October 7, 2009
Growing appetite for local food
More communities than ever before are turning their attention to food – where it comes from, how it is produced and who is producing it – and increasingly efforts are being made to build more locally based, self-reliant food economies. With the spread of local food initiatives across the country, policy makers in government are starting to become engaged. Later this month a gathering takes place in Dunbar to try to build a national picture of what’s happening around the country
Building the Local Food Movement
Scotland’s First Local Food Gathering
Saturday & Sunday 24 and 25 October, in Sunny Dunbar
Local food is on everyone’s agenda, from Transition initiatives to government policy makers. More and more people are aware that we need to develop a much more local, non-oil and chemical reliant food
infrastructure as a matter of urgency, because the present system is forcing us up hard against the limits of the global eco-system, manifesting as climate change, peak oil, peak phosphorous and a host of others.
The aim of this gathering is to help a Scottish food re-localisation movement cohere and develop strategic plans for taking the next steps, which will be revisited in another gathering in a year. Like many aspects of our society, our communities have been eroded by the focus on consumerism and the expectation of convenience made possible by easy access to cheap oil. There is a growing agreement that we need and want to reconnect with the process of growing and caring about our food. The gathering is aimed at the wide range of people who are already working towards a local/organic food infrastructure – people who are aware of the urgency of this task and are motivated to contribute to this dialogue and take away practical actions.
The gathering aims to:
• Develop an accurate picture of the situation in Scotland at the moment with regards to local food.
• Develop an understanding of how to go about food re-localisation, looking at range of ways in which is
being taken forward in Scotland and internationally.
• Establish strategic principles on how this process can be accelerated.
• Set practical objectives to be re-visited at another gathering next year.
This event organised by One Planet Food, Sustaining Dunbar, Soil Association Scotland and Transition Scotland Support
Have a look at these websites for more details:
http://www.transitionscotland.org/
http://www.soilassociationscotland.org/
http://www.sustainingdunbar.org.uk/
Click here to book your place. Cost is £20 per place for individuals and £50 per place for funded organisations. contact: E.lesley@centreforstewardship.org.uk T. 01337 858838