From David Warr.
SO once again we find ourselves unable to resist the temptation of ‘cheap’ food. I refer to the opening of Iceland, which was reported to have attracted so many people that the store ran out of many of their lines.
In a world where we have so many choices, we choose to spend less and less on food and think that it has no consequences.
Renewal of the Sky contract v. cheaper food, a holiday v. cheaper food, mortgage repayment v. cheaper food. It’s interesting what we choose to forgo.
But what of the consequences? Cheap imported frozen fish v. the livelihoods of our fishermen and women. Is it any wonder that so many people have walked away from fishing and agriculture?
Despite cries of ‘Think twice, buy local’, we can’t seem to wean ourselves off the lure of cheap imported food. So who are the losers when we choose to pay nothing for our food?
The problem is that woolly thing called the environment. Ever reflected upon the energy required to keep a pizza frozen, the packaging, the carbon footprint of the freight? That’s the real cost of cheap food.
At a time when oil prices have doubled and ‘peak’ oil may already have been reached, we should be more aware than ever of our own food security. Jersey’s fields aren’t there for us to just look at. They are there to feed us.
When will we stop acting, as one study called us, as ‘hyper’ individuals, and instead behave as members of a community – a community that benefits all?
La Bicherie,
Augrès Farm,
Rue du Moulin de Bas,
Trinity.
