Hoot & Holler PR
  • Home
  • About the author
  • My story
  • What I do
  • Customer reviews
  • Contact me
  • What's the story?
  • Home
  • About the author
  • My story
  • What I do
  • Customer reviews
  • Contact me
  • What's the story?
Search


​​What's the story?
Bitesize insights,
​trend analysis
top tips
​- the Hoot & Holler PR blog
 

​

The power of the media or under the influence

9/7/2019

2 Comments

 
Picture
Education is a wonderful thing.  Knowledge is power.  So maybe this explains why a TV programme  finally motivated me to break the supermarket spell that had befallen me. 
For some time now, we, as a family, have been feeling rather spoilt.  We can walk to Waitrose or even Sainsbury's and Marks and Spencer's Food Hall, if we're feeling extra energetic.  Even the lovely Lidl is within touching distance, not to mention Tesco and Asda, the supermarket sirens luring us into their convenient trolley trap on the twice daily school run.  
At first, when we moved back to Kent, I'm ashamed to admit, I was a little bit smug.  My friends from our eight-year sojourn in France would enquire pityingly how we were getting on and bizarrely, I now realise, I found myself braying about our proximity to the aforesaid supermarkets.   You see, despite the wonderful food markets in France, several of my ex-pat mummy friends and I couldn't help but miss Waitrose and M&S and all those homely comfort treats they proffer - like proper British bangers and yum-yums!!!   But as with all of life's journeys, I'm waking up to the fact that perhaps our all-consuming supermarket obsession is just a little too convenient, a little myopic - or, dare I say it, lazy even?  Perhaps, we are simply not making enough effort or 'doing our bit' when it comes to reducing our carbon footprint.
So last night, as I watched BBC 2's Horizon:  The Honest Supermarket: What's Really in our Food? , I found myself compelled, under the influence of the scientific and expert truths that were revealed to me, to reach for a notebook and pen to capture all of those extraordinary facts.  Did you know that we spend a staggering £190 billion a year on food shopping? Do we really think about the food miles involved in flying our favourite fruits halfway around the globe? (You'll be horrified when you realise you've been imbibing micro-plastics when you reach for the 'healthy, natural' mineral water!)  So thoroughly was I moved, that this morning I decided to act.  I breached the half-mile supermarket circle of convenience and FINALLY made a run for it to the local Farm Shop - an Aladdin's Cave for foodies - at Perry Court Farm, which is just three miles from my front door and yet I had never managed it until today!
So, despite adding a couple of miles to my physical journey to the shop, I've surely lopped off a sizeable chunk off my carbon footprint by purchasing Perry Court's finest fruit and veg, locally baked bread and an array of delicious condiments like sweetcorn relish to top off the BBQ meat and Harrington's finest Benenden Sauce - which the lady who served me assures me is fabulous on scrambled egg.
Of course, it's not just the TV programme or the fact that it's plastic-free July or even that, of late,  I've been meeting lots of passionate local producers through Hoot & Holler's fabulous Produced in Kent membership, that's making me change my route to market.  Perhaps, I might venture that the French celebration of local seasonal produce at the local market or their obsession with food to the point where any communal gathering must include an offering that is 'fait-maison', has certainly rubbed off on me.  Or perhaps, I'm simply finding my way home.

2 Comments
Lynn link
26/7/2019 07:50:56 am

Hi Clare

I missed the programme and as one of your friends still enjoying the good culture of France, I totally agree with the passion that persists in France for the local market, seasonal and local produce and a drive for quality over price. Food just isn't as cheap but overall it is often better.

The program would have been interesting but so many people would find it hard to make changes. If we want better more ethical and environmentally friendly food across the board we need to make it easier for those who can't drive to the farmshop or pay the premiums we pay to have this.

We need to educate our kids less on how many cubes of sugar this or that food has and which things are healthy or not. We should be teaching them about the amazing flavours and produce we have. Raising a generation who don" t eat for fuel. Increasong the variety that we eat and understanding the impact of our food choices on the world around us with positive messages.

If food is an important part of life including the food memories, the sharing of mealtimes and the self sufficiency and art of cooking then there is more drive for change.

If you can't drive to a farmshop and have limitations on the money you spend on food there are simple cheap and sometimes money saving approaches to improving our food related carbon footprint. Waste less food. Buy food with less packaging.

Supermarkets are beginning to respond to demand with the less plastic on our fresh produce. Let us reach out to our local.markets and producers where we can. Often there are real.gems to be found o our doorsteps, some of them even deliver to your doorstep.
Lynn x

Reply
Clare
28/7/2019 06:51:22 pm

Thanks Lynn for your comments. Completely agree with what you're saying. I think you're right the key to making it accessible is the delivery option which is now becoming more widespread and making good quality local produce more accessible to all.

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    Author

    Clare Pope, always has her head in a book - current read Gathering Storm by Rachel Hore​

    View my profile on LinkedIn

    Archives

    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    March 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    September 2019
    July 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018

    Categories

    All
    Blogs
    Communications
    Drink
    Food
    Lifestyle
    PR
    Public Relations
    Retailing

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.
  • Home
  • About the author
  • My story
  • What I do
  • Customer reviews
  • Contact me
  • What's the story?