Draft, work in progress, September 2010, Huntly

Red Herring’s Special Pampered Chef Evening 29th July 2010 at the Linden Center, Huntly

Pampered Chef: Nom Wright // Local vegetables: Huntly’s Harvest

NEXT RED HERRING’S PAMPERED CHEF EVENING: THURSDAY 26TH AUGUST 2010

July 2010

My trip around the issue of foodmiles and footprint in the particular context of Huntly in Scotland is coming to an end.

Understanding this context is not just about a question of packaging, distribution process or processing route. The context which seems to me the most relevant to address is people and their perception of food. Before buying it, how do we comprehend it, how do we access it and how do we integrate it into our lives.

If there was no more shops, and we all had to make our own food, what would you do? I know many of you around Huntly are doing it, but what about the majority of Huntly’s population. How would you go about getting your food locally?

Who is your nearest farmer?

Where is your nearest vegetable garden?

Red Herring will conclude by taking your fridge to the nearby garden and look at how it could be filled differently.

http://stefaniebourne.wordpress.com/trades/

Huntly Harvest / Grown as Nature intended / HuntlyHarvest@aol.com

http://stefaniebourne.wordpress.com/food-compost-feeding-the-ground-etc/

Can we understand the gap existing between foodmiles (a term first defined by Andrea Paxton in 1990 that became a largely used collective expression) and footprint (a scientific carbon emission measure) by looking at our ways of shopping?

I can think of three ways, but please let me know of others:

1. the fast and convenient way of getting maximum products needed in minimum time.

2. the “flânerie” in getting the needed “stuff” on the way to somewhere else or by simply wanting to take the time for shopping in a day off.  I like the idea of “flânerie” attached to a task ( I think of shopping as being one of my least favorite tasks). It also has something of the quality of oral tradition, urban myth and collective imagination.

3. spending the time shopping, on something else. The image of the milk delivery for example would be appropriate to the “flânerie” , the best of all, “flânerie” to the front door, home delivered . We don’t have it in France. Do you still have it up in Aberdeenshire? Would that not be good to have most of the best local produce home delivered?

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Green House Gas Emission in Huntly, June 2010 (photo: Mike Davidson)

Mapping the optimal greenhouse effect in Huntly on Tuesday the 15th June 2010.

“Carbon Dioxyde (CO2) is not a natural gas. It is manufactured by humans in Green Houses.” Anonymous.

http://stefaniebourne.wordpress.com/zero-carbon-licence/

Understanding the implications of food mileage can be realised by following a product through its distribution process; from the choice of material, packaging, manufacturing, processing route and method of distribution. Each of these stages contributes to the footprint of Carbon emission for each product, and therefore constitutes the mileage undertaken by this product.

I am investigating the individual decision making process and addressing the billions of acts we are doing in our everyday lives that have an impact on the evolution of the system in place for food distribution. Social norms are slowing down individual’s behaviour in taking up major changes.

Reducing food mileage, and therefore carbon emission, is down to our everyday acts and ways of going about food.

Excess, let’s explore with RED HERRING our excessive carbon emission towards a Carbon Zero Licence (CZL). Food mileage will never be the same.

Zero Carbon License, June 2010 (Photo: Mike Davidson)