Chalenge

[Steve Hanson]

I was reading a post on another forum which suggest we could all reduce food miles by not buying anything produced or grown more than 100 miles away from our homes.

My wife and I have decided to join in and see what we can do about this issue, although we are self sufficient in food we still buy some things from the supermarket; list below.
So I though it would be a good idea to set the challenge for all the forum members to at least look at what they use which is not produced or grown locally and what they could use as an alternative.

Cooking Oil alternative = our own Animal fat and Butter
Tea alternative = Blackberry & Hawthorn leaf tea
Coffee alternative = Roasted Barley ground and used as ground coffee
Beer alternative = Home made beer
Sugar alternative = Local Honey for now our own later this year with luck
Brioche alternative = buy another none branded from local baker
Toiletries alternative = buy different brands form local producers
Rice alternative = this one is realy going to hurt, we are going to give it up (My favourite carb)
Porideg oats alternative = A winter favourite but the French dont make it so going to give it up
Pasta alternative = Give it up

So now over to the rest of you I think this should be quite an interesting challenge for most of us even if only theoretical.

[Andy Hamilton]

It is perhaps easier for me to get everyday stuff locally as we surrounded by farms here in the south west. When I get butter from a supermarket I try to get yeovalley as I have seen the cows that it comes from they are only a short bike ride away.

I know some of the forum memebers could not do without real coffee and I could not get my girlfriend to try a tea alternative.

Making your own bread would be a good alternative to add, can't get more local. The flour used is a tricky one, there are substutes like acorn flour but a lot of hard work is needed.

You have reminded me about brewing your own beer though, I must make some soon.

[Shirley]

This is a great idea Steve!!

We haven't got our veggie patch yet but it's very much in the pipeline so we should be eating our own veggies come summertime.

It's a bit awkward for us to buy locally so much because we have to travel quite a way to get there in the first place. eg. our trip to a farmers market is 48 miles round trip to the closest one and 60 miles to the next - and they only happen once a month at each venue.

sugar alternative - well, cut down I suppose - though the one thing that is done especially well up here in Aberdeenshire is the local honey.
Beer alternative - David is going to be making his own, ALTHOUGH there is a guy who has just released a local brew which is VERY very good, although expensive at £2.50-£2.90 per 500 ml bottle depending on where it's purchased. We want to try making some nettle beer after tasting the River Cottage/Badger Stinger!!
Coffee alternative - I don't drink it (bleuch!) - David does but I doubt he would try any substitute. My daughter once made him a cup of barleycup and he thought she was trying to poison him
Tea alternative - ummmm... but I like tea 8)
wine alternative - would like to make my own once our garden is more productive.
Cooking oil - we could buy goosefat from the goosefarm up the road. Butter we can buy at the farmers market
Toiletries - I do buy locally produced where possible...
Brioche - I don't eat anymore because it made me FAT
We do make our own bread - we used to use bacheldre mill flour when we lived in Herefordshire. There must be some scottish milled flour that we can find. (Acorn flour!!! Andy??)

Actually - I want to take this a step further and want to have my own business selling stuff that has been made/produced in Scotland... preferably Aberdeenshire. Just need some money to get it started.

[Andy Hamilton]

oh yes acorn flour - http://www.selfsufficientish.com/acorns.htm

[Shirley]

As you say - a bit of a palaver lol... but might be something interesting to do with the kids on a wet and windy day - so long as we can find enough acorns!!

Spotted the other links on that page and noticed nettle haggis... now that I've got to try!!!! (just one thing - isn't the food for free book by Richard Mabey and not Richard Abbey?)

[Andy Hamilton]

yeah you are right I can blame Dave on that one as he wrote the nettle haggis article.

[Muddypause]

As an aside (getting a bit OT), Richard Mabey was a runner up in the recent Whitbread book awards, for his biography 'Nature Cure' which charts his decline and recovery from depression. Haven't read it yet, but it's on me list. Also, I've just found this interview with him.

