Can you buy local food at local supermarkets?
5 October 2007
We are all told that buying local food is better for the environment, so much so that national supermarkets are going out of their way to provide environmentally friendly produce to encourage us to make our green lifestyle choices whilst still using their services.
We are getting to the stage where anybody and everyone is jumping on the environmental bandwagon – whether it's out of genuine concern for ecological welfare or just to make a quick buck is virtually impossible to tell.
Particularly with all the bad press that supermarkets have been recieveing recently it is difficult to decide wether or not to trust their recent efforts to appeal to the green consumer in us. So many different chains are offering more local or organic produce to choose from, but is this really going to help with protecting our environment and help to maintain local economies if its still from the supermarket? The answer to this is most likely no.
Unfortunately it doesn't take long before the contradictions in supermarket's green behaviour becomes apparent. One supermarket's recent attempt to calculate the carbon footprints of their entire range of products demonstrates the hugely over complex processes in which products are manufactured. For instance how does one calculate the environmental impact of a bottle of ketchup when the tomatoes are grown and transported from another country and the packaging originates from three different factories?
It starts to become apparent that local, organic food or not, buying from a supermarket can never compare to the simpler alternatives of buying directly from your local suppliers. This may not be as difficult as it sounds since in the Leamington Spa area we are blessed with many different initiatives. Canalside Community Food is a good example of a way to have a share in locally grown, organic fruit and vegtables, being able to see your food growing and even having a hand in cultivating it.
Bath Place Community Centre in Leamington Spa also run a food co-operative on Wednesday mornings selling not just fruit and veg but eggs, honey and preserves. Re-establishing a proper connection not just with the food we eat but also with the people around us is easily the most important thing to strive for in rethinking the way that we aquire and enjoy our food. This is something that supermarkets will never be able to provide for us.
www.canalsidecommunityfood.org.uk or phone 07916 175191
www.bathplace.org or phone 01926 338421