Buy local & support your community…

I have to start this blog post with the following disclosure:  I’m not a fan of the major supermarkets that operate here in the UK.

Sometimes it seems to me that here in the UK (and possibly in other western countries too), we have become reliant on supermarkets supplying our every need, 24 hours a day.  We are promised convenience, and good quality at good prices, (although some evidence suggests that the quality of food we get at supermarkets isn’t always of the optimum standard – especially the budget lines).

Personally, I always find shopping in supermarkets a somewhat surreal experience.  You look at the apples for example.  Each one identical.  You don’t even need to choose between them…but yet you know, that in nature there isn’t that uniformity.  You know that the apple in your hand is not only the same as every single one on that shelf, but on all shelves in all supermarkets nationwide.  Spooky.  But is it our fault as consumers – expecting (and therefore receiving) perfection?  Or the result of over zealous quality standards?

There is also the environmental cost of buying food from major retailers to consider.  Supermarkets often import fruit and vegetables from overseas at a huge cost to the environment.  This is because as consumers we demand that we have produce available all year-round.  We don’t eat seasonally any longer – we want avocados all year-round and so our demands are met…but at what cost?

Because of the sheer size and power of the major supermarket chains, they can afford to undercut some local businesses on price, until they go out of business.  Then you find that there are whole communities where there is no choice but to buy from the local supermarket.

In Tescopoly it is suggested that the trading practices of major supermarkets…

“…are having serious consequences for suppliers, farmers and workers worldwide, local shops and the environment”

Convenience food can be part way to blame for the higher incidence of diabetes and obesity here in the UK.  Processed foods supplied (although not exclusively) by supermarkets are packed with sugar, fat, preservatives, e-numbers and salt – things that you wouldn’t add in vast quantities if you made the same food at home.  Tescopoly (again) have written an article about Food Poverty, and what this means to us as consumers.

And then there are the chemical used in food production to consider.  Mass demand, means mass supplies needed, and what better than using pesticides, insecticides, and all manner of other ‘cides’ to guarantee a quick growing and uniform crop?   Visit PAN UK to find out more about the use of pesticides in food production.

I feel that it is really important to rebuild those relationship between the urban area and the local rural areas – the major benefits to buying locally or growing food in your local area being that:

• You will be keeping money in the local area – relying less on imports, and making the local community more sustainable
• You will be strengthening community relationships
• You will be ensuring that you maintain your freedom of choice rather than handing the monopoly over to the supermarkets
• Buying local ingredients, and making your own food gives you more control over what you put in your mouth!
• Eating seasonally (as human beings are designed to do!) is better for your health
• You will be minimising environmental costs
• Sometimes it is cheaper to buy locally than from supermarkets

I am encouraged to read about communities that are starting to take back control, by running urban farming projects, such the one in Middlesbrough, and one that is just getting going in Brighton.  These are designed to encourage local produce, to reduce food miles, and to strengthen community relationships.

There are also transition towns (which encourage sustainable communities – check out Transition Town Brixton as an example), and ventures such as The People’s Supermarket – a worker co-operative that is due to launch shortly in Lambeth (London).  There are also box schemes sprouting up all over the place (sorry about the pun!) – which deliver fresh organic food straight from local farms to your door step.  UK Food Online has put together a comprehensive list of box schemes that operate in the UK.

So even in major cities now, it is becoming increasing possible for consumers to take control over their buying habits, and support their local community and economy at the same time.  (And of course you can also try and grow your own!)

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Tags: box schemes, co-operative, Community, diabetes, e-numbers, food poverty, grow own, health, local, London, obesity, organic, PAN UK, pesticide, processed food, seasonal, tescopoly, the peoples supermarket, transition towns, uk, urban farming