Report: Just-Food? Bentham 23 Feb

Are you concerned about how your choice of the food you eat impacts on the environment?

Bentham Churches Together ran a “quality” event on 23 Feb on this topic
Format highly recommended!

Tweets about many aspects of the event are being be printed here, one day at a time, from now and during March
(See the end of this page for the original material)

 

1. (24 Feb) Thanks to Bentham Methodists for letting us use their church space which make an excellent venue for such an event.

2. (25 Feb) I discovered the leaflets + website Bentham Local Food  food (sold within 5 miles of Bentham + sourced from up to 30 miles).

They (BEST) had leaflets listing the foods… OK – it was made seven years ago in 2010 but much is still the same. Well done Bentham!! we should do the same in Settle.

3. 26 Feb: Andy played the Guitar, Christine the flute – Here singing the song “For the beauty of the earth” to the tune “As the deer pants”

Here is verse 2:

But the earth belongs to our children,
It’s not ours to destroy.
They will need its scarce resources,
To use and to enjoy.
And do we take the daily bread
From the children of the poor?
Do we poison the very world
Which could give them so much more?

Andy just chose it “from the internet”.. but in fact it was written by a lady who was living in Rathmell when she wrote it.

 

 

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Below is the original post for this event

Our decisions can affect the way food is grown in this country and abroad.

But food is a joy to eat, and eating together is a way of sharing not just food, but also ideas and friendship.

Churches Together in Bentham invite EVERYONE in the Bentham Area (N Yorks/Lancs border) to come and enjoy a shared meal 23 Feb 2017 at Bentham Methodist Church LA2 7LF 6pm-9pm

 Fairtrade Fortnight 2017 :  27 Feb – 12 March.
This year’s theme is  all about Fairtrade Breaks!

Contact Timothy Fox on 015242 62575 for details on food ideas or webeditor@greenchristian.org.uk

If you bring food, try and make it fit one of the following:

L -Locally produced 
O-Organically grown
A-Animal friendly
F-Fairly Traded

(If you don’t bring any food, and just wish to put a donation in, that is fine.)

FAQ:

1. Can I just come for part of the evening?

   You are welcome to call in for just part of the evening and have a look at the displays, and eat some of the food, even if you cannot stay all evening.

2.  What happens if I can not bring food?

   You are very welcome to come without food – just put a small donation in the box.– We are sure there will be plenty of food.

3.  What displays will you have?

We hope to have displays by:

1.  Wenning Wool (Dyed, ready for you to knit with: from  Masham Sheep on farms near Bentham)

2. Selection of Traidcraft Fairtrade goods for sale

3. Growing with Grace display (Organic Vegetables grown in greenhouses near Clapham)

4. Eco Church (and EcoCongregation)

With Special Reference to St Mary’s Church, Ingleton

that has gained two Eco-Congregation Awards

 

5. Landworkers Alliance

We will have a display and Speaker from the Landworkers Alliance.

The Landworkers’ alliance is a organisation of people who make their livelihoods from producing food, fuel and fibre using sustainable methods of production.

The Landworkers’ Alliance works to raise the profile of the role of small-scale producers and family farms, and the obstacles they face, both to the public and to government. In doing this we campaign for better policy to support small-scale producers and family farms, agro-ecology and food sovereignty.

See the video:

6. Bentham Environmentally Sustainable Town

Bentham Environmentally Sustainable Town, or BEST are a group of people from Bentham, North Yorkshire and the surrounding areas.  We are working towards making Bentham an environmentally sustainable town in whatever ways we can. It is a friendly group and anyone can join.  Whatever interest you have in being “green” you can pursue it as part of the group.

Craven Conservation Group

The wildlife in our area depends tremendously on the type of land management. – Which in turn depends on food and subsidies.  CCG will bring a map of north Craven showing some of the (wildlife) specialties of the area.

Land can be managed for grouse, for forestry (not food), for sheep, for beef cattle, for milk.  People grow vegetables in their gardens.

Waste products can have a big effect on the landscape and wildlife: From baby shrews and mice getting trapped in discarded lemonade bottles, to fish and crayfish being killed in streams polluted by effluent.  A big change happening now, almost unnoticed, is the increase of nitrogen loving lichens and algae growing on walls and trees due to the increased Ammonia in the air especially from intensive cattle, pig and chicken farms. Although there is little intensive farming in this area, there is a blanket pollution over much of England coming from where there are more factory farms. This alga is Klebsormidium crenulatum. 

. 

 

Laura’s Larder

 

 

 

How your choice of the food you eat can impact on the environment:

• The wildlife eliminated
  (e.g. tropical forest cut down to grow soya and palm oil for margarine and cattle food)
• The energy expended
   in making fertilizer, transporting the food, cooking the food
• The problem of disposing of waste?
  Both waste (slurry) and plastic packaging and food thrown out
• The conditions of the workers?
  Our local farmers working long hours
  EU casual labour without which many of our crops could not be harvested
  Safety standards and work conditions can be atrocious in some countries.
• The conditions of the animals?

 

Next: GC Local Meetup W&N Yorks: 11 Apr

Previous: Ditch Coal Now – London Feb 8th

Author: Editor 1 | Date: 5 February, 2017 | Category: Action LOAF | Comments: 0

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