Food prices in the UK have increased by an average of 6% during 2011 at a time when unemployment continues to rise along with energy prices and other costs.
When families are being very careful about their budget it can be very difficult to ensure that the diet remains nutritious and healthy.
The current, tenth, annual British Food Fortnight shows the ways in which this can be done, by purchasing foods that are in season and produced locally. An economy can also be created by participating in the Vegetable Crate Plan or by purchasing from local farmers’ markets and farm stores.
There are additional health benefits, as researchers in the United States discovered when testing the effects of storage on the antioxidant and anticarcinogenic properties of potatoes. Colored potatoes have significantly higher levels of anti-carcinogenic, antioxidant and anti-inflammatory compounds than white potatoes, and scientists found that the longer the vegetable is stored, the less anti-cancer components of the antioxidant. Let’s go
All this can help reduce the carbon footprint along with the household budget and health. This can also help the farmers in getting a fair price for their produce.
However, the issues of food security, increased production and more sustainable farming still require more attention from politicians.
At the recent annual Labor Party conference, Shadow DEFRA minister Mary Craig promised to make food and farming central to Labor Party policy. He acknowledged that UK farmers needed help to meet growing food demands while using resources carefully and managing the environment.
She agreed that too little action had been taken on the Foresight Report, which looked at food production in 2020, and that action needed to start now to address the concerns expressed in the report on Britain’s food security. Was.
Mary Craig’s colleague, Shadow Environment Minister Willie Bain, agreed and said spending on research and development needed to increase if farmers were going to increase the amount produced with less input.
As part of this process, farmers will need more widespread access to alternative, more environmentally friendly crop protection and yield-enhancing products.
Low-chemical agricultural products being produced by developers of biopesticides offer a useful alternative to the older generation of chemical-based pesticides.
These biopesticides and biofungicides do not leave any chemical residue on crops or in the soil or water supply while protecting agricultural production from wastage. Combined with more organic farming methods, it is possible that the production and food security targets required in the UK by 2010 can be met.
Source by Ali Withers
