Week 3, In the Shops
Speakers:
Laura Cooper – has a background in food manufacturing and psychology. She is studying at the Centre of Alternative Technology and exploring alternative food systems and ways we do food, and she works on the Aber food Surplus project at the ECO Food Sharing Hub. Laura has taken us on a sensual journey powered by the imagination so we can experience what it is like to go shopping before we start the discussion. She raises some key pointers about what we want from food, and suggests that it might not be transparency we need to make choices, but instead the ability to trust our shop keepers have procured food ethical and sustainably.
Andy Rowland – works for Ecodyfi, a development trust in the Dyfi Biosphere with UNESCO biosphere status. Andy showcased project enabling alternative food sourcing in Machynlleth, Wales, and shared their current collaborative project of creating a local brand for food produced in the Dyfi Biosphere UNESCO Site. The brand aims to support producers share their quality mark with food businesses and citizens. Projects mentioned:
Mach Maethlon: Pathways to Farming; Green Isle Growers veg bags; Edible Mach; Planna Fwyd Land Army; Tyfu Dyfu; virtual seed and plant swap
*Please see the zoom link here to hear the talks
How do we feel in the shops (taken from the chat):
Conflicted, cold, in a hurry to leave, curious, bit tense from avoiding other people, rushed, I felt guilty and tempted by all th sugary stuff I know I shouldn't buy, stressed in a supermarket, In local veg and fruit. Felt save, happy to be there. I suffer with anxiety when shopping and the lights make me feel unwell. Unfortunately, my local shop is a big supermarket and I really do not like shopping there; I feel totally disconnected, lonely, and physical and mentally drained when in there. in a rush to leave - but I started to imagine how it could be a different experience. Lots of unnatural stimulus (bright lights).
Our imagination of an ideal shop (yes and…..)
My ideal shop would have no plastic in it, and the décor is natural and wooden for a natural feel.
Yes and, I want the vegetables in the shop to choose me, not me choose the veg, because they are so beautiful,
Yes and, I want it to be a peaceful experience,
Yes and, I would like part of it to not have walls and to be able to pick my own, and I want to be engaged by the smell and the texture as well as the visuals
Yes and, I would like the opportunity to wash the mud off my vegetables,
Yes and, a light and airy place with friendly staff,
Yes and, friendly staff and lots of smiling faces off all the people shopping,
Yes and, I would like to see wide aisles for people in wheelchairs, and braille labels, and staff that can use sign language,
Yes and, I would like to be able to see who has grown or produced what I am buying,
Yes and, I would like to know where the food is coming from and getting to know the producers every once in a while,
Yes and, by the community for the community,
Yes and, I would like an outdoor pick your own area, a community garden or forest garden attached to the indoor shop
Yes and, I would like very welcoming staff and lots of fresh local fruits,
Yes and, I would like to find lots of seasonal fruit and veg at a fair price I can afford,
Yes and, I would like helpful assistants to help carry shopping baskets for people who cant carry them themselves,
Yes and, I would like to have photographic information supplied of all the different growers, as well as food that is actually nutrient dense, and for shoppers to be able to check and know if food is nutrient dense.
Poll Results
Where I shop can influence my food system to be more sustainable and resilient?
Strongly Agree – 27%
Agree – 64%
Neither agree nor disagree – 9%
Disagree – 0%
Strongly Disagree – 0%
What I purchase can influence my food system to be more sustainable and resilient?
Strongly Agree – 18%
Agree – 73%
Neither agree nor disagree – 9%
Disagree – 0%
Strongly Disagree – 0%
What influences our shopping decisions (taken from the chat)?
Living in a mega city; being disconnected from the food production; convenience; availability of outlets and accessibility; my taste & preferences; I like it when there is less choice! What comes from the UK /seasonal food. Plastic free.
Actions we can take as individuals:
- Shop in places we believe in: we can choose to shop in local businesses that have already made some of the decisions for us, like the environmental or ethical impact of products. By shopping local we can rely on trust rather than requiring transparency to make decisions.
- Bring our attributes and values with us to the shops. Have integrity, and practise praxis.
