VIEW
An independent Social Affairs magazine www.viewdigital.org Issue 33, 2015
A TALE OF FOOD INSIDE:
Contributors include: Kerry Melville George Lyttle Maria Jennings Clare Bailey Jane McClenaghan Jim Kitchen Sue Christie Maeve Foreman Gary McFarlane Noel Welch
This issue has been supported by the Food Standards Agency in Northern Ireland
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Why in a land of plenty do we need food banks? The number of people in Northern Ireland who are reliant on food banks is growing
By Brian Pelan co-founder, VIEWdigital
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ood – we need it to live and we love to talk about it. Witness the growing passion for cookery programmes, pictures on social media of the latest dish we’ve served up or eaten in one of Northern Ireland’s many restaurants and our local produce is a joy to behold. . And yet, amidst us in Belfast and other towns in Northern Ireland, growing numbers of people are now reliant on food banks, Why in a land of plenty are so many going without? This latest issue of VIEW bears testimony to the healthy debate going on around food and how we grow it, eat it and dispose of it. First of all I would like to pay tribute to Belfast Food Network co-ordinator Kerry Melville who kindly agreed to be our guest editor for this publication. I also want to pay a special mention to
the Food Standards Agency in Northern Ireland who have supported this issue. Without Kerry and the FSA NI, this publication would not have been possible. I would also like to thank all those contributors who sent in articles. It’s been a long, but enjoyable journey, since we produced the first issue of VIEW three years ago. Our decision to start producing themed issues of VIEW was based on a belief that social affairs topics need comprehensive coverage – we aim to try and provide it. One of the most enjoyable aspects of putting together this edition was getting to know the vibrant community garden initiatives. Those volunteers who give up their time and energy to grow food deserve to be congratulated and encouraged. And finally,VIEW will never stop raising social affairs issues of injustice, such as food banks. Surely in the 21st century, we can make sure that all of our citizens are able to buy and enjoy food.
Editorial
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VIEW, an independent social magazine in Northern Ireland
By Guest editor Kerry Melville, co-ordinator, Belfast Food Network
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ou may have noticed that there’s something interesting happening to Belfast’s food scene. We’re spoilt for choice with an ever increasing choice of restaurants, cafes and bars actively promoting fresh, locally grown seasonal produce. 2016 has been designated the ‘Year of Food’ by the former Enterprise Minister, Arlene Foster. Fresh Atlantic fish, grass-fed beef, beautiful raw milk cheeses, butter and seasonal vegetables are readily available within an hour’s drive of the city centre, with a new generation of chefs, producers and growers leading the culinary revolution across the province. There are now over 150 Food NI Artisan members operating across the province compared to half a dozen a decade ago and our produce won 264 Great Taste Awards last year (2014) and almost 200 in (2015) Sounds great, doesn’t it? It’s fantastic news for the food scene in Belfast and beyond, but unfortunately it doesn’t resonate with everyone living in the city. Belfast currently has ten foodbanks, which is a huge number for such a small city. More than 20 percent of the waste going to landfill is waste food, as people continue to struggle to separate their waste, and we still have many schools serving sugary, fatty and processed food to our children every single day. To top it all there are large swathes of the city that have no access to fresh, locally sourced food. ‘Food that’s good for people is good for the planet’ is at the heart of the Belfast Food Network’s ethos, it was established in March 2014 to work towards making Belfast a Sustainable Food City. We are striving to get good food to everybody in this beautifully complicated city. Across the globe, communities at every scale have recognised the key role food can play in dealing with some of today’s most pressing social, economic and environmental
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challenges and are taking a joined up approach to transforming their food culture and food system. From obesity and diet-related ill-health to food poverty and waste, climate change and biodiversity loss to declining prosperity and social dislocation, food is not only at the heart of some of our greatest problems but is also a vital part of the solution.
mental health issues can reduce life expectancy by up to nine years and can seriously affect emotional well-being and self-esteem. It is estimated that this ‘epidemic’ costs the NI economy over £1m per day. Food poverty is a serious public health issue, with the at-risk groups most likely to suffer from poor dietary intake and consequential health effects.
Many people know very little about their food, where it comes from, how it is grown, how to store it and how to cook it, not to mention issues of nutrition and health. For all of those who, for whatever reason, have failed to develop these skills, there is a need to provide a range of lifelong learning opportunities as part of the fight to tackle health inequalities and diet related issues In 2012 the NI Executive reported that 25 percent of men and 22 percent of women were obese, rising to 61 percent of adults when overweight measures were included. The potential health impacts of obesity are well known; heart disease, Type II diabetes, osteoarthritis, hypertension and
There is a complexity of causes behind the rise in obesity, including social deprivation, skills deficits and poverty. The critical importance of food and nutrition is recognised in government policy that will help to reduce obesity and tackle weight issues in all sections of the population. Good food can transform people’s lives. It’s not just about the health benefits of a good diet. It’s about supporting and enhancing our economic development, protecting the natural resources from which, ultimately, all of our food is derived, helping us to tackle social inequalities and life chances. Our network grows stronger by the day and we warmly invite you to join us.
