Appetite for change

36 Pages·2009·4.05 MB·English

Appetite for change
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Appetite for change
Food is much more than what we eat. It shapes our lives – our health
and well-being, our culture, our natural environment, our security and
prosperity. Food is a true measure of our approach to life itself, as
individuals and as a society.
At the National Trust, we are passionate about good food – it is integral
to our past, present and future. The full story of food from plot to plate is
intimately represented in the places in our care, inspiring the millions of
people who visit every year. Our gardeners, chefs, tenant farmers and
others have daily experience of the realities of producing and preparing
food in the 21st century.
Yet we – in the Trust and in society as a whole – have taken food too much
for granted. Many of us are not eating a healthy diet, let alone a sustainable
one, and we have become disconnected from how food is produced. The
forces that have shaped what we produce and eat are changing fast. The
world faces serious challenges, most significantly from climate change,
population growth, and the depletion of oil and natural resources.
In the face of these challenges, consumers, businesses, scientists and
policy-makers are increasingly questioning where our food is from and how
it has been produced. This has stimulated some welcome progress
towards sustainable food, but it has remained a minority concern and has
yet to attract a coherent and progressive approach from governments.
However, recent concerns about food security provide an opportunity to
make sustainable food a mainstream national and global priority.
Even with greater government leadership, it will take a huge collective
effort to renew our food culture and values, as part of becoming a more
sustainable society. We in the National Trust are firmly committed to playing
our part. This report shares the journey the Trust has been on for the last
decade to make the food we grow and serve more enjoyable, more
sustainable for people and the environment, and better connected to the
places we look after. We are making real progress, but we know that we
have much more to do.
In our food work, we’ve been inspired and helped by many others and in
return we want to share our experience. We have also identified a number
of challenges facing the Trust and society, and some of the key questions
that need urgent answers. By doing so, we hope to create new
opportunities to work with those who share our appetite for change.
Fiona Reynolds
Director-General· National Trust
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The National Trust owns 250,000 hectares
of land across England, Northern Ireland
and Wales, including over 1,100 kilometres
of coastline.
Our main purpose is to promote and
conserve places of natural and cultural
importance for the benefit of the nation.
More than 200,000 hectares of our land is
used to produce food, working with 1,500
tenant farmers.
Food production on our land ranges from
large-scale tenant-run commercial farms to
kitchen gardens, allotments and orchards.
Our 150 restaurants and tea-rooms serve
over 8 million people every year.
We have a unique perspective that spans
the historic, natural, social and economic
impacts of food.
We have over 3.6 million members and
50,000 volunteers.
PicturedA project at Sissinghurst Castle in Kent aims to reconnect the garden
with the surrounding farm landscape and provide fresh food for the restaurant.
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Food in a
changing world
Over the last 60 years, the world has We’re also facing a food ‘crunch’
enjoyed a period of food prosperity and that threatens global food security –
relative security which has supported a world population and food demand are
rapidly rising global population. The increasing at the same time as we
industrialisation of agriculture, approach the limits of our oil and water
especially in developed countries, has supply. Climate change is already
successfully provided cheap and having an impact on the world’s major
plentiful food – a far cry from wartime food-producing regions, particularly
ration books. This has been achieved through reduced water availability.
through heavy dependence on cheap Food prices are fluctuating in response
fossil fuels and plentiful freshwater. It to a variety of factors. As pressures on
has had many benefits, but also costs, land use rise further, there is a danger
with serious environmental impacts and of making false choices between
significant levels of waste, and the producing food and caring for the
benefits have not been shared environment. Our long-term food
equitably between nations. security is entirely dependent on the
In many ways, food has become an health of our natural resources – the
anonymous commodity, traded globally soil in which almost all food is grown
in huge quantities. We have enjoyed an and the water that is essential to all life.
era of cheap food, although the prices Whilst global food production may
we pay do not reflect the true costs of need to rise, some of the main priorities
production. Most of us live in towns in the UK and other developed
and cities and don’t encounter food countries lie in tackling the huge levels
production in our daily lives. We’ve of waste across the food chain and
become emotionally and practically consuming a more sustainable diet.
disconnected from food and are losing It is clear that our food system will
the skills to grow and cook it. This have to adapt and change radically to
makes it hard for us to value food and meet the realities of the 21st century.
choose a healthy and sustainable diet. The UK is blessed with productive land
As a society, we are bearing the and this will need to continue to
consequences of this, with rising obesity contribute significantly to feeding people
and diet-related illnesses in the UK and in the UK and globally. In times of
other richer countries, and malnutrition economic downturn, we have a unique
in poorer countries. We’re missing opportunity to create a more resilient,
important opportunities to bring people efficient and lower impact food system.
and communities together through food
and to promote wider well-being.
