Going to the back yard of a kitchen garden, plucking a cabbage head or picking a few pieces of okra, using them in the kitchen for preparing the desired dishes and enjoying eating the same is an experience very few can boast of. The thrill and joy cannot be described in any language man speaks or writes to day! Why is that organic food market is growing at a frenetic pace or for that matter evolution of the Locavore movement or Farmers' Markets? It is precisely for satisfying the aspirations of the consumer to have clean, tasty and safe food every day without falling prey to the uncertain quality of industrially produced food available in super markets. If the new initiative reported from the UK is any indication of the shape of things to come in future in the area of fresh produce marketing, consumers may enjoy their foods much more than what is currently available soon. The so called Farm Shop in London is some thing that is out of the world for its concept and execution. Here are some details about the new venture.
"It's a pressing issue. According to a 2008 Greenpeace report, the food industry is responsible for creating 30% of the world's total annual carbon emissions. "The dominant food production system is based on fossil fuel at every level," says Dr Martin Caraher, Professor of Food and Health Policy at London's City University. "It needs oil to make the fertilizer; oil for the farm; oil for the food processing; oil for the packaging and oil to transport it to the shops," he adds. Among these stages, transport, processing and packaging account for the lion's share of pollutants. The U.N. Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) estimates that between 65% to 85% of food-related emissions in the Western hemisphere is created once produce has left the farm. "This is why these type of projects are much more than feel-good gimmicks, they are absolutely vital as part of a diverse array of sustainable agriculture systems that we must pursue further," says Olivier de Schutter, the U.N.'s special rapporteur on the right to food. For De Schutter, the fact that food is often produced thousands of miles away from where most people live represents an irrational system, both from an ecologic and economic perspective. "Rising fuel prices and the increasing concentration of the population in urban areas is bringing about serious logistical problems for the delivery of food," he says. "Traffic congestion, high refrigeration costs and, after all that, poor quality produce." Food destined for the UK alone travels 30 billion kilometers a year -- adding 19 million tonnes of CO2 to the atmosphere -- according to international development agency Practical Action."
One Farm Shop that is operating in London may not prove the viability of the concept conclusively but it can be a model worth improving and developing further with inputs from green house experts. Imagine the thrill and exhilaration in going to such shops with family, choosing the daily need and preparing the desired dishes same day! Probably if this concept spreads, refrigerators and freezers may become past relics of history with archival value! Food industry which is blamed for almost one third of the carbon emissions globally can redeem itself through such novel approach to food production.
V.H.POTTY
http://vhpotty.blogspot.com/
http://foodtechupdates.blogspot.com
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