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Peadar: Try to find local sources of local food
“ My family were able to have access to high quality healthy fresh organic food direct from our neighbourhood “
Location
Cloughjordan, Co Tipperary
Name
Peadar
Useful Links
Food miles explained: Eco Experts
Organic Horticulture: Teagasc
Impact:
There are no measurable impacts for this action as there are too many variables. However, research has shown that transport accounts for about 19% of total food-system emissions: 3.0 GtCO2e (5% of total global CO2 emissions)
My personal sustainability action was
I joined Cloughjordan Community farm. The farm is a group growing scheme that provides memebrs with 60 varieties of veg fruit and herbs. There’s a community of 90 members plus people coming each week visiting the village. The food is all organic and the soil is regenerated naturally.
What were your first steps?
Well the scheme was already set up when I joined it. It was very simple for me. The farm is run by two paid members who do the planting and growing. All we do is pay a small fee each week. The food is harvested and stored in a small depot in the village and we can go and take what we need from the stores.
The Impact of the Change
This is hard to quantify in carbon saved etc. But my family now have access to high quality healthy fresh organic food provided locally. There are avoided food miles benifits as well.
What inspired you to make this change?
The environment crisis
What advice would you have for others to do something similar?
Try to find local sources of local food and explore the idea of setting up a local farm based on our model.
Global food-miles account for nearly 20% of total food-systems emissions
A study [1] in Nature Food, found that transport accounts for about 19% of total food-system emissions (stemming from transport, production and land-use change). Global freight transport associated with vegetable and fruit consumption contributes 36% of food-miles emissions—almost twice the amount of greenhouse gases released during their production. To mitigate the environmental impact of food, a shift towards plant-based foods must be coupled with more locally produced items.
More information: where can I find out about group farming projects in Ireland?
Cloughjordan Community Farm: https://cloughjordancommunityfarm.ie/#about
Notes
[1] Nature Food | VOL 3 | June 2022 | 445–453 | https://www.nature.com/articles/s43016-022-00531-w
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