so I am happy with this.
6. The veg were all from Able and Cole this morning and came in a cardboard box, which they will take away, except for.
7. Organic Garlic - Bought loose from M&S.
8. Chilli pepper - Bought loose from Broadway food, the Turkish run independent on Mill Hill Broadway.
I estimate that the cost of this meal for two will be approx £1. The cooking technique is similar to that for the rocket fuel soup recipe I published in 2013. I don't personally believe that this is a significantly bigger effort than buying a pre packaged soup and microwaving it. It will be more healthy and will save you around £2. If that is lunch every day of the week, that is £500 a year.
The Telegraph have a great list of holidays for under £500 last summer,, so you could put that cash to good use!
Here it is .
Ingredients.
1 Fresh tomato
2 cloves of Garlic
1 large hot red chilly
1 medium sized potato
1 large flat mushroom
1 medium sized onion
1/4 of a thinly sliced red cabbage
A tblspoon full of turmeric
A tblspoon full of smoked paprika
1 stock pot
Enough olive oil to cover bottom of pan
450 ml Water
Method
Chop up Garlic cloves 10 mins before you start
Chop chillies, potatoes, cabbage, mushroom , tomatoe & onion into small pieces
Put olive oil in saucepan with lid. warm medium heat
add potatoes, onions, chillies & garlic - put lid on and cook for 3 mins, shaking periodically
Mix stock with tomatoes, water, tumeric, ginger & capers. Add to mix & cook on medium heat for for 12 mins
Serve.
I believe that we can make a huge difference, one meal at a time. If you agree, please share this with friends and family.
Please note that the Barnet Eye has recieved no payment or inducement to mention any firm or product mentioned in this article.
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