Eat British (only) for a Year!
Farmers will always be the people who produce our food. This is important to remember. Over the past two years, Stockfree Farming has been assisting farmers who are interested in shifting out of livestock agriculture into fairer, greener livelihoods. In support of these farmers, and all the amazing growers and producers in the UK, we have taken up a challenge amongst ourselves to Eat (only) British Plants for a Year!
Importing fifty per cent of the food we eat not only makes us susceptible to food shortages, but also undermines our own hard-working farmers and growers.
Some people might say we are mad, or that it can’t be done, but current world events have served to expose the vulnerability of a food system dependent on imports. Importing fifty per cent of the food we eat not only makes us susceptible to food shortages, but also undermines our own hard-working farmers and growers.
Food security and food self-sufficiency have not been this important since World War II. We want to show that it’s possible to thrive on only eating food GROWN in the UK for a year. Heck, our ancestors did it!
In order to share our journey, we have taken to social media! We’ll be sharing our food sources, meal ideas, shopping lists, recipes, cooking demos, food preservation tips, foraging fun, and more!
SO … please follow and share our journey, laugh at our tribulations, and maybe even think about joining us!
We want to show that it’s possible to thrive on only eating food GROWN in the UK for a year. Heck, our ancestors did it!
Really impressed by this idea! I grow a bit myself but succumb to all sorts of imports, though now in 14th year of being vegan. Good luck, I’ll be following and copying where I can!
Feel free to pick any recipes from my Facebook Plot to Plate Wester Ross page, it’s a bit sparse but am hoping to add a bit more. 🙂
Thanks so much for the positive feedback, Jenni! I liked your FB page – great stuff – and will keep an eye on it :-).
With current systems in place I have no doubt this will be a difficult challenge for many, although certainly possible, easier if you grow your own, plenty of greens and herbs and microgreens, or have friends / neighbours/ associates who do, are involved in a food co-op or community farm / garden, are aware of companies who grow some of the more common staples we have come to expect. With some adjustment to expectations, to the expected norm, to our idea of what meals should comprise, to our tastebuds, etc. and to the methods and principles used by the system that grows food and tends to the land, introducing more diversity, more perennials, tree crops, fruits, more nuts and unusual vegetables, permaculture and forest gardening, less monoculture, etc., eating wholly British plant based could become very simple with a lot less challenges.
Well done, look forward to following and hearing more 🌱🍐🍒🌿🍓🍎🍏🥝🥒🥕💚
Hoi Rebecca,
How about people living ‘on the continent’?
Best Regards,
Theo Grent: born in The Netherlands, but after a 10-year stay (2001-2010) in the USA (Durham University, North Carolina) and a 5-year stay (2015-2019) in the UK (Glasgow University, Scotland), washed up (end of 2019) in Germany (Charité KPJ Forschung, Berlin).
What a great challenge. Is there a way of joining without using social media?
Actually this way of eating should not be a challenge should it?