There are large swathes of the city that have no access to fresh, locally sourced food
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We are all about people. That’s where our heart lies
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By Brian Pelan
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ormer chef, and now community gardener extraordinary, Arlene Megaw, right, is on a mission to bring her skills into the heart of inner city communities in Belfast. “I’ve been working for the last two years as a volunteer on a range of community gardens in conjunction with Belfast City Council, including places such as Avoneil, Ballynafeigh, Knocknagoney and Short Strand. Arlene is a Life Skills Worker at Hosford House, the East Belfast Mission hostel for the homeless. “We’ve built a community garden at the side of the Skainos Centre on the Newtownards Road in east Belfast with funding from Belfast City Council. Arlene said: “Community gardening is all about growing – growing vegetables, fruit, herbs and flowers, but most of all ‘growing’ a community. “The community garden at Skainos provides a green space to meet new friends and share gardening skills.” The gardeners of the ;Going Green group originated within the East Belfast Mission's hostel. Arlene started her working career as a chef and then trained in counselling. “I always had an interest in growing vegetables. Once I learned about cooking, I could see how the two were related. A lot of homeless people have emerged from the care system and haven't learnt the skill of how to grow food. A lot of them now work in our garden at the Skainos centre. If they are an alcoholic, working in the garden can delay their drinking. It has a significant impact upon their mental health. I try to get them out as much I can. “We are all about people, that is where our heart lies.”
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Welcome to the ‘Mad Hatter’s Tea Party’
Hosford House worker Arlene Megaw, left, and volunteers at the Connswater Street Garden on the Newtownards Road in east Belfast held a ‘Mad Hatter’s tea party recently to raise funds for the Marie Curie charity.
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Grow shows how to take food into your own hands
A group of gardening enthusiasts enjoying one of the regular workshops which take place
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By Brian Pelan
ne of the many pleasures of producing a magazine about the vibrant food scene in Belfast was digging into the world of community gardens, none more so than the day I visited the Grow charity project in north Belfast. Led by a number of people, including Siobhan Craig, a resident in the area, the garden, which occupies a corner at the Waterworks, is now thriving, six years after it was first set up. One of the first people I met was volunteer Kimberley Morrison, who is originally from Canada. “One of the most amazing things about this garden is that we have put everything up ourselves, we dug the beds and erected a polytunnel. It has evolved and changed over the years. We are totally organic and try to be as self-sustainable as we can,” said Kimberley.
Flowers from the Grow initiative in north Belfast Over a cup of tea, I also spoke to another two volunteers – Martin Reid and Tony Doyle. “One of the things that drew me into working on this project was that it was the
first time something like this had been set up in the park,” said Tony. “I love working here and it offers me a bit of an escape from my normal life.” Tony, who has just retired, loves to garden, and the community garden offered him a perfect place to practice his passion. “It’s great to get a chance to grow fruit and vegetables.” “I think more people should get involved in this type of initiative,” added Martin. “It's not just about growing – it's the whole community environment that it creates.” I left the garden with a fresh bunch of flowers which were given to me. The Grow organisation has to be applauded and supported. It represents a superb example of taking food into your own hands and enjoying the moment of working outside in the fresh air and creating something lasting at the same time.
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Passionate about gardening: Tony Doyle, left, with Kimberley Morrison and Martin Reid at the Grow charity project in north Belfast
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The nutritionist versus the editor VIEW, Issue 33, 2015
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Has Jane McClenaghan bitten off more than she can chew as she attempts to make Brian Pelan a more healthier man?
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he esteemed playwright Samuel Becket put it eloquently, when he wrote: “Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try Again. Fail again. Fail better.” I, like many others, have aspirations to be more healthy. And given that ‘aspire’ seems to be the word of the moment, I sometimes believe that I am doomed to try to aspire to a healthier lifestyle and doomed to fail again. When I outlined my request to nutritionist Jane McClenaghan for help in dropping an unhealthy lifestyle, she instantly replied and asked me to fill in a form which gave a series of health questions, including, what you had ate in the previous seven days A mere glance at this form soon had me diving into a packet of Hob Knobs.
As I munched merrily away, I contemplated given a series of answers that would result in me getting a perfect score. A team of eminent doctors would flock to my door in wonderment as they gazed upon a perfect specimen of male health. As the crumbs of the last biscuit melted in my mouth, I swallowed hard and opted for that rare and delicate concept – the truth. Jane has seen my answers and has vowed never to divulge them. In return, she offered me a diet plan, which like all ‘diet plans’ in the world, I embraced whole-heartedly for a couple of days. A smugness took over me as I thought, ‘how easy this is’. I cut out the sweet stuff and replaced it with fresh fruit and regular glasses of water. And with all attempts of
humour put aside for the moment, I did feel healthier. I was actually enjoying the feeling of a new diet and having a healthier outlook. The ‘new me’ lasted for about seven days before the excuse of ‘stress’ had me reaching back into the hob knob tin. The ‘old, reliable me’ is dreading bumping into Jane, who sparkles and bubbles with her healthy look. Will I try again? The answer is Yes. But as the years advance, I’m also aware that my options on the ‘great healthy plan’ are fast running out. And did I mention, I’m also a smoker. • Nutritionist Jane McClenaghan can be contacted at http://vitalnutrition.co.uk/contact-us/
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Jane McClenaghan ouside Sawers food shop in Belfast
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Maria Jennings Comment We define consumer interests as food is safe and what it says it is, and we have access to an affordable healthy diet, and can make informed choices about what we eat, now and in the future.
