Telling us to grow our own food. Hmm, mebbe, if that’s what you want to do. But there’s something of a political agenda here, don’t you think?
Prof Lang, who advises the Government on the crisis, said that people who relied on the large supermarkets for their food did so at their peril.
"Ultimately people have to take more control of their food systems," he said.
"If you depend on Tesco or Sainsbury’s or Waitrose, you are a consumer. In other words your food supply is under their control. But if you garden and can grow at least some food to eat, however little, then you are injecting a little food democracy into your food supplies and asserting your food citizenship."
He’s the bloke that invented food miles. You know, that idea that it’s the transport of food which is bad for the environment? That wsa before anyone actually looked at the question, did the sums, and found that transport from farm to retailer is actually only 11% of emissions from the whole process. It matters a great deal more how the food is grown than whether or not it is transported.
So worth taking him and his agenda with a pinch of salt.
10 responses so far ↓
1 Chris // Sep 29, 2008 at 8:49 am
And of course, if I grow my own food, there’s no way that I’m reliant on Marshall’s Seeds, or the seed potato suppliers, or the fish-blood-and-bone meal merchants, or the firms that make spades, hoes and dibbers. Or the great Hessayon and his books. Someone should refer this tosser to ‘The Story of a Pencil’.
2 Mark Wadsworth // Sep 29, 2008 at 8:55 am
“with a pinch of salt”?
I thought they’d outlawed salt as well?
3 Serf // Sep 29, 2008 at 9:38 am
So if I want to go on holiday, should I allow BA to have my flight under their control, or would a DIY solution be better? How about allowing Pfizer to have my medicine under their control, rather than harvesting a little Tiger penis? The fact that I have to rely on Ford for my means of transportation? Would walking be better?
Has the concept of specialisation never reached the area of the galaxy he resides in?
4 Cleanthes // Sep 29, 2008 at 10:08 am
“But if you garden and can grow at least some food to eat, however little, then you are injecting a little food democracy into your food supplies and asserting your food citizenship”
And you can democratically assert your right to starve when your meagre crop fails.
5 Bob // Sep 29, 2008 at 11:59 am
Lang is an advisor to Friends of The Earth, the World Health Organisation, and the Government. What a twat.
6 gene berman // Sep 29, 2008 at 12:04 pm
Chris:
I believe you refer to ” I, Pencil.” And I’m much in agreement that it’s an eye-opening (and should be a thought-provoking) primer.
7 Old Holborn // Sep 29, 2008 at 2:36 pm
The Cow in my window box is shitting everywhere. What to do?
8 David Gillies // Sep 29, 2008 at 9:18 pm
I don’t grow my own food for the same reason that I don’t iron my own shirts or mop my own floor: comparative advantage dictates that I concentrate on writing software and let my cleaning lady do the housework. Plus, by the time I get out of work in the evening I am far too knackered to even think about toiling in an allotment, no matter how horticulturally-minded I might be.
9 Pogo // Sep 30, 2008 at 10:47 am
Tends to indicate that the title of “Professor” may have become somewhat debased.
10 Brian // Sep 30, 2008 at 8:44 pm
We could take control of our food supply by cutting up and eating Professor Lang. Probably wouldn’t taste too good, but think of the savings on the carbon footprint.
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