WHAT CAN WE DO?

Understand we are of Nature not its exploiter

The last 40 years of farming in Angus has been about large scale specialisation to the benefit of a few farming families, supermarkets, facilities management and global food companies but to the detriment of community wealth, human health, diet, the environment, social cohesion, and caused separation of rural and urban interests and with that comes massive misunderstanding, lack of engagement and lack of knowledge amongst the general population about the food system. 

The political will to change has been absent and may take years to become forceful. As with climate it may take dire crises to happen before the will materialises. Until then money will be devoted to trying to rectify the symptoms such as waste and packaging without any fundamental change to the cause of the problems. A food system being run for the benefit of global capitalism.

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Actions to try to change school meals or food promotion or food banks radically are on a hiding to nothing as their present design is based around the industrial model of specialisation, waste production and aggregation of wealth to the top rung.

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So, where to start in rectifying such a dysfunctional system locally?? 

Angus lacks the seed corns of change eg small farms, ecological minded farm shops or markets and much of the infrastructure which can support the development of short supply chains which will boost education of all.

So where to start, get a few holistic, ecologically aware growers/producers/community members together. A food systems (FS) approach is crucial and starts fundamentally with what is grown and how. That is where we are and ....learning.