Tuesday, October 14, 2003

WHAT'S IN YOUR FRIDGE

In case you didn't notice, Organic Week just ended. It ran from 2-14 October - truthfully, a bit more than a week. Why do these "weeks" last more than a week? Maybe a bit like those people that say the 60s started in 1958 or 1963.

It started with this:

The vegetarian cowboy, best known for spurring Oprah Winfrey to spurn burgers, rode into Canadian cattle country this week to warn about the dangers of meat

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Week organiser the Soil Association, guardians of organic quality control, then ran a great story about school meals in the UK. It seems kids nutritional needs are not being looked after by local authorities (there's a surprise). But this is a serious health issue which is getting worse:

Poor diet leads to diabetes, high blood pressure, stroke and coronary heart disease. Obesity in children used to be rare but now nearly 10 per cent of six year olds and 15 per cent of 15 year olds are severely overweight. Diet-related illness is a greater problem than smoking, costing the NHS at least £2.5 billion every year. In Scotland, an extra £63.5 million is being spent over three years to fund a programme of school meal reform and the report says that a similar initiative should be set up in England and Wales and estimates that this would require at least an additional £200 million a year.

Staggering evidence like this:

The daily amount spent on each childÂ’s school lunch can be as low as 31p, compared with around 60p spent on a prisonerÂ’s lunch...

I really liked the school where instead of asking what was for lunch, the school kids asked what shape was it.

But, there is hope as the report catalogues.
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BBC Breakfast ran a series on organic food: is it better for you, does it protect the environment, does it taste better. The usual semi-serious vox pop stuff. But, hats off to note the growing market for organic food.

Mrs Donut and I try to purchase as organicgnaic produce as we can. My chief reason is that organic farming methods are generally speaking less damaging to the environment. Of course, it is a generalisation and some "traditional" farmers are bettehusbandryadnry and looking after hedgerows. But, it such a cut-throat industry, the key driver is profit. Most farming is now on an industrial level. Organic methods at least puts less strain on the land.

I would prefer to buy from local sources, which is what most people did unknowingly until 30 years ago. Nowadays we've become accustomed to our supermarket shelves groaning with produce in season or out of season. We ship in too much produce, which is probably more damaging to Mother Earth.

Does it taste better? A range of organic produce generally taste better - apples and tomatoes, for example. Unfortunately a lot of processed "organic" food is just manufactured pap, like the "traditional" stuff.

Is it better for you? This is a tough one. Lots of people claim that all the chemicals in "traditional" food are responsible for all sorts of conditions. This is difficult to prove and I can't provide any personaanecdotaldotal evidence.

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As the saying goes, food for thought.

:: Posted by pete @ 21:08