We put consumers first in everything we do
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he Food Standards Agency in Northern Ireland is responsible for food safety, standards, nutrition and dietary health across the entire food chain. As Northern Ireland is such a small place, FSA in NI staff have the opportunity to engage with consumers directly, perhaps more so than our FSA colleagues in London. As well as providing advice to government ministers and developing policy and making legislation, we are responsible for giving advice on diet and nutrition and food safety. We are lucky enough to work with a number of hardworking partners to help carry out our role and over the last number of years we have developed strong working relationships with third sector organisations. Our strategy sets out our purpose very clearly: We will put consumers first in everything we do. That’s our bottom line; that every piece of work we are involved in must be in the interest of consumers. In the strategy, we define consumer interests as food is safe and what it says it is, and we have access to an affordable healthy diet, and can make informed choices about what we eat, now and in the future. In our discussions with consumers, we know that people want to feel that they
have some power and control over the decisions they make around food. We want people to feel they have a role in be as active as possible in shaping a food system that protects their interests and respects their rights and the FSA’s role is to protect, inform and empower consumers as part of helping them secure these rights. Issues such as affordability, access, choice, food security and sustainability are absolutely fundamental to many in Northern Ireland but we recognise as an organisation that others have a much greater ability to make a difference than we do. We are a small team in Belfast with a huge remit but spreading ourselves thinly has the potential to result in achieving less for consumers. We see a clear role for the FSA in contributing to the work that others do in these areas where we can add value support the best outcomes for consumers. A key example of this is our co-chairing of the All Island Food Poverty Network. The network was set up to bring together organisations that have a common interest in reducing food poverty on the island of Ireland and it ensures a co-ordinated and strategic approach to tackling food poverty through collaboration and shared learning. Members provide support to each other
in, discuss existing data and gaps in the evidence base on food poverty and share information on resources. We have carried out some research recently with safefood, in conjunction with the Consumer Council in NI, on the true cost of a healthy food basket. This research has told us that low income households in Northern Ireland need to spend at least one third (1/3) of their take home income in order to purchase a basket of healthy food. The Food Poverty Network is using this evidence to develop an action plan to tackle food poverty in Northern Ireland We welcome further conversations around community food issues. If individuals or groups can identify areas where you think the FSA could provide support please feel free to get in touch with the Dietary Health and Standards Team in our Belfast office. We are looking forward to achieving the ambitious objectives set out in our strategy, over the next five years and to forging strong relationships along the way. • Maria Jennings is the Director of the Food Standards Agency in Northern Ireland Twitter: @MariaJenningsFSA Email – infofsani@foodstandards.gsi.gov.uk
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Food at the heart of every community
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The Food Standards Agency Northern Ireland outlines a number of measures it has taken to help the public make the best choices on the food they buy
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Sharon Gilmore, Food Standards Agency NI, with Philippa McKeown-Brown, Consumer Council for NI and Cliodhna Foley-Nolan, Safefood
he Food Standards Agency in Northern Ireland has a remit for dietary health issues, including affordability, choice and nutritional quality. We work in partnership with lots of different groups and organisations so that we can give consumers information to help them make the best choices on the food they buy. Some examples of our work recently includes: MenuCal
The launch of MenuCal, a free, online tool, primarily aimed at caterers to help them manage allergen information and calculate Calories for the food they serve. It has been designed to help food businesses provide information to their
customers about the 14 main allergen ingredients. Businesses are required by law to declare if any of these allergens are in the food they serve. This tool will mean businesses can be assured that the information they have to provide to customers is correct and means consumers can feel more confident to ask about allergenic ingredients when eating out. In addition, MenuCal can calculate the energy values (kilojoules and kilocalories) of the food that businesses serve. Displaying Calorie information can improve consumers’ diets by helping them make healthier choices. Whilst this tool is largely focused on businesses, consumers can use it too. Simply log on to menucalni.co.uk, create a private profile and then you can start to add in details of your favourite recipes or products to check how many
calories are in each portion.
Front of Pack Food Labelling
Another initiative is the front-of-pack nutrition labelling system to help consumers see at glance what is in their food. Following detailed discussions with the food industry, health organisations and other interested parties, FSA in Northern Ireland launched a new universal label, colour-coded red, amber and green. The label also highlights ‘percentage reference intakes’ (formerly known as guideline daily amounts) to show how much fat, saturated fat, salt and sugars, and energy is in a food product. Red means the food or drink is high in a particular nutrient that we should try to cut down on, eat less often or in small amounts.