[ina]

Isn't it funny how sometimes as soon as you hear about somebody starting something, immediately everybody else seems to be doing the same? Heard an interview on radio 4 today with a bloke who lived on food produced within 10 miles of his home for two weeks. Tea and coffee was the cruncher, but he found an amazing range of meat and cheese plus veg and basically everything else he could wish for...

Andy, the problem with buying "local" food at the supermarket is that is has usually been shipped around the country before ending up on the shelves near where it was produced... As the distribution centres for supermarkets are getting fewer and more centralised, your butter from the cows down the road may have made a trip of several hundred miles.

When I stayed at the Scottish Agricultural College, I was about 100 metres away from the organic dairy herd (then one of the only two in this area). Due to Scottish legislation, I was not allowed to buy the milk straight from the farm. The nearest shop selling it was the huge T***o's, about 3 miles away. However, the only dairy (Wiseman's) that could process organic milk was a few hundred miles down south. So yes, the milk could not have been more local, but the foodmiles were horrendous!

Ina

[hedgewitch]

This is something I am really gonna try hard to do, though it will not be easy as I don't drive and there are certain things that hubby will not give up.
I only have a small container garden so I still have to buy most of my veggies, but I will make a conscious effort to get them from local farmers.
One thing though, all my Oranges, Lemons, Limes, Figs, Pomegranates and Ugli Fruit I can just nip outside and pick fresh from the Tree!
Great idea Steve

[Andy Hamilton]

Andy, the problem with buying "local" food at the supermarket is that is has usually been shipped around the country before ending up on the shelves near where it was produced... As the distribution centres for supermarkets are getting fewer and more centralised, your butter from the cows down the road may have made a trip of several hundred miles.

you are absolutely right Ina although I think that many of the super market distributors for round here are just over the water in chepstow. Again though it is hard to say if they have travelled around much to get there.

I can now really understand how difficult it is to buy local in a big city. There is one local green grocer that sells some local produce. The farmers market in town is on a wednesday which is one of the days I work and I have still yet to find any decent shops for localy grown stuff. I am still looking though.

[ina]

As an aside (getting a bit OT), Richard Mabey was a runner up in the recent Whitbread book awards, for his biography 'Nature Cure' which charts his decline and recovery from depression. Haven't read it yet, but it's on me list. Also, I've just found this interview with him.

Thanks for mentioning that - I think that goes on my list, too.

Ina

[Shirley]

As an aside (getting a bit OT), Richard Mabey was a runner up in the recent Whitbread book awards, for his biography 'Nature Cure' which charts his decline and recovery from depression. Haven't read it yet, but it's on me list. Also, I've just found this interview with him.

try this - you can read the first chapter online as a preview http://www.lovereading.co.uk/author/818

******************

Back to the original topic - I read a really interesting article today in Resurgence magazine talking about CAP - the writer (Christopher Lloyd) suggested that CAP payments should be paid to those farmers (and allotment growers/individuals) that grew to organic standards and sold within a 50 mile radius. You can read the article here http://www.resurgence.org/2006/lloyd234.htm

[ina]

Not a bad idea - but to be honest, like most farmers I would prefer a system where payments would not be necessary at all, because the prices paid for produce are high enough to live on!

Ina

[Shirley]

Not a bad idea - but to be honest, like most farmers I would prefer a system where payments would not be necessary at all, because the prices paid for produce are high enough to live on!

Ina

I am losing it!! I read your post as if it said 'prefer a system where pavements would not be necessary' LOL

But... I've had a glass or two of the red vino plonko so I'm excused (I hope!)

I do agree though - it would be fantastic for everyone concerned if we could avoid these payments.

[Chickenlady]

Oddly enough we were discussing this with some friends last night. I am all for shopping locally, but would have serious problems giving up chocolate and tea!

I am sorry but nettle or fruit tea just does not do it for me! And whatever did we do before chocolate?