March / April

2009 March / April

The current crisis/recession/depression, depending on whichever view you take, is having at least some beneficial effects. We have finally become interested in producing some of our own food again, though perhaps more out of necessity than choice.

Farming in general and the insecurity of our food supply in particular is meriting a good deal of media coverage internationally. An upsurge in demand for horticultural training is reported as is a big increase in those buying polytunnels. Waiting lists for allotments are growing.

The Environment Secretary in the UK is asking farmers to produce more food, more sustainably and the UK press carries regular dire warnings about the fragile nature of the food supply. What is true for the UK is also true for Ireland but we could be on another planet for all the attention our main political parties pay to food security.

Just in case anyone is listening, now would be a very good time to reclaim our tradition as an agricultural country and place food producers at the centre of a society where their skills are valued. The first step to economic recovery should start with a new agricultural policy. We cannot and should not try to compete with international factory farming corporations but instead establish a range of small scale diverse enterprises that will sustain rural life, provide a good living and maintain and enhance the environment. We must lose our obsession with cheap food and begin to invest in our health and well being as a society. Despite the economic downturn, in real terms we are better off than we ever were. Fifty years ago we spent one third of our income on food; now we spend one tenth. We need to give food the priority it deserves and place it in the centre of rather than peripheral to our health and welfare.

We need a new agricultural revolution to replace the sixty years of aberration we have endured.

Cáit Curran, Editor