- Lobby local authorities and UK government to support local food systems and sustainable agriculture. Current Welsh Government consultation about the future policy and system for supporting farmers in producing not only food but (particularly) 'public goods' such as biodiversity: https://gov.wales/sites/default/files/consultations/2020-07/sustainable-farming-consultation-document.pdf With a view to encouraging an ecological approach.
Actions we can take as community food activists:
- Share an alternative imagination of how shopping and the food system could be, find others imaginations out and try and share this so others can get on board
- Support food initiatives to consult the community and bring them on board to help create a new food system for the area
- Research how shops near you work, how do they source food (boat or flying?), what is their shareholder structure, do they support ethical and environmentally conscious decisions, do they treat their staff well, and share this information so the local community can shop in places that support the staff and sustainable practises.
Actions we can take as shopkeepers:
- Become an example of the ideal shop and be a role model
- Transform your shop in to a space of learning. i.e. showcasing where food has come from, the food system, knowledge of how to cook food, seasonality, places of knowledge exchange and even places where you can grow, pick, buy and cook (or even eat) the food.
- Work towards being more transparent, support citizens to meet the food producers, be trustworthy, make some good decisions grounded in sustainable and ethical procurement so we don’t have to worry
- Support citizens to afford sustainable and more local produce
- Pay staff the ‘Real Living Wage’ for their work – value staff and promote good wellbeing at work. This will enable and encourage staff to be more welcoming and enjoy their job more. Invest in staff and enable them to take ownership over the food.
- Utilise a spectrometer to find out how nutrient dense food is
Actions our government can take:
- Encourage shopping in town centres over ‘out of town’ shopping to promote the local economy
- Support local (social) entrepreneurs to fill empty shop spaces
- Traffic free highstreets can support the local economy and a thriving sense of community
- Support the food system to be motivated by good food and food sovereignty, rather than focused on profit production
- End inequality and support the ‘Real Living Wage’ so people can pay more for their food
- Support local food businesses to share learning and create food businesses that are educational spaces
- Support local food businesses to implement accessibility improvements to shops for example, braille, sign language trained staff and wide aisles for wheelchairs.
Out Attribute of the week:
Praxis – living our values
For further reading on the theory of praxis please see the suggested following links. If you don't have time to look through the links Ammara has posted the best quotes from each link under each link.
https://sustainingcommunity.wordpress.com/2020/03/12/what-is-praxis/
Freire (1972, p. 52) described praxis as “reflection and action upon the world in order to transform it”. He argued that it was not enough for people to study the world, they also had a responsibility to act to create a more just world. For Freire, praxis was “a central defining feature of human life and a necessary condition of freedom” and he argued that “human nature is expressed through intentional, reflective, meaningful activity situated within dynamic historical and cultural contexts that shape and set limits on that activity” (Glass, 2001, p.16).
https://www.igi-global.com/dictionary/the-power-of-praxis/23190
"Praxis in the Freireian sense involves both reflection and action. Accordingly, when knowledge and reflection are not followed by action they become worthless; mere verbalism. The opposite is also true, when action does not stem from knowledge and reflection it also becomes worthless; mere uninformed activism. True praxis is a process that involves the ongoing interaction and integration between reflection and action."
https://infed.org/mobi/what-is-praxis/
It is not simply action based on reflection. It is action which embodies certain qualities. These include a commitment to human well being and the search for truth, and respect for others. It is the action of people who are free, who are able to act for themselves.
Next Week - Week 4, In the Garden
Topic: Week 4, The Food Activits Toolkit - In the Garden
Time: Sep 22, 2020 07:00 PM London
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89538787764
Meeting ID: 895 3878 7764
Speakers:
Huw Richards: Huws Nursery Youtube channel - https://www.youtube.com/user/HuwsNursery
Katie Hastings: Gaia Foundation, Mach Maethalon, Pathways to Farming and Planna Fwyd
Check out the movie ‘In our hands’: https://inourhands.film/
Gerarld Miles: Caerhys Organic Community Agriculture (COCA) is an agricultural scheme run for and supported by the local community. COCA members share delicious organic food grown in partnership with local farmers.
Check out their video here: http://www.coca-csa.org/
Rupert: Torth y Tir (Land to Loaf) - https://www.loafoftheland.org/