Food Sustainability

Getting it right gives us healthy happy eating – getting it wrong accelerates the destruction of the planet. 

We need to focus on:

  • What do we eat?
  • How does it get to our plates? 
  • Is it in season?
  • How much is wasted?

Think Global

A family is squeezing apples through an apple press

Act local

Act now

A man in a hat uses a yellow hose to water seeds planted in a polytunnel
Upper Ballaird Farm Coop are leading in food localisation through Community Supported Agriculture

Think Global

In working towards Food Sustainability, the secret may lie not in thinking globally, but in thinking locally. This three minute read gives a good overview of why localisation is the way ahead.

At a global level:

  • we destroy water tables and create deserts to mass grow avocados or almonds,
  • we deforest to grow animal fodder crops to feed our meat habit,
  • even sustainable crops like quinoa degrade soils through monoculture and heavy machinery,
  • even so, we could feed the world if we changed what we grow and eat, and stopped wasting food.

Many of the changes we need could be done at a national level

  • In the UK, household food waste is over 6.4 million tonnes per year with an estimated annual cost of £1,000 for a family of four (see ‘Household Food and Drink Waste in the United Kingdom 2021-22’) while 7% of UK households live in food poverty.
  • The coexistence of food waste and food poverty is unsustainable. Organisations like FareShare work with farmers and supermarkets to fight hunger and tackle food waste. However, we all need to work harder to reduce household food waste.
  • Out-of-season food travels too far, or needs heated greenhouses. For example, if you insist on fresh tomatoes for your Valentine’s meal, be aware that when you say you would give your loved one the earth, you potentially are wrecking the planet on a whim (see ‘Tomatoes, and why buying local is not all of the answer’).
  • Not everyone is ready to give up meat and dairy and it would not be a just transition for farmers if all consumption stopped overnight, but we can reduce the amount we consume (see ‘Climate action: 10 steps to cut down on meat and dairy’). 
A family is squeezing apples through an apple press
Families came out in force for Community Apple Pressing events in Drymen and Buchlyvie

Act Local

West Stirling has some amazing initiatives that offer an alternative to the industrial machine mindset of mass-produced food. Healthier for you, healthier for the planet

Grow your own

G63 Food Growers is a Facebook group with over 450 members across the west Stirling area. It helps localise food resources within the community, connecting food growers and enabling mutual support and advice. It also runs a successful seed library.  https://www.facebook.com/groups/foodgrowersg63.

Buy local 

Food Hub West (The Food Hub (G63) – West Stirlingshire, Dumbarton & Helensburgh) is a social enterprise that focuses on food sovereignty and is aimed at engaging and supporting local communities of food producers and food consumers. Its ‘pay-it-forward’ veg boxes help democratise the food system, while its links to local suppliers provide a wide range of produce. 

Directly support local farmers

Upper Ballaird Farm Coop has a commitment to agroecology and regenerative practices that already makes them distinctive. Added to this, they are now pioneering Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) in west Stirling. Households have the chance to subscribe (https://farmcoop.scot/veg/veg-subscription/) for a share in the vegetables grown on the farm. Even if they are fully subscribed for this year, it is worth looking at this to read their story in order to understand what food localisation can offer, or to join their wait list. 

Community Apple Growing 

Autumn 2023 saw inaugural community apple pressing events in Drymen and Balfron. Locally picked fruit from community orchards and family surpluses was turned into apple juice. Given that only 40% of the apples consumed in the UK are grown in the UK, we need to do more to support community orchards and local growing. 

6 bowls on a table contain a selection of fruits and berries
Nature’s bounty in Killearn; Foraged fruit about to be turned into hedgerow jelly

Act Now

There are lots of things you can do now to improve your food sustainability. Get involved in one of the local initiatives. Think a bit more about what you buy, what you eat and, most importantly, what you throw away. 

Plan Your Shopping

  • If you have access to outside space, try growing your own. There are lots of good tips online, or join the G63 Food Growers. https://www.facebook.com/groups/foodgrowersg63
  • Seasonal foraging can also help you appreciate your surroundings and stock your larder – see the blog The Edible Flower. 
  • If you want to support a change in the system and get some great tasting fresh veg participate in a local CSA Community Supported Agriculture (see Upper Ballaird Farm Coop). 
  • If you want the convenience of online shopping but also to reduce food miles and support local farmers buy through a local food hub (such as The Food Hub (G63) – West Stirlingshire, Dumbarton & Helensburgh). 

Plan Your menu

  • Do you know what fruit and veg are in season? For some helpful information see the European Food Information Council (EUFIC)’s website: eufic – food facts for healthy choices. Always remember that even though a product in a UK shop might be in season in the UK, it may well have travelled halfway around the world.
  • Can you reduce your meat and dairy intake? Have you tried meat-free Mondays and seen the impact you can have? (Use the Meat Free Mondays calculator.)

Be informed and cut out waste 

  • Track what you buy and know what is your fridge/cupboards. 
  • Don’t overbuy, and if food is getting near to the end of its life, use it! You could eat it, freeze it, or cook it and either eat it or freeze it. (See ‘Love Food – Hate Waste’.) 
  • Learn more about what you eat and the impact it has on you and on your planet. See eufic – food facts for healthy choices.