How has our relationship with food and the land on which it’s produced become dysfunctional?
What kind of impact do you think that dysfunction has, in terms of both physical and mental health?
Do you think there’s a connection between living closer to the land and being happy?
What makes you happy when it comes to food?
Do you have any advice for people who want to eat naturally again?
Terroir- from the French word ‘terre’ – land/earth.
A popular word among foodies today is terroir, a French word literally meaning soil. It is used in a very particular way when applied to wine or food. The word first became popular among wine writers for expressing that je ne sais quoi of place that gives a grape its particular and unique taste and characteristic, based on the soil, climate, fertilizer and horticulture of a region or micro-region. My French-English dictionary gives the definition of terroir as “tang of the soil.” That’s an awkward definition and only captures half the story. Yes, soil is important, but it is more than that.
It’s also more than and different from the popular food trend known as locavorism. That mouthful means the desire to eat locally-produced foods, preferably grown within 100 miles of your home.Terroir has yet to become an “ism” but it may soon be the newest food trend if the recent publication of Rowan Jacobsen’s “American Terroir: Savoring the Flavors of Our Woods, Waters, and Fields” is any indication. Jacobsen would like to launch a “reign of terroir” to improve American culinary habits.
Terroir is uniqueness of place, what gives the food from that region a particular taste by virtue of what the soil brings forth, either in terms of the grass a cow eats that makes for a unique cheese or how a tomato grown in that place tastes by virtue of the particular nutrients contained in the soil. Nevertheless, it is more than just soil and climate. It is the application of the methods, techniques, habits and customs of a culture when it interacts with its soil for the purpose of growing food. Not just that of the farmer and vintner, but everyone else who is involved in transforming that food into a cuisine.
(retrieved from: http://zesterdaily.com/cooking/food-terroir/)
Terroir pertains to how food and wine can embody a ‘sense of place’ – how geology, geography and climate (amongst other things) are somehow captured and can be tasted within the food that is grown there, giving it a subtly unique flavour. Terroir is an unfamiliar concept in the UK where globalisation presents itself daily, in varied arrangements, on our dinner plates. This sounds like a good thing for the discerning palette – something of a cacophony of terroir moments to be discovered and savoured: a Brazilian aubergine, a Portuguese tomatoe, an African banana or an Indian mango. Intensive farming methods that deliver on this scale however are the proverbial cloud with a silver lining; the silver lining being the fantastic availability of produce, and the cloud being in, amongst other things, its McDonaldisation. For the UK consumer, this means uniformity not only of size, shape and colour but also taste and texture.
Does it matter? I think it does.
Asides from the environmental degradation associated with the intensive farming and transportation of crops, such as reduced biodiversity and health concerns associated with chemical use: the results of intensive, global farming (aesthetically pleasing, available food) enable a platform for considering notions of sustainability within much broader contexts. How, for example, does this availability impact upon the development of sustainable ways of being, of living and of thinking? Why would the majority of a convenience-driven, consumerist society look for alternate, inevitably more labour intensive and less convenient ways of producing and sourcing food?
(retrieved from: food futures: lisahighwire.wordpress.com)
(Retrieved from: http://sustainablefoodcities.org/keyissues)
Food Futures is a city-wide strategy and programme to improve the health and sustainability of food in Manchester. It is coordinated by Public Health Manchester based within Manchester City Council and is a broad partnership of public and private sector and communities. It started as an informal partnership in 2005 and now supports a wide range of healthy and sustainable food activity. Our mission within Food Futures is to improve the physical, mental and social well-being of Manchester residents through concerted action by a range of agencies to make local food better, healthier and more accessible.
Growing Manchester – a community food growing programme that supports new and existing projects to thrive through the provision of training, site plans, community development support and networking opportunities.
Truly Good Food – an accreditation scheme to encourage healthy and sustainable eating in cafes and restaurants.
Food in residential care project – a project to explore issues relating to food in residential care settings and support the implementation of improvements.
New Smithfield Market food waste diversion project – run by Fareshare Northwest under the umbrella of Emerge Food, this innovative project captures avoidable food waste from fruit and vegetable traders and distributes any useable food to FareShare beneficiaries (Community Food Members). FareShare Northwest also receives surplus in-date supplies from the food industry and works with over 50 organisations who provide meals to people in need in Greater Manchester.
Real Food Wythenshawe – is an ambitious five-year programme to engage and excite the people of Wythenshawe in growing and cooking fresh, sustainable food. With a grant of £1,000,000 from the BIG Lottery Fund, Real Food Wythenshawe is a large scale programme which will reach as far across the community as possible. We also want to make Wythenshawe an exemplar for how food projects in the 21st Century should be. So we’re going to be building and running innovative indoor food growing systems and stimulating discussion around sustainable urban food production, alongside our many community activities.
