Minister for Environment Roseanna Cunningham will speak at the launch of One Planet Food, a major initiative led by the Falkland Centre for Stewardship in partnership with the Carnegie UK Trust aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions and creating a more sustainable food culture.
Details of the project will be unveiled to an audience of politicians, farmers, food producers, retailers and interest groups. Renowned Scottish chef Christopher Trotter, will cater the evening with food sourced entirely from the region, making it a healthy and hearty menu for both the guests and the environment.
Roseanna Cunningham MSP said: “It’s clear that consumers are becoming increasingly interested in the provenance of what they buy. They want to know where their food comes from and they want to support local producers.
“The Scottish Government recently provided significant funding to help even more families in Fife source their food locally. By working more closely with local farmers we can shorten the supply chain, reduce food miles and re-localise production”.
The One Planet Food project aims include making a significant impact in the area of climate change and food by constructing a more sustainable food system in the Fife region as well as empowering consumers to make informed food choices using new technologies and cross-platform digital media. Its innovative approach could inspire a model for communities across the UK and beyond.
Mike Small, Programme Director, Centre for Stewardship Falkland, Fife, Scotland said“We welcome the continuing support of the Scottish Government in helping to address this challenge. We know that food accounts for somewhere around 25% of our carbon footprint and so has a great environmental impact but it also has a great potential to provide a restorative practice, creating a culture of positive action towards sustainability. We won’t reach any targets on climate change unless we start work in this area. It’s clear business as usual has failed”
One Planet Food Launch event – 7:00 to 9.30pm, Thursday 5th March Andrew Carnegie House, Pittencrieff Street, Dunfermline, KY12 8AW
For further information contact:
Morag Pavich, Head of Communications, Carnegie UK Trust, Tel: 01383 721445. Mobile: 07749 505071, Email:mailto:morag@carnegieuk.org
Mike Small, Programme Director, Centre for Stewardship Falkland, Tel: 0791 288 1314, Mobile:07912 881314, Email:mike@centreforstewardship.org.uk
Notes to Editors
One Planet Food is a five-year project led by the Falkland Centre for Stewardship in partnership with the Carnegie UK Trust. The work will engage with multiple partners across Fife, in Eastern Scotland and beyond, including: the Scottish Government, Fife Council, Utrecht School of the Arts, Research & Design (Netherlands), St Andrews Sustainability Institute, as well as local farmers and other producers. The work will focus on three areas: a public education and training programme, practical projects with farmers throughout Fife and a research forum hosted with the Sustainability Institute, St Andrews University.
Carnegie UK Trust is one of over twenty foundations worldwide set up by Scots American Andrew Carnegie, working to support a more just, democratic, peaceful and sustainable world. Currently the Trust has two key programmes: a Democracy and Civil Society Programme and a Rural Programme. The Trust also supports efforts to strengthen philanthropy. www.carnegieuktrust.org.uk
The Falkland Centre for Stewardship exists to promote the practice of stewardship locally and the philosophy of stewardship in 21st century Scotland and beyond. Responsible for the care and revival of the Grade A House of Falkland with its arts and crafts interiors and designed landscape, the Centre also works with others to promote the concept, relevance and practical application of stewardship, locally and globally. www.centreforstwardship.org.uk
Mike Small, Director, One Planet Food Project Mike is the Programme Director of the Centre for Stewardship and was the founder of the Fife Diet project (1) a local eating experiment that has gained a high profile in the past year. The Sunday Herald wrote of the project: “The Fife diet's premise is simple. People in Fife are encouraged to only use produce from within the region, thereby reducing carbon emissions linked to hauling food across the globe, and slowing climate change. It began with a handful of families. Now more than 600 people are involved.
After completing its first full year last month it is being hailed "the most exciting food project in the UK".
Mike has a background in environmental research and was noted by Observer Food Magazine as one of the top 50 people who has changed the way we eat in 2008. (2)
Pete Ritchie, One Planet Food Project Pete and Heather Ritchie took over Whitmuir Farm in Peeblesshire in 2000. Over the last eight years they’ve turned the 54-hectare upland sheep farm into an organic venture that now supports cattle, pigs, sheep and poultry; grows a wide variety of vegetables; operates an on-farm butchery; and sells direct to local folk through a farm shop and home delivery service.
“We started out to farm as sustainably as possible,” explained Heather, “so we stopped using fertiliser on the grass because it takes so much energy to produce. Instead we use clover to fix nitrogen in the soil and grow green manure to improve the fertility of our fields. The way we grow food leaves the earth in a better or at least as good a state as it was when we started.” The success of their farming methods led to their being named the first winners of the Future Farmer Award earlier this year. This new annual award scheme is funded by the Murray Trust and SNH to promote practical ideas for improving the environmental sustainability of farming in Scotland.