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Agriculture
accounts for about
70% of global use
of freshwater. 1
The food we eat
is estimated to
account for
around 19% of
UK greenhouse
850 million people in developing countries
gas emissions.2
are estimate to be malnourished while nearly
2 billion people in the developed world are
overweight or obese.3
Around a third of
all food bought
by consumers in
the UK is thrown
away – most of
which could have
been eaten.4
UK consumers are spending 15% of
their income on food and drink, less
than half the share it took 50 years s
e
c
n
ago.5 e
r
e
ef
r
r
o
2 f
3
e
The average person in the UK eats 25 – 50% more protein every day g
a
p
than the World Health Organisation recommendation.6 e
e
S
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A recipe
for good food
In the past, the National Trust’s focus in ways that are consistent with our
on food was mainly on ensuring that principles of conservation and
our farmland and catering business provision of public access.
earned money to support our Each year, millions of people of all
charitable work. Along with much of ages and from all walks of life visit the
the food industry, we produced food places in the Trust’s care to enjoy their
for, and bought it from, global beauty and tranquillity, to get involved
commodity markets. and to be inspired. We know that
However, over many years, we have people’s daily food choices are
developed a clearer understanding of influenced by and have an impact
the links between our involvement with upon our natural and cultural heritage,
food and our work to promote and so our ability to reach so many people
conserve the natural and historic is a great opportunity. We aim to
environment for the benefit of the inspire people to appreciate the real
nation. We have learnt much from value of food, the people and places
others about the importance of food in involved in producing it, and the eating
creating a more sustainable society and and enjoyment with family and friends.
the role that the Trust can play in this. Whether we’re producing, buying,
In response, we are changing the selling, cooking or talking about food,
way we manage our land and our there are some basic values that matter
business to have a much more positive to us. Local and seasonal food is a
impact. We have adopted a long-term priority for us, but only if it is also good
approach, investing now for the future, quality and produced sustainably. By
and we are making connections putting our values into practice, we
between our involvement in different have certain outcomes in mind – these
stages of the food chain. are illustrated overleaf. They are not
In addition to our farms, gardens and comprehensive, but relate closely to our
restaurants, there is recreational fishing practical experience and expertise,
in the rivers and lakes in our care and where we can make a clear contribution
commercial fishing on the coast; our to a sustainable food system.
open spaces provide a feast of wild We are working to meet these
food, such as sweet chestnuts, standards, although they are
mushrooms and berries; we produce challenging and we’ve still got work to
venison from the deer culled on our do. We’re encouraging our tenant
land and license wildfowl and game farmers, suppliers and individuals to
shoots. We seek to manage all these join us on this journey.
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A recipe for good food
Fishing for
the future
‘I’ve been fishing here for a
quarter of a century and I hope
to continue for another quarter
of a century,’ says fisherman
Steven Harrison (pictured right).
‘Now that we can prepare the
seafood ourselves, we get a
better price for each catch,
which means we can fish at
sustainable levels.’
A new slipway and processing
facility at Porth Meudwy fishing
cove, Aberdaron, north Wales,
is helping the fishermen to
safeguard their future. In 2008,
they won a National Trust Fine
Farm Produce Award for their
dressed brown crab – showing
that they’re getting things right
in terms of taste, quality and
looking after the environment.
Local property manager,
Richard Neale, adds, ‘It's been
great to combine our support
for local food with the need to
put a range of redundant
buildings back to use – and to
help keep alive the local
lobster and crab fishing
tradition.’
The fishermen have also
benefited from advice from
M&J Seafood, which supplies Fine Farm Produce Awards
sustainable seafood to the Our annual Fine Farm Produce Awards were
Trust’s catering outlets. ‘It’s launched in 2006 to recognise the best food
been a challenge to meet the and drink produced by National Trust tenant
Trust’s stringent requirements, farmers and properties. Rob Macklin, the Trust’s
but achieving this has given us Head of Agriculture, says: ‘The emphasis is very
confidence that we’re on the much on delicious-tasting, top-quality produce and
right track,’ says Mike Berthet, on rewarding and supporting producers for high environmental and
Director of fish and seafood for animal welfare standards, and high-quality processing methods.
M&J Seafood. ‘We’ve used the Livestock and dairy products must be certified organic or Freedom
Trust as an example for other Food (RSPCA) assured. Every year the standard gets higher and it’s
businesses looking to improve great to know that so many of our producers really care about what
their sustainability criteria.’ they produce.’
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Appetite for change
The whole food story, from plot to
plate, is intimately represented in the
places in our care and our practical
experience in managing them. We are
striving to produce and sell food that
benefits people and the environment –
our goals are set out here. Achieving
these is challenging and we will continue
to work closely with our tenant farmers,
suppliers, staff, volunteers, supporters
and other partners.
■ A wide variety of high-quality food is produced on
our land and from the coast and freshwater in our
care, including:
(cid:129) Beef and lamb from extensively grazed grasslands;
(cid:129) High-quality grains for milling and brewing;
(cid:129) Milk and dairy from productive pastures;
(cid:129) Fish and seafood from healthy stocks, caught sensitively;
(cid:129) Fruit and vegetables grown in fields on a large scale;
(cid:129) Venison from wild and parkland deer;
(cid:129) Vegetables and fruit from kitchen gardens and orchards;
(cid:129) Wild food from hedgerows and woodlands.
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