How often can you ask the person who made your cheese about the cows the milk comes from? Or ask the farmer who grew your carrots whether he was using pesticides? Do you know where the steak you order at a restaurant came from? Eating locally reflects our growing discomfort at being so disconnected from our food. In a time when school children don’t always know that fish and chicken don’t have ‘fingers’, when we’re being told by supermarkets that chicken from across the globe is part of a ‘British’ sandwich, and when we are losing many varieties of fruit and vegetables, we need to take action.
Our aim is for everyone in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight to choose to eat local food at least once a week. To work towards a new localised food economy we, the consumer, can make buying local mainstream by supporting local businesses in their campaign to ‘go local’. The Daily Echo, Hampshire Fare and local Transition groups have joined together to support local producers, businesses and local communities in safeguarding the environment and our food security.
By eating local, you are making a choice to care about where your food comes from. It’s about eating seasonal food, not fruit or veg picked weeks before they are ripe and shipped thousands of miles. Eating local food shows commitment to the local economy as well as to the environment.
The Eat Local Campaign will feature a range of restaurants and food producers in and around Hampshire that have made a commitment to using local ingredients. Restaurants will have at least a few dishes or a set menu that feature local ingredients. They might be exploring their options for the first time or are seasoned experts at selecting local, seasonal products. Whichever it is, they need our support to show the area that there is a demand for local food. It’s essential that we encourage farmers and chefs in order to develop a local food economy.
That’s why Transition groups are eager to support it. The Transition movement is about strengthening communities, building resilience to the problems of peak oil and climate change, and finding solutions locally to global problems. If we are more aware of where our food comes from, if we choose organic, local, and seasonal ingredients, we show the world our values.
Eat local food. Support local food producers. Ask your greengrocer and your waiter and chef where your chicken, your potatoes, and your pudding came from. We have enormous power as consumers. Join the transition.
For more information and a timetable of which restaurants and producers are involved when, check with your local group and/or buy a copy of the Daily Echo on Wednesdays.
Transition Southampton: transitionsouthampton.org or here: southamptonlocalfood.ning.com
Eastleigh Sustainability Group: Contact Liz at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
New Forest Transition: www.newforesttransition.org or here: newforesttransition.ning.com
Winchester Action on Climate Change: www.winacc.org.uk
Transition Town Romsey: www.transitiontownromsey.org.uk
The Southern Daily Echo: www.dailyecho.co.uk
Hampshire Fare: www.hampshirefare.co.uk
