Food and Sustainability.

The government are giving all Year Seven children across the country, a cookery book to help them stay healthy, whilst getting fit along the way. They are both easy to use and wipe clean recipe books, which the School Food Trust supplied.

We asked two Year Seven students, Claudia Barlow and Alex Davis, their views on the new book, firstly ‘Do you like the idea of these governments cook books?’ Alex replied, ‘Yeah, it’s colourful and stands out, also they will keep us healthy while eating food we enjoy’. We then asked Claudia, ‘Do you think they would influence you to take the healthy option and eat fresh, locally grown produce?’ She answered, ‘This book makes healthy food look fun and interesting to make and eat’.

Finally we asked them, “Which is your favourite recipe and why?” Alex and Claudia answered, “Lamb Rogan Josh and Fajitas, because they are well presented and look fun and easy to make, also the pictures look yummy.” These books are provided to prevent children from becoming obese and to guide them towards cooking with and eating local produce. Also, we think they are a great way for children to incorporate all of the vitamins and minerals they need into their everyday meals, without a lot of hassle.

Local produce is better than food sourced from other countries because by the time that it reaches it’s destination, it won’t be as fresh or contain as many vitamins. Further more, importing food all this way is not good for the environment as most forms of transport give off nasty carbon emissions, which contribute towards global warming. So if you change to eating locally grown fruit and vegetables, not only will you be eating a higher quality product and supporting local producers, but will assist in minimising air miles.

You can buy locally grown produce from you local village’s fruit and vegetable stores. Main supermarkets that sell “ Fair Trade” produce also have their very own range of milks that are produced from farms around the UK as well as other locally sourced items. Therefore, it’s not hard to find local produce if you do not live near to a fruit and vegetable store.

Many people ask what sustainable food is. Well, there are seven principals to sustainable food:
1)Use local ingredients to minimise food miles.
2)Only buy food from farmers who do not use harsh chemicals.
3)Limit foods your consumption of meat-based products, as the animals release methane in turn attributing to global warming.
4)Don’t eat fish species that are “at risk.”
5)Choose “Fair-Trade,” certified products as they ensure a fair price for the products and therefore a fair profit for the producer.
6)Avoid bottled water and instead choose plain filtered water.
7)Promote health and well being by cooking with generous portions of vegetables.

To conclude we should wherever possible, eat healthily and buy locally as this will not only reduce air miles but our overall our carbon footprint. This will ensure that we can preserve the planet for future generations.