This section highlights foods which are
currently in season to enable you to make the most of
locally grown produce when it’s at its best. The aim is to get people back in
tune with nature by highlighting fruit and vegetables which would be naturally
mature, rather than forced in greenhouses or imported from overseas.
Produce which is in season tends to have a better flavour and texture with the
maximum amount of nutrients, but if quality isn’t enough to encourage you to
‘eat local - eat seasonal’, there are two other important factors to take into
consideration which may convince you :-
• Supporting your local economy thus ensuring jobs and keeping small communities
thriving. • Taking advantage of lower prices due to reduced transport and packaging and
gluts .
For those who are concerned about the “carbon footprint “ of produce, one
important factor to remember is that produce doesn’t have to come from the other
side of the world to have a heavier footprint. Crops grown and forced in heated
greenhouses, whilst grown locally, can have a heavier footprint than the same
crop which has been grown in natural sunshine in another country. For example,
if you are seeing UK grown Aubergines in the shops in May, it’s more than likely
that artificial heat has been used to grow them.
The seasonal produce featured in these sections will
mainly be those which are
capable of having reached maturity without the aid of excessive artificial heat.
Obviously there are some foods which can’t easily be grown locally, and it’s not
the intention to suggest that these be given up. However, it seems absurd to
forgo the pleasures of seasonal, locally grown produce at the time when they are
at their peak with more flavour and nutrients, in favour of items which has been
imported from half way around the world.
It’s as well to remember that in many cases, as soon as produce is picked, it
starts to lose its viability therefore locally produced food which is sold at
farmers’ markets, is likely to be fresher than those sold in supermarkets.
For this reason we have also added an interactive map showing
the locations of farmers' markets near you and whilst initially we will be
featuring the UK, we hope to be adding other areas of the world in the future.