Hulme Community Garden Centre – is a unique community-led inner-city horticultural project. It is a not-for-profit organisation with a mission to bring the community together through gardening.
See also Feeding Manchester – a network of sustainable food projects in Greater Manchester
(Retrieved from: http://sustainablefoodcities.org/findacity/cityinformation/userid/46)
Abbey Leys want home-grown vegetables for their farm shop, and there is plenty of scope for attending local farmers markets. What’s more, the Manchester Veg People also wanted to increase their supply of local veg. It set up just 18 months ago as a multi-stakeholder co-operative of organic growers and buyers in Greater
Manchester who want to find a collaborative solution to some of the barriers to farming sustainably. Its aim is to increase access to local produce, at the same time as creating a larger and much more stable market for the growers’ produce – and they have already raised over £16,000 in crowdfunding.
Only local, seasonal produce from within 50 miles of Manchester city centre is sold, picked to order for buyers the day before delivery. The co-operation of growers ensures the greatest range of produce for customers; and buyers and growers can co-ordinate supply and demand locally, minimising waste, strengthening trust and understanding, and eliminating much of the risk for growers. The growers also share knowledge, skills and resources, get a new and expanding market for their produce and a direct link to their buyers through the co-op. In its first year the co-op enabled the sale of fresh local produce with a value of £22,000, all done using borrowed vehicles, storage and office space.
And on top of all that Manchester Veg People is committed to developing a pricing structure that is based on the actual cost of production of the veg, ensuring that their growers always receive a fair price for their produce and are not pressured to accept less than their produce is worth.
Connecting the links in the food chain
Both FarmStart and Manchester Veg People are projects set up by the Kindling Trust, which supports local sustainable growing. It is interesting and heartening that at a time when farmers are saying that their crops are already 30% lower than expected, new growers are popping up around Greater Manchester and joining the Manchester food revolution. By trying to remove the barriers that stop people getting started in vegetable production and find routes to local markets, Kindling hopes to make it possible for a new generation of growers to emerge.
The pioneering Manchester Veg People model sees growers and buyers as members of the co-op, working together to co-ordinate supply and demand, reducing the risk for the growers and crucially paying a fair price to growers for their produce.
Explaining how Manchester Veg People aids new growers, FarmStarter Lisa said; ‘The idea of selling up and buying a small holding had been a dream for a long time and we wanted some land so we could see whether it was really for us. Looking for a piece of land and knowing what was right and where to look seemed a huge step in itself. The FarmStart project and Manchester Veg People gave us the confidence to think this was a possibility, by giving us access to, land, support, tools advice and a route to market. Making all those contacts and gathering all that knowledge yourself on top of growing/sustaining a piece of land would have seemed too enormous a task without their support.’
(Retrieved from: http://sustainablefoodcities.org/newsevents/news/articleid/20/farmstart-and-veg-people-manchesters-local-food-chain)
retrieved from: http://www.totally-locally.co.uk
Aims to ‘reconnect people and land through local food, increasing access to fresh, healthy local food with clear traceable origins’. Helps producers to sell directly to customers, build skills, trading systems, networks and resilience.
How we can help
Community food enterprises are businesses run by communities for their benefit, which are involved in at least one part of growing, harvesting, processing, distributing, selling or serving local food. Examples include farmers’ markets, community-owned shops, community supported agriculture (CSA) projects, country markets, food co-operatives and many others.Click here to find out more about the ways in which communities are taking control of their food and where it comes from.
Retrieved from: http://www.makinglocalfoodwork.co.uk/who/index.cfm
From its humble beginnings in 2007, Incredible Edible is now a real embodiment of its ethos ‘the power of small ideas’.
It was started in Todmorden, a small town in the North of England, by a like-minded group of individuals including Pam Warhurst and Mary Clear who wanted to find an inclusive way of enriching the world directly around them.
Importantly, this was not about waiting for hand outs, or some officials to give the green light but to take responsibility and essentially get going. The focus of their attentions was food. Everyone understands food. Food could get people talking; even better, it could inspire people to take action.
Starting with small herb gardens and community plots, the group has since founded a food knowledge hub and fishery at the local high school, as well as a market garden for young people to grow and sell their own produce. It has also backed successful campaigns such as encouraging the keeping of free range chickens and bees.
In the wider community, Incredible Edible Todmorden has supported local businesses and worked with the council and the police to enrich the town and pursue its sustainability.
This work reflects the movement’s drive to provide access to good local food for all, through:
• working together
• learning – from field to classroom to kitchen
• supporting local business
Inspired by this message, other enthusiasts have picked up the baton. The UK network alone has more than 50 independent groups and as a worldwide movement, it stretches from Canada to New Zealand.