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Julie McKinstry-Harvey, Senior Dietary Health Adviser, FSA in NI, left, with Frances Douglas, Technical Executive for Public health Nutrition at the Food Safety Authority of Ireland, at the launch of MenuCal Amber means medium, and if a food contains mostly amber you can eat it most of the time. Green means low, and the more green lights a label displays the healthier the food choice. Food poverty
The FSA co-chairs with Safefood, the NI Food Poverty Network, which was established to map community food initiatives, identify best practice, and develop a food poverty indicator based on routinely available data. Food poverty is defined as the inability of individuals and households to obtain an adequate and nutritious diet, often because they cannot afford healthy food or there is a lack of shops in their area that are easy to reach. The FSA is working with the
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People experiencing food poverty and having difficulty eating an adequate diet will continue to be the focus of our work
Network to develop a coordinated approach to really drive the food poverty agenda forward in Northern Ireland. We commissioned research with Safefood in conjunction with Consumer Council in Northern Ireland on the true cost of a healthy basket of food and
found that low income families have to spend at least one third of their take home income in order to purchase a basket of healthy food. Sharon Gilmore, Head of Standards and Dietary Health at the Food Standards Agency in NI, said: “Those people experiencing food poverty and having difficulty eating an adequate diet will continue to be the focus of our work. For the first time, we have sound evidence on the real cost of an essential food basket and how food issues relate to poverty and economic hardship.” • For more information on the work of the Food Standards Agency in Northern Ireland go to www.food.gov.uk/northern-ireland
RECYCLE TODAY FOR A BETTER TOMORROW
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e put 10 questions to George Lyttle from the Belfast City Council Waste Management Team on how well we are doing when it comes to the issue of recycling
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Where does all the food waste go?
All the food waste we collect, along with the garden waste from households, goes to a company called NWP. Their plant is on the outskirts of west Belfast. They turn all the waste collected into compost.
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Have we improved in disposing of our food waste?
We have, in that a lot more of it is being collected for composting. But in terms of the amount of food that we are actually wasting, we tend to still waste more than is actually necessary. Its been estimated that around a third of all food that is being bought by people ends up being thrown away. That is a huge amount of money being spent on food that is literally being thrown away. It costs us then as a council to deal with that food waste. We want to encourage people to try and reduce the amount of food that they are presently wasting.
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What steps are needed to radically improve the situation or is it a gradual process?
It's a gradual process in trying to educate the public as much as possible. We are also trying to encourage people to use the waste facilities they have
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Who are the worst offenders when it comes to how we handle food waste?
There tends to be a low participation in food waste initiatives among young people, especially areas with a high proportion of students living there. Families with young children also tend to perform poorly and young professionals. It’s a complicated picture
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Have the supermarkets improved when it comes to how they handle food waste?
Supermarkets are very keen to be seen to be trying to do the right thing. Some of them have links or are trying to forge links with food distribution charities. There tends to be a bit of a misconception though about the amount of food waste that comes from supermarkets themselves. A lot of the food waste is produced in the supply chain before it actually gets to the supermarkets.
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Can you tell our readers a little bit about home food compost schemes?
You can compost at home; you can buy a home compost facility from a DIY outlet or purchase it from us. They cost £10, including delivery. It is a bit limited in terms of the amount of food waste that you can put into it though.
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What is the most satisfying part of your job?
Trying to help and educate the public to get them to use the facilities we provide them with. We have no enforcement powers, we can’t force people to recycle
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and compost. It’s good to go out and meet people and give them advice. What is the most frustrating part of your job?
One frustration would be things that are completely out of your hands. For example, we would like to be able to collect glass from all the households in the city. We looked at it but it proved to be just too expensive. We presently have a limited glass collection scheme but it would be too costly to extend it at present
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Can you tell me a little about your food waste education programmes?
We will work with anybody. At present we have two education teams; the first deals with canvassing. They go out and knock on doors and speak to the public. The second team are education officers who give talks to a range of groups, including primary schools, students, community organisations and pensioners.
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Have the councils any plans to introduce charges for the disposal of waste?
We have no plans to bring in any sort of enforcement. We do have enforcement officers in our cleansing services. There would have to be a lot of studies carried out on cities which do have more enforcement powers to look at the positive and negative benefits.
Belfast Food Network branching out
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he Belfast Food Network (BFN) was established in March 2014, as a three-year project of Sustainable NI, to work towards making Belfast a Sustainable Food City for the benefit of our communities, our economy and our environment. The BFN is a founding member of the pioneering, and rapidly growing, Sustainable Food Cities Network, which is an alliance of public, private, community and voluntary sector organisations that believe wholeheartedly in the power of food as a vehicle for driving positive change. The purpose of the Belfast Food Network is to work with partners to:
• Promote a greater appreciation of the role and importance of healthy and sustainable food – fresh, local, seasonal – amongst the public, policy-makers and institutions.
• Inspire key organisations to work individually and together to link initiatives around sustainable food to drive positive social, economic and environmental change.
• Develop our broad cross-sector partnership to involve public sector bodies, the community and voluntary sector and local businesses which will work together to establish a successful Sustainable Food City in Belfast.
