Food for thought

Part sociable-part necessity, food forms a vital part of our communities so shouldn’t we know where it comes from?

- Jane Davies

Food is central to everything we do: it provides us with the daily nourishment we need to keep our bodies healthy and fit, it offers us opportunities to come together as communities (think about the Harvest Supper) and it provides us with a variety of opportunities to lead an active social life, be it eating out at a restaurant with friends or enjoying a Friday night in with a good film and a delicious takeaway, but how often do we stop and think about where our food comes from and how it is produced?

Do we even consider what goes in to bringing food to our table or do we have a romanticised view of the origins of our food? Throughout the twelve designated sections of the Cornwall Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, e rely on farmers as stewards of the land, to manage it sustainably and retain the landscape that we all so dearly love and appreciate.

Much of what farmers produce currently goes into a linear food system which consists of ‘Take – Make – Dispose’. Did you know that a third of all food grown or processed is destroyed and that food waste is the biggest contributor to greenhouse gases? In fact, each Cornish resident throws away 576 kg of waste every year – that’s 24 double mattresses per person! Reducing waste means we use fewer natural resources and energy and generate less pollution during production and disposal. It stops valuable resources being incinerated and more importantly it is beneficial for our wildlife and saves money! Reducing the amount, we throw away is crucial to protecting our environment so we should always remember the four ‘R’s’ – Refuse, Reuse, Reduce and Recycle.