I am constantly humbled by the ability of readers of this blog to “hit the nail on the head”. While I fumble about trying to find a clear way to express my views in a balanced way, one of you invariably goes straight to the heart of the issue. Jane in her comments on “Bemusement” and “What is a Farm Shop” has done just that. Helen too.
Both point out the practical difficulties of buying ethically when it clearly doesn’t provide the quality you need (not just WANT) for your task or requirement. Then there is the very clear summing up of my problem with Riverford (and all other large scale ethical companies I might say) where the vision has been lost in the whirlwind of expansion. Both Jane and Helen are committed and passionate supporters of ethical and local purchasing but are tempering that with commonsense. They, like me, have the good fortune to live in the countryside and can see clearly the realities of food/fibre production going on around them every day. Those who live a city life can not and must necessarily rely on advertising and personal research to find answers. That’s a tough call for people leading busy lives.
We are all swept along on a tide of smug, self congratualtion at times when we buy something which we believe will help save the planet. If we are honest with ourselves, deep down, we know this is likely to be nonsense. Not buying “it” at all is probably better for the planet’s resources but then, that’s not good for the people who made it who may be in desperate need of an income!
Government too is caught up in all this and is a prime mover in perpetuating the cycle of guilt followed by self-congratulation. It’s incredibly rare for someone in authority to step off this treadmill and take a long clear look at ourselves. There’s too much at stake politically.
I feel we reached another level of silliness yesterday however. The government has commissioned the Met Office to produce weather predictions for the next 80 years for the UK. Since they cannot predict the weather here for the next 5 minutes I found that highly amusing! We were told that Government is providing this as a service so that local authorities can plan their strategies well ahead. “It is the first time that a probabilistic approach to predicting climate change” has been taken it says on the website.
http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/corporate/pressoffice/2009/pr20090618a.html
This project was reported in detail last night on our news programmes. I have looked at the website today and was struck immediately by something not apparent on the news reports. This is a commercial selling project. The Met Office is now a business and is required to sell its services like any other. This new “Climate Change Predictor” is principally aimed at businesses which must do risk assessments either for insurance or for future business planning. Like everyone selling a service, they want to make the most of themselves but its clear when you get into the detail that everything is hedged with “ifs, buts and maybes”. As such, I see this in the same way as any other company providing a service for business involving risk assessment. In other words, probably a complete waste of time and money but something we have to do to tick boxes.
I have absolutely no doubt that we need to conserve world energy and cease polluting our living breathing earth but I also have no doubt that very little of what we do here in the UK is making or ever could make one scrap of difference. A whole industry has grown up to help us wail, beat our breast and nash our teeth over this, whether its organic food production or climate change prediction. We must step back and think. The first victim in any campaign meant to change our thinking in a radical way is always commonsense.
I am not for one moment saying we should continue in the bad old ways – not at all but I am asking us to be realistic in our views of what is really possible and, dare I say it, to stop being so arrogant about the influence of man. James Lovelock’s view of Gaia as a self balancing system is one I subscribe to. Extremes are part of that view. The problem modern man has is that we can now understand and to some extent predict this whereas in the past events and trends were seen purely with hindsight.
By all means live ethically as I hope we all strive to do, but let us stop pretending that it is going to save the planet.
Whilst I agree with much of what you’ve said, I do think that, on balance, whatever we do will be helpful. I don’t buy mini sweetcorn or beans from Kenya for example, not just because of air miles but because it’s such madness for them to use their precious water producing goods we can grow here. There must be a better way of helping others in need.
By: Jenny Debeaux on June 19, 2009
at 7:35 am
Hi Jenny,
Yes indeed and I agree. I certainly try to buy British and seasonal for the reasons you state and also of course to support our own farming. But then, a Kenyan might say, “What about our farmers? If you don’t buy our produce who will we sell to?” The whole issue is so complicated and that’s the point. We should not just buy British or eat Organic or whatever we do to salve our consciences and then think we have done our bit.
By: devonfinefibres on June 19, 2009
at 8:10 am
You’re right, of course, we can’t ignore others in other less well-off countries, which is where Oxfam/Cafod/Save the CHildren et al are all so useful. And, yes, I still buy coffee, tea and sugar from abroad – I use cane sugar for preference: our colonial past set it up and there is definitely a need still for them to grow it!
What I’m really trying to say is that whatever we do to reduce our footprint will be helpful to the planet – the ripple on pond effect, I think.
We musn’t ever be smug about what we do; there is still so much to be done. At the moment, I’m trying to compose a letter about those dairy farmers receiving 10p a litre for their milk and send it to my MP. What’s happened is appalling and yet more dairy farms will close!
Enjoy the rest of the day – the weather’s not too hot on the Isle of Wight at the moment, just very nice!
By: Jenny Debeaux on June 19, 2009
at 10:01 am
I agree totally Jenny and you do have a valid point. We should all try to do what we can. The other thing is to keep it in persepective and your last thought – “Enjoy your day” is so important here. I’ve seen and heard so many people worn down with care about this issue and their own burden of responsibility for it. We produce here in the UK only 1% of the world’s carbon emissions (I think I’ve got that right but will happily be corrected) so leaving the television on standby overnight once is not going to lead to destruction of the rain forests. We shouldn’t do it of course, but if it happens, we should not feel too guilty about it.
By: devonfinefibres on June 19, 2009
at 10:47 am