In order to become a Sustainable Food City, Belfast has to apply for an award, through a structured system that is extremely comprehensive, seeking evidence of positive action in every dimension of the project. We hope to apply for the Bronze award for Belfast in Spring 2016.
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The Sustainable Food Cities Award is designed to recognise and celebrate the success of those places taking a joined up, holistic approach to food and that are achieving significant positive change on a range of key food health and sustainability issues. The Award is open to any place be it a city, town, borough, county or district - which: • Has an established cross-sector food partnership in place; • Is a member of the Sustainable Food Cities Network; and • Is implementing an action plan on healthy and sustainable food.
The Belfast Food Network has recruited an experienced Advisory Group (AG), with members representing all sectors of the local food system, drawn from organisations and individuals who are interested in creating a more sustainable food system in Belfast. Members include representatives from:
• Chartered Institute of Environmental Health (Chair)
• Belfast City Council
• Belfast Healthy Cities
• Food Standards Agency (NI) • NI Environment Link
• Food NI
• Ulster Farmers’ Union
• NI Local Government Association • Sustainable NI
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• Federation of City Farms & Community Gardens • Soil Association
• Institute of Public Health in Ireland
• Ulster University
• Queen’s University
• Sustainable Food Cities
• Yellow Door Cafe
• Artisan producers
The Advisory Board has agreed to set up six working groups under the award structure themes. These working groups are convened by a member of the Advisory Group. Progress is reported back at quarterly meetings.
Key issue one: Promoting healthy and sustainable food to the public. Key issue two: Tackling food poverty and increasing access to affordable healthy food. Key issue three: Building community food knowledge, skills, resources and projects.
Key issue four: Promoting a vibrant and diverse sustainable food economy Key issue five: Transforming catering and food procurement diverse sustainable food economy Key issue six: reducing waste and the ecological footprint of the food system
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Professor Jim Kitchen Comment
Perhaps we should listen more to our grandmothers when it comes to cooking food
Why our grannies know best
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t’s just twenty years since the Big Four supermarkets expanded their operations into Northern Ireland. In that same period, the percentage of obese adults has grown from 19 percent of the population to 24 percent – that’s around an extra 90,000 people carrying significantly more weight than is good for them. That’s no coincidence. Supermarkets have gradually lured us away from what’s become known as ‘cooking from scratch’. It is, of course, entirely possible to buy the raw, unprocessed ingredients – fresh vegetables, whole fish, fine cuts of meat – but the aisles of the supermarkets are crammed with the packaged foods that represent far greater profits to the retailers. A fresh supermarket chicken will cost
around £3 per kilo, but three small chicken breasts will raise the price to £8 a kilo. When the fillets are smothered in a sauce and placed in a foil container, the price zooms up to around £17 a kilo. Effort saved, for sure, but at what cost to your purse and your waistband? It’s that dependence on processed food, heavily promoted by the supermarkets (when did you last see an advert for carrots?), that has contributed significantly to the ‘obesity epidemic’. We’ve been persuaded that we shouldn’t waste time cooking when it’s all been done for us already – just heat and eat instead – and wash it down with a sugar-laden fizzy drink. The American writer, Michael Pollan, devised his ‘Eater’s Manifesto’ as his short answer to what we should eat to be
healthy, saying “Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.” He goes on to define what he means by food – as opposed to the “novel products of food science” – as being stuff that his granny would have recognised. You can still buy it at a supermarket, where they call it ‘real food’. What irony. Overwhelmingly, we shop for food at supermarkets – around 94 percent of all groceries are bought there. Maybe that’s the sea-change we need to tackle obesity – buy real food, in local shops, cook it from scratch and enjoy the results. That’s the wisdom of grannies. • Professor Jim Kitchen is the Director of Sustainable NI – www.sustainableni.org
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Co-operative Alternatives is the only body in Northern Ireland entirely devoted to developing successful co-operatives and community benefit societies. We offer high quality range of advice on legal, financial, business and democratic governance. We provide tailored training and business support to all groups who want to do business in a co-operative way. We are also delivering the Community Shares,
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Ready! project commissioned by the Building Change Trust to help Northern Ireland groups for a share offer. Website: www.coopalternatives.coop email: info@coopalternatives.coop Twitter @commshares and facebook Address, Unit 40a, North City Business Centre, 2 Duncairn Gardens, Belfast BT15 2GG Phone no. 028 90736075 or mobile 07858317634
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Dr Sue Christie Comment
We will need to increase global food production by 70 percent to accommodate the increased population
How can we feed nine billion people?