Each group differs, but with its membership criteria being: ‘If you are eat, your are in!’, there is something for everyone.
The Faculty of Life Sciences at The University of Manchester and Manchester Museum are hosting a series of discussion events exploring the development of a sustainable future for Manchester
These events will bring together experts from outside the University and academic researchers to present the pertinent issues, ideas and solutions surrounding transport, clothing, housing, biodiversity and food.
7 May: Clothing with Sara Han, Stitched Up
14 May: Housing with Richard Frankland, Dwelle
21 May: Biodiversity with Matthew Holker, Greater Manchester Ecology Unit
28 May: Food with Pam Warhurst, Incredible Edible
Tuesday 7 May: Clothing Sara Han, Stitched Up. Freelance eco-fashion designer and member of the Stitched Up collective, Sara Han, will discuss the waste situation in the UK and how sustainable design solutions can reduce clothing and textile waste. Sara will talk about the work of Stitched Up, a non-profit co-operative that inspires people to create a sustainable wardrobe through up-cycling and stitching. Also considering the pertinent issues and ideas surrounding clothing and sustainability – Judy Wong, Teaching Fellow in Fashion and Clothing Technology, will be presenting a range of opinions based upon fast fashion and sustainable clothing.
Tuesday 14 May: Housing Richard Frankland, Dwelle. Using cellulose fibre extracted from 100% recycled newspaper for insulation, Dwelle create sustainable eco-friendly micro-buildings that aim to be resourceful and efficient. Architect Richard Frankland will introduce the key issues surrounding housing and the environment, and discuss the implications of using renewable materials to create ecological structures. Also considering the pertinent issues and ideas surrounding housing and sustainability – Angela Connelly from the School of Environment and Development will discuss the issue of adapting to climate change and innovative solutions to flood risks; and Andrew Karvonen, Lecturer in Architecture and Urbanism, will look at reducing the carbon footprint of houses in Manchester.
Tuesday 21 May: Biodiversity Matthew Holker, Greater Manchester Ecology Unit. In order to develop communities’ wildlife identification and recording skills, From Grey to Green is a project that has been created by the Greater Manchester Ecology Unit to encourage and train local people to identify and record wildlife across the county. Community Engagement Officer, Matthew Holker, will conduct a talk on the importance of recording wildlife, with an emphasis on submitting records and the roles of the National Biodiversity Network and Local Record Centres. Also considering the pertinent issues and ideas surrounding biodiversity and sustainability – Henry McGhie, Head of Collections and Curator of Zoology at Manchester Museum; Dr. Roland Ennos will present research on the cooling and flood prevention effects of urban trees and other types of green space; Dr. Emma Gardner will discuss opportunities for enhancing biodiversity across the University; and Dr. Jennifer Rowntree will look at pollination and sustainability.
Tuesday 28 May: Food Pam Warhurst, Incredible Edible. Encouraging people to share responsibility for the wellbeing of one another and the planet, Incredible Edible works with public bodies to use land for planting and growing, and with local communities to support their own sustainable ideas. Chair of Incredible Edible Todmorden, Pam Warhurst, will discuss the future of the environment through sustainable food growing, turning towns into edible landscapes where the produce is freely available to anyone who wants it; in doing so, making communities stronger, creating social enterprises and educating the young. Also considering the pertinent issues and ideas surrounding food and sustainability – Lynda McIntosh, Communications and Marketing Manager for the Sustainable Consumption Institute, will discuss the inspiration behind Meat Free Mondays at the University; Jane Raftery, Knowledge and Outreach Manager for the Sustainable Consumption Institute, will look at current SCI projects; Professor Richard Preziosi will discuss sustainable fisheries and the maintenance of genetic stocks of economic aquatic species; and Dr. Emma Gardner, will discuss the idea of supporting local sustainable food production at the University.
Retrieved from: http://events.manchester.ac.uk/event/event:q36-he8pogtk-dm9bog/a-sustainable-future-for-manchester
Living in an urban area like Greater Manchester it is very easy to forget that the food we eat has a huge impact not only on our health, but also on local communities and businesses, individual farmers and the environment.
Sustainable food takes into account environmental, health, social & economic concerns. Our definition (see box on right) consists of eight inter-related principles. Although few of us can claim to adhere to all of the principles all of the time, this definition is an underlying aspiration to drive change within the organisations listed On this website and the wider food system.
Join Manchester’s blossoming sustainable food movement by buying, growing, selling and promoting food that:
With over 400 sustainable food initiatives from across Greater Manchester it is becoming easier to support a greener, healthier and fairer future for our city, our rural neighbours and communities across the Globe.
Retrieved from: http://www.feedingmanchester.org.uk/sustainable-food
Sustainable Cities 