Arundel Food Festival October 2010

Arundel's first ever Food Festival is going down a treat and celebrates Arundel's position as the gateway to Britain's newest National Park - the South Downs, as well as being by the sea.  A unique combination providing the best of farmland and coast.  On Monday 18th October a well attended discussion in the impressive surroundings of the Barons' Hall at Arundel Castle gave food for thought on the topic "Can we eat our way to a sustainable future?"  Deftly chaired by Rosemarie Moon, four speakers gave a fascinating and wide ranging insight.

Vicky Johnson, a researcher for Climate Change at the New Economics Foundation, spoke about the global outlook and their "Think and Do Tank" approach combining sustainability, social justice for the environment and economic efficiency.  In our inter-connected world we need to understand the impact of action taken and although climate change is the most urgent issue, soil erosion, the state of the oceans, declining fossil fuel (Peak Oil 2012 challenge when demand will exceed supply) and poverty eradication all need to be part of the mix.  Nations need to learn to live within their environmental limits.  Change is in the air.

Closer to home Caroline Harriott, a third generation local farmer as is her husband, spoke about food production in the Arun Valley.  With a strong grasp on reality Caroline had a wonderful and direct approach to the seasonal farming they carry out on the South Downs with total empathy for tradition but with a view firmly in the 21st century.  She painted an evocative picture as to how a hundred years ago Arundel used to be a thriving agricultural centre with a weekly livestock market, two slaughter houses and many local traders whose names are still linked with the surrounding fields they used to work (Kemps, Merriotts, Hargreaves).  The river was used for transport and there was a strong community spirit.  More recently the BSE, Foot & Mouth disease, and Blue Tongue problems have brought their challenges but farming continues successfully.  85% of the new South Downs National Park is farmed, relying on a much smaller, skilled workforce.  The use of fertilisers is minimalised, the farmers are encouraged to promote conservation and tourism but as Caroline pointed out they must be allowed to be farmers and not to become park keepers.  The monthly Arundel Farmers' Market must be supported and cherished, local shops need everyone living locally to use them and there needs to be a revival in family meal times to ensure a thriving Arundel community can evolve and be strong.  As Caroline pointed out you only get out of life what you put in.  Great common sense which should be taught in schools.

Toby Quantrill, Head of Public Policy at the Fairtrade Federation then spoke about the global perspective of fairness and justice in the food system - fairness of outcome, fairness of opportunity and fairness of voice (fair say).   There were two main points to note.  We have power as individuals in the choices we make (to be informed, know where our food comes from) and secondly as a wider economy we can create a sustainable food system.  Otherwise bedded inertia will keep things as they are.  Globally there is the need to feed more people and redistribute food more effectively.  It is technically feasible and likely to happen.  The current food system is failing globally as according to research by Oxfam out of the nine billion world population one billion go hungry and one billion are obese.  Toby gave some examples of empowering local producers to be part owners (such as Ghanian cocoa farmers) and therefore sharing in the profits of their crops.  Ultimately to create a sustainable future we need to share wealth more fairly through the food chain.

Maddy Harland, Editor of Permaculture magazine was an inspiring speaker to conclude, de-mystifying how permaculture is a design system and framework of common sense combining traditional techniques, new technology ideas and green architecture to achieve more ecologically sustainable systems.  It takes nature as the model and sets out natural principles to put sustainable systems together.  Explaining how Cuba transformed from being oil dependent to being the south American specialists in permaculture was a fascinating case study.  On a local basis eating our way to a sustainable future is by us growing things and having a part to play with broadening the range of foods we eat.  It's an exciting journey of discovery from planting to harvesting.

The question and answer session generated some good discussion on the need to challenge the power of the supermarkets  (with the appointment of a new Government ombudsman); how to reduce our individual amount of food waste; and the need to reduce packaging; through to the need for us to treasure what we have in Arundel, to discover the joy of growing and eating as a community.  An inspiring and thought provoking evening.

With an extensive programme running over ten days there is something for all interests in the Arundel Food Festival - from foraging for wild food, vinyard vists, butchery demonstrations and farm tours, to a town walkabout arount the ale and beerhouses of old Arundel.  See http://www.arundelfoodfestival.org.uk/ for more details.

As an aside but still food related, Friday 22nd October is the UK's first national nut day...