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y 2050 there will probably be over nine billion people on the planet – nearly two billion more than today and double the number in 1980. Can we feed that many people? How? We will need to increase global food production by 70 percent to accommodate the increased population, to ensure that all people have enough to eat, to meet growing trends for higher protein diets as people grow more affluent (especially in China and India), and this must happen while climate change decreases the land available for food production. Currently agriculture accounts for 24 percent of global carbon emissions, 37 percent of all land use (excluding Antarctica) and 70 percent of freshwater usage. We need to cut carbon emissions to avoid catastrophic levels of climate change, there is little land available for conversion to productive agriculture (and there are competing demands for the land there is), and freshwater is an increasingly scarce resource globally. The challenge is to increase food production by 70 percent while using no more land and much less energy, resources and water, while decreasing carbon emissions. Plus agriculture is highly significant economically – some 28 percent of the global population is employed,
directly or indirectly, in agriculture – and of course we all need to eat. Quite a challenge, and one that is of significant concern to each and every one of us. What must we do? Reduce food loss and waste. One quarter of food calories and half of food by weight is lost or wasted between farm and fork – cutting waste in half will solve 20 percent of the ‘food gap’. Shift to healthier diets. Shifting to more efficient sources of calories and proteins; especially from beef to other meats, fish, dairy, and vegetable protein; will have significant impacts on health, carbon emissions and land and water needed for food production. Currently over one third of global calories are used to feed livestock – and nearly 10 percent for energy production. A shocking one in seven people globally is hungry – but one in three is overweight or obese. Changing diets will have significant benefits. Boost crop yields. New agricultural and aquacultural varieties and techniques, including improving soil management, can lead to major improvements in outputs without substantial impacts on the amount of land under cultivation. Use resources more efficiently. Improving land and water management to
increase the food production from a given amount of energy and resource input is essential. Using water more efficiently and reducing and effectively targeting artificial fertiliser use can have big impacts without significantly decreasing yields. As an individual you can help your health, pocketbook and environmental impact by reducing food waste in your home and changing to a healthier diet. Each UK household on average throws away £60 per month – half of UK food waste occurs in the home. Having one (or more!) ‘meat free’ days each week will help your heart and your wallet. With everyone doing a small amount, combined with policy and technical advances, it will be possible to feed nine billion sustainably.
• Having run environmental NGOs in Northern Ireland for over 20 years, Dr Sue Christie is now involved with a number of groups including; Keep NI Beautiful, NI Environment Link, Council for Nature Conservation and the Countryside, Waste Programme Board, Belfast Food Network, Sustainable NI, and Friends of Soqotra
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Is organic food just for middle-class people? www.viewdigital.org
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Clare Bailey, deputy leader of the Green Party in Northern Ireland, gives her answer
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he Soil Association defines Organic Food as being produced using environmentally and animal friendly farming methods. So based on that definition it would be hard to imagine why this question needs to be asked, but asked it often is. Because prices for organic food are more expensive both on shop shelves and at farm production leads to YES being the answer to the question, Is Organic Food Just for the Middle-Class? It is a luxury many modest income never mind low income households cannot afford as a normal shopping choice. Food poverty is on the rise, food banks are on the rise and incomes are stagnant or falling. When purse strings are tight choices are themselves a luxury. Personally even if it is stamped all over that this is an organic product, and it sits on a supermarket shelf, I would be very sceptical. Think about it. Think about the mass warehouse and distribution process employed by corporations and packing factories. Consider the ethics of relationships between farmers and supermarkets. The current milk price war is a good example to highlight this aspect. If organic is also rooted in an ethical premise then I find it hard to reason that unequal trading relations and non-organic distribution models can in anyway support the motion that a bag of carrots bought from my local supermarket mega store will really comply with organic ethics. So are there other ways to get affordable organic food choices to people on modest or low incomes? Are there alternative networks and distribution systems we can develop in order to help out? Northern Ireland has much to do to improve its food image, but I think we are trying hard. There are increasing numbers of local artisan food producers and organic farmers. We just don’t hear enough about them. We don’t have enough access to them. Food box schemes, for example, do exist and are rapidly expanding what they can supply.
Organic food sales are on the rise across Britain but the number of farms is shrinking.
What if local community organisations were to invest in some food storage facilities and started to buy in bulk direct from suppliers? Could they then sell to local communities at cheaper prices? What if all community gardens and allotments were modelled on organic methods? Could we use this as collective ways to begin to bring change to our food culture? So many questions, but if anyone is interested in the food co-operative idea please feel free to get in touch. When food is involved I am always happy to help. Obesity we are being told is the greatest threat to an overburdened NHS and is really bad for your health. Stop eating and start moving more is the message. It is only lazy people who are fat and they need to take responsibility for their actions, not the taxpayers! But let’s have a look at a little. Once upon a time obesity was seen as the
privilege of the rich, now it is more a stigma of the poor. The longer we allow cheap processed foods filling rows and rows in ever expanding supermarket shelf space, the longer we keep wages low and living costs high, the longer we keep choices economically restricted, the longer we sustain a culture of organic food being a privilege for middleclass incomes. I must point out that to my knowledge there is nothing to indicate organic foods as better for your health, just better for the environment, better for animal welfare, better farming standards and better tasting. Organic food sales are on the rise across Britain but the number of farms is shrinking. Belfast sits in a valley surrounded by farm land. How can we not create a sustainable organic food system for everyone?
