I have just dug up the last of my parsnip crop – two rows
grown from small plants that I acquired last spring and transplanted. I was
fully aware that this is not a recommended way to grow root vegetables as they
will not grow straight and true if their roots are disturbed but the plants
cost didn’t cost much, I had the space, so I thought I would give it a try.
True to form the resulting parsnip crop is not a pretty site
and would not get through the gates of a supermarket let alone on the shelf.
However there is absolutely nothing wrong with them and although they might
take a little longer to prepare they are as if not more delicious than their
uniform supermarket namesakes.
This is of course true of any vegetable or fruit and something
that you soon realise when growing your own produce where survival against the
constant attack from pests and diseases is the only concern leaving nature to
run its course to the final product.
Remember this handsome looking carrot from last year?
One of the joys for me while at the allotment is listening
to the Radio 4 while I am working. It not only stops me talking to myself but
provides me with interesting information and entertainment that helps takes my
mind of the fact that my arms, legs and back are aching!
All of this leads me to the subject of this blog, Food Waste.
Food waste is a major issue. We throw away 7 million tonnes
of food and drink from our homes every year, the majority of which could have
been eaten. It's costing us £12.5bn a year and is bad for the environment too. Supermarkets demand beautiful fruit and vegetables of perfect shape and colour. It is estimated that 20 to 40 per cent of fruit and vegetables
grown in the UK are rejected on cosmetic grounds before they even get to the
shops. With potatoes this percentage can be even higher. Most of what we grow ourselves would be rejected by every supermarket in the country but there is absolutely nothing wrong with it.
Supermarkets are notoriously secretive about the amount of
food that is wasted. However Tesco did reveal that it generated almost 30,000
tonnes of food waste in the first six months of 2013. The largest proportion of
that - about 11,700 tonnes - was classified as "bakery", and the
second largest category, making up around a fifth of the total, was fruit and
vegetables.
While planting some broad beans two weeks ago I listened to an
episode of BBC Radio4’s Food Program – “Food
Pioneers”.
It is the story of how three very different individuals are
re imagining food waste - solving problems, discovering flavours, and changing
lives.
Chido Govera is a young Zimbabwean woman. Chido is a Shona
name that means passion. She grew up as an orphan, and turned into a parent at
the age of 7, mothering her brother and caring for her nearly blind
grandmother. At the age of 8, she had already experienced the worst possible
abuse, inflicted by close family. She promised herself then that when she was
older, she would save and protect other orphans from experiencing what she, and
so many others, had suffered. At age 11, she had the unique opportunity to
learn about food and mushrooms. Mushroom farming enabled her to feed those
dearest to her. Mushrooms gave her the chance to help other orphans who lived
closed by. She was fortunate to have good mentors who helped her perfect the
art and science of farming mushrooms. Over the years, as a young professional,
she reached out to over 1,000 women in communities in Zimbabwe, Congo, Ghana,
Cameroon, Tanzania and South Africa. Her work has reached schools and
communities in India, aboriginals in Australia, and entrepreneurs in the US and
all around Europe. Hers is a truly inspiring story and now at the age of 28 she
is a successful farmer, campaigner and educator with her own foundation, The
Future of Hope, travelling the world to help others change their lives.
Isabel Soares, an engineer from Portugal, set up Fruta Feia
(or ugly fruit) to deliver perfectly good fruit and veg that were being
discarded by the big retailers, to a willing community. So far, Fruta Feia has
a staff of only three people, including Ms. Soares, as well as a handful of
volunteers, some of whom are foreigners living in Lisbon. It has 420 registered
customers and has built a waiting list of 1,000 customers. It has sold 21 tons
of food at two distribution centres in Lisbon which provide cheap fruit and vegetables to people who cannot afford the supermarket prices. Its community co-operative model
is now wildly successful in Lisbon and has been replicated in the US and UK.
John Greany Sørensen is a scientist by day, chef by night,
who in his lab at the University of Copenhagen stumbled accidentally on a way
of creating something truly extraordinary from rejected vegetables - veg
crystals.
These stories are inspirational and I strongly recommend you
to listen to their stories at this link:
Chido Govera’s pioneering work on growing mushrooms on waste
coffee beans and grounds is now used all over the world including West Sussex.
The Espresso Mushroom Company is a group of coffee-drinking
food lovers who produce Oyster Mushrooms grown on used coffee grounds. Recognised
by The Grocer as “one of the five most innovative enterprises using food
waste”, the Espresso Mushroom Company is based in Brighton where they collect
coffee grounds from local cafes then grow and supply mushrooms to some of
Brighton's finest restaurants. They even sell kits to grow mushrooms in your home:
I’ll leave the last word to this truly remarkable young
lady:
Hey Ho!
