TRYING TO GET TO THE HEART OF THE GREEN DEBATE

I attended a student’s careers fair in Sheffield last week on behalf of WWOOF (World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms). Met many enthusiastic young people, determined to do something practical to save the world from further environmental and climate decay.

I had a long chat with one student, whose ideas caught my imagination.
I sent her an e- mail, which I put together on my return train journey home.

Herewith – Dear Margaret

It was really refreshing chatting with you at the Sheffield Careers fair. The highlight of my day, in fact! I’ve been pondering over our discussion and am keen to develop your ideas.

But first to say from my point of view, I’m keen for WWOOF, worldwide, to recognise what all of us need to work on, namely, an ‘environmental conscience,’ that in the case of WWOOF, both hosts and wwoofers (the volunteers), preserve and promote. Growing and marketing organic produce (consumables and fabrics) is, on the face of it, a laudable pursuit, but needs to be subject to environmental audit in order to satisfy environmental, carbon, and resource sustainable criteria. Life Cycle Analysis (LSA) is the current buzz - word. ‘Food Miles’ has for some time been paraded as a sustainable negative, but sophisticated analysis can show, via LSA, that vegetables grown in Kenya and flown into EU countries, can achieve a better LSA than those grown in local fossil-fuelled heated green houses with zero food miles. So the debate will go on.

My point about ‘environmental conscience’ might encourage an approach to organic produce that achieves both low food miles and best LSA results at the same time. This might, for example, result in growing organic produce that is most suited to local climate and other local conditions, and is compatible with seasonal suitability. This way, someone with an’ environmental conscience’ might have to accept what is in season and at the same time achieves low food mile status. This would restrict the choice/variety/ range of produce but is part of the reality of an ‘environmentally conscious culture/movement.’

Furthermore and still part of the LSA approach, it is now increasingly recognised, from a global warming/climate change perspective, that an over emphasis on animal protein is bad news from an LSA carbon perspective and folk like Collin Tudge are advising society (especially in the western world) to significantly reduce their current levels of animal produce consumption (which includes diary products) and replace same with vegetable and fruit alternatives which produce much better carbon/LSA returns.

There is yet another factor. Increasing reference is made to ‘peak oil’/’post oil’ and that we must all forward plan and enter a period of transition towards a ‘renewable economy’ rather than continue in denial-mode as if there is no tomorrow. The Soil Association have recognised the challenge and now increasingly talk about promoting human-powered, low-tec horticulture, at a local level, rather than high-tec heavily mechanised monoculture agriculture. So, this rambling is about trying to promote the key components on an ‘environmental-conscience- for-real’, which should be applied world- wide in both developing and developed (so called!) countries.

I say all of this to try and set the scene for what you raised at the careers fair. I see no reason why the above approach should not be promoted and broadcast up hill and down dale, especially within the WWOOF network nationally and internationally. You were suggesting that WWOOF should be involved in helping growers worldwide to find legitimate ways of linking up with each other to promote and foster a common LSA approach to organic production.

The World-wide-web is a powerful tool for change. Linking up this way, with other organic growers around the planet, as you suggest, might achieve both solidarity and, in the above context, much needed voluntary uniformity of purpose and principle. I may be on the wrong trail with all of this in relation to your own agenda within this theme. Perhaps I’m using our inspiring conversation as a means of putting my own cards on the table, in the hope that they might mesh in with yours. Perhaps you can let me know your own reactions to all of this so we can attempt to take forward your own particular angle.

In a nutshell, I’m keen within the WWOOF culture to promote a more sophisticated understanding of the reality and implications of an approach to organic growing, so that this will help to define what is implied via a general need to move towards an ‘Organic Future.’ When this is known, understood, and accepted then perhaps WWOOF could move on to becoming ‘World Wide Opportunities for an Organic Future.’

I am planning to post these comments on my Green Blog site with the local paper, the Westmorland Gazette, which in turn goes worldwide! Hope you don’t mind! Could also include your own future feedback via the blog, so as to help promote the spirit of our exchange in as wide a context as possible.

Best wishes,

Edward Acland