INCREDIBLE AND EDIBLE
VIEW, Issue 33, 2015
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By Claire Savage
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n innovative community-based project in Cloughmills, Co Antrim is helping people rediscover their relationship with food and tackling the issue of food poverty as they go along. Incredible Edible Cloughmills, which has received funding from the Big Lottery Northern Ireland, encourages residents to get actively involved with their food, providing an allotment garden for growing vegetables, as well as teaching people how to prepare what’s grown. Visitors to the site can also take produce home, as well as participate in various cookery classes and activities. The idea is simple – by cultivating a better relationship with food and making it accessible to all, Incredible Edible Cloughmills is creating a community which can thrive. The initiative is part of the Community Food Initiatives Programme 2013-15, managed by Healthy Food for All (HFfA) and funded by Safefood. Based at the Old Mill in Cloughmills, a site owned by Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council (CCGBC), the project is run day-to-day by the volunteers who make up the Cloughmills Community Action Team (CCAT). Patrick Frew, who is at the helm of the team, said the project is all about empowering people, and giving them the skills and knowledge to make better choices about food. “We’re still grasping at food poverty in Northern Ireland,” he said. “Food banks aren’t the answer. We work with two primary schools and I started to realise the kids didn’t know much about their food. It all started off with growing
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things and then we thought – what do we do when everything’s grown? So, we introduced cooking classes. We also teach people things like cooking on a budget.” One of the earlier aspects of the project was the Doorstep Allotments, which saw young people grow and then deliver vegetables to the elderly population in Cloughmills. Although the team don’t have the resources to regularly deliver, it’s an avenue they hope to revisit soon. In the meantime, people are encouraged to visit the site, grow food and either buy the produce or, if they can’t afford it, take it away for free. Recycling and education officer at CCGBC, Declan Donnelly, adds: “From the outset, we said food should be accessible. If you want to take something away then you can take it. Food should never be used to control people. It’s a human right. “The core ethos is very simple. The principle is getting people doing things – people of all ages. In areas like Cloughmills, it’s as much about transport as access to a decent budget that creates food poverty. Incredible Edible Cloughmills is trying to develop a new relationship with food.” With hundreds of people visiting the Old Mill site every year – from Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland, Finland and across the UK – it’s a project that’s extremely adaptable to any community. Indeed, it’s the community element which has made it so successful, said Declan. “We’ll only ever change society and address food poverty in Northern Ireland if the community gets a grip of this themselves, and that’s what’s happening in Cloughmills,” he said. “It’s a fascinating project.”
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Stepping onto Mud Island . . .
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Maeve Foreman reports on the transformation of a derelict site in Dublin into a thriving community garden
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here’s an area in Dublin’s north inner city, “westward of the North Strand, between Nottingham Street and Newcomen Bridge, and extending as far as Ballybough Road” that was originally known as Mud Island. For 200 years up to the middle of the last century it was a locality of evil repute, “inhabited by a gang of smugglers, highwaymen, and desperadoes of every description” (from The Neighbourhoods of Dublin by Weston St. John Joyce, 1909). It even gets a mention in James Joyce’s Ulysses “At Newcomen bridge Father Conmee stepped into an outward bound tram for he disliked to
traverse on foot the dingy way past Mud Island” Today it’s the site of Mud Island Community Garden, which has been developed on a derelict site owned by Dublin City Council (DCC). Following a two-year campaign by residents and the development of a clear proposal and committee structure, a yearly license was eventually granted by the local council to Mud Island. Since then the site has been cleared and leveled, raised beds built for vegetables, fruit bushes and trees, a polytunnel and water harvesting system erected and flower garden and sitting area created. The garden is farmed collectively and the
produce shared. Membership is open to anyone in the area with a clear policy of social inclusion. The garden has close links with the Larkin Unemployed Centre’s horticultural course which shares the site, as well as with local schools and community organisations. They’ve been the recipient of several grants that helped to get them started, including the Community Growers Fund, Croke Park Community Fund, DCC and the Local Agenda 21 environmental partnership grant. They’re active members of Dublin Community Growers’ network (http://dcg.ie/) which now has 32 community gardens affiliated, and have links with the all-Ireland Community
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The derelict site in inner city Dublin, left, before it was cleared and turned into a community garden (above). Mud Island has won several prices in neighbourhood competitions in the Republic of Ireland for best community garden/allotment and best environmental initiative
Garden Network. (http://communitygardennetwork.ning.com/). Mud Island has won several prizes over the past couple of years in neighbourhood competitions run by DCC – for best community garden/allotment and best environmental initiative – which has helped to raise their profile. They hold regular functions in the garden throughout the year including an annual open day every June, and this year were delighted to receive visitors from two Belfast community gardens, from the Divis Flats and from East Belfast Mission. The garden is currently open on Tuesday and Saturday afternoons with more frequent opening hours in the
Summer months, and welcomes visitors.The garden also plays both a recreational and educational role in the local community, providing a space for the community to relax, enjoy surroundings and meet with their neighbours, as well as courses on gardening, environmental and sustainable living. They have developed a range of composting methods for educational purposes, including compost bins and a wormery The site was completely overgrown and used as an illegal dump and was costing the council several thousand pounds each time they had to clear it. Developing a community garden on site has resulted in a cleaner environment with less
vandalism and littering. All the benefits of community growing are evident in this small community garden – it has without doubt improved the quality of life of its members, acted as a catalyst for neighborhood and community development and stimulated social interaction between different generations and cultures As a completely volunteer led group, they’re proud of their attempt to improve their neighbourhood and at the same time produce food that they can share and enjoy. • Maeve Foreman is the secretary of Mud Island Community Garden.
