Reading EATING

I have just finished reading Eating, What we eat and why it matters by Peter Singer and Jim Mason.
This book is NOT about the impact of your food choices on your OWN body's health, but about the impact of your food choices on OTHERS and on the environment.
Having consumed this book it is almost impossible not to being (or trying to be) at least a conscientious omnivore.

Buying fair trade and organic food is a growing industry in Europe, particuarly in UK.
However, it is not always easy to find ethical meat. The Danish newspaper Politiken made a survey in Copenhagen recently and found ethical chicken in 2 of 10 supermarkets only (Superbrugsen and Kvickly) (26 May 2007).

Here are some ways to start making a difference:
Every time you are shopping or eating out ASK QUESTIONS about the origin of the food you are buying. For example questions about organic/non-organic production, fair trade, animal welfare, food miles, social responsibility, energy and water consumption in production etc.
You might very well get no answer but shop assistants and waiters baffled by the questions will soon learn that they need to find the answers.

You can also take action in other ways:

FRUIT is an ongoing project by Future Farmers who examines the current food systems and proposes expanded access to knowledge about the food we consume.
Join their online demonstration

Or try We Are What We Do's action no. 51 "Find out where your lunch has come from"

The more transparency we get regarding our food and the implications of producing it, the easier we can make a conscious and conscientious choice.

Free counters!