Food

Food - By choosing certain products, we can support local food producers and ethical companies in developing countries.

Living in cities, we can be removed from the processes of food production. We know little about how it is made and what it is made from. We are shocked when we learn of incidents of food contamination, genetically modified food or diseases causing the death of millions of farm animals (e.g. avian influenza or “mad cow” disease). We find it hard to believe that the production of bananas or cocoa in developing countries can involve the exploitation of children working in inhumane conditions.

A great deal depends on the attitude of local governments and on our involvement in food politics at the local level. You should therefore:


 * support local farmers’ markets - try to buy fresh, seasonal, local produce (processing and transporting food around Europe results in lower food quality and unnecessary emissions)
 * encourage your city council to cooperate with neighbouring rural councils and to provide nursery schools and schools with locally produced organic food. The increased production of organic food will result in children being healthier, will create a cleaner environment and will benefit local farmers’ livelihoods
 * encourage your town council to buy Fair Trade certified tea and coffee which ensures the right to decent working conditions, a minimum wage and bans the use of child labour in developing countries
 * campaign for your town to join the European Slow Cities network, which promotes quality of city life at a slower pace in conjunction with a culture of “slow food” as an alternative to a “fast food city”; and remember that in a city you have access to a wide variety of foods allowing you to limit your meat consumption or even become a vegetarian, which is an ethical and healthy alternative.

The Green Group in the European Parliament runs a campaign called “Join the food revolution”.