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Gary McFarlane Comment Change is possible when it comes to food security
F
ood! An essential requirement for our survival as human beings. And in addition, for many of us one of life’s greatest pleasures both in terms of sensory and social experience. At the same time for others, and evidence suggests that more and more people are starting to fall into this category, a source of worry, concern, and hardship. Here in Northern Ireland we are able to produce some of the best food in the world. We are blessed with many of the natural assets that enable us to do so. And yet our food system, in my opinion, is currently unsustainable. The vast majority of food we produce goes elsewhere – in other words it is exported. This in itself, from an economic perspective, is a good thing. Food and drink exports from Northern Ireland were worth over £1 billion in 2014 from businesses both large and small – and this provides in turn employment. However what makes much less sense to me is the importation of significant quantities of similar or identical foodstuffs from elsewhere that could essentially be provided from within the island. It may make economic sense but it surely cannot make environmental sense when one considers the vast quantities of
energy and fossil fuels required to complete these transactions. For a significant proportion of the NI population, we take the ready supply and availability of the food on our supermarket shelves as a given – in other words we take it for granted. It seems to me that, based on our current model, and in particular the significant reliance we currently have on imported food – i.e. food produced outside the island of Ireland, we are moving ever closer to a situation where that may not be the case. The debate around food security – i.e. the ability for this island to feed itself – remains fairly low key as it was when Dr Jane Wilde, then at the Institute for Public Health in Ireland, published her excellent paper on food security on the island of Ireland in 20111. And of course that leads to another key issue – namely the interrelationships and interdependencies between our food and our health. Again a hugely complex area which the allocated length of this article cannot possibly do justice to, but it is abundantly clear that we have significant challenges, both in our current adult and child populations, in terms of both dietary health and food poverty. So what needs to change? To quote Dr Jane Wilde “We need a coherent,
cross-border approach which enables and encourages people to eat a healthy and sustainable diet; ensures a resilient and competitive food system; and increases food sustainability. A sustainable food system that supports the wellbeing and health of people is worth working for. With courage and persistence more food can be produced sustainably and used to feed those who need it most, at home and abroad” It is my hope that the work of the Belfast Food network and in particular Belfast’s transition towards a sustainable food city can assist in demonstrating that this change is not only possible, but also the clear benefits it can bring to the health and wellbeing of people and our regional economy. • Gary McFarlane is a Chartered Fellow of CIEH and currently the Director of Chartered Institute of Environmental Health Northern Ireland. He has authored/ co authored several articles and publications on related topics e.g. Sustainability, food security and food poverty. He currently chairs the Belfast Food Network Advisory Board.
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Community spirit on the menu
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OCAL produce are the key words when it comes to writing up the menu at a café with a spectacular views overlooking Cork city. The Garden Café, regarded by some as Cork’s greenest café, is situated on the grounds of Cork Foyer (formally the Assumption Convent) and is located in a beautiful Victorian style glasshouse. It opens daily for morning coffee, freshly baked scones, brownies and flap jacks. Finest seasonal produce is sourced from their community garden allotment and also from local artisan producers. Parents can unwind and relax while toddlers play in the park in front of the café, and also explore the community garden and enjoy the fun of their mini pet farm which has ducks, chickens and rabbits. The Garden Café is an award-winning project which targets teens at risk of being homeless. The site is behind the Foyer residential centre in Blackpool, on Cork’s
Our man in Cork:
Noel Welch reports on the Garden Cafe northside, and featured in celebrity chef Richard Corrigan’s City Farm RTE TV series on allotments. At first glance this café aspires to the high standards of many other Cork restaurants; however there is a wider picture which focuses on providing adult education in a community spirit. The employees are trainees who receive instruction in areas such as, Barista coffee training, food preparation, HACCP, electronic point of sale (EPOS) and customer service. Mentoring is also a key
factor while participants work in the Garden Café. The café is run by Churchfield Community Trust. Project deputy director Paul O’Donnell outlined the role of the trust. ‘’We work with young people recovering from substance misuse or addiction. We offer them training and a return to education. ‘‘The Garden Café is a social enterprise and a realistic training environment and a stepping stone into employment.’’ The Community Trust offers a full horticultural programme in the greenhouse two days a week for former offenders recovering from addiction. They sell garden furniture and plant pots made at their woodwork facility from the site. Mr O’Donnell added: “This initiative is essentially about bringing out the best in people and about helping them to realise their true potential.”
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VIEW, Issue 33, 2015
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Snapshot of St George’s Market, Belfast
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