FOLLOW MY LEADER


Just who are/were the ‘Green Pioneers?’ They have been and are all over the place! One of my favourites was my pioneer-example-number-one, William Cobbett, who, way back in 1821, published his book, ‘Cottage Economy.’ He refers to the well being of labourers involved in “the making of bread, keeping of cows, pigs, bees, ewes, goats, poultry, and rabbits.” Cobbett has a strong political message in his writing. He claimed “It is abundant living which is the greatest test of good government, and the surest basis of national greatness and security.” My hero!

Colin Tudge, my pioneer-example-number-two, has recently written a book entitled ‘Feeding People is Easy.’ He talks about ‘enlightened agriculture,’ where a greater emphasis should be spent on horticulture, promoting fruit and vegetables first, THEN “fitting in livestock where we may. We get the best out of crops, livestock and landscape with small, mixed, intricate labour intensive farms, which produce – a lot of plants, not much meat, and maximum variety, which, in nine words, summarises the best of nutritional recommendations of the past 30 years. But we have to act fast,” with the main obstacle to rapid progress being “the people who run the world, including elected governments.”

I feel that such inspiring ideology from these two visionaries/leaders lays a robust foundation within which a major shift of emphasis on the way we approach modern farming and agriculture should be based. In practical ways, we all need to follow their lead as part of understanding the implications of their collective message.

In this context, it is interesting to note the rapid growth of people who want to take action as part of ‘Saving Planet Earth.’ S.L.A.C.C. (South Lakeland Action on Climate Change) asked me to undertake a survey of Council Allotment use in the south of Cumbria. My initial trawl has revealed a huge demand for such land from people looking for a green space in which to ‘do-their-own-growing-thing.’ The number of allotments in use, from my initial research, total 1275. But the really disturbing figure reveals a rapidly growing waiting list of 376 with no apparent plan by councils to provide additional space to meet the demand.

If growing food locally is part of Colin Tudge’s ‘enlightened agriculture’ ethos then this huge waiting list is travelling in the opposite direction to the promote-it-locally-culture.

I reported this worrying situation to the last SLACC meeting. The group are looking for land to put into practice a demonstration site, but initial investigation shows that acquiring a wee haven is verging on mission impossible, because of the lack of small parcels of land availability, together with the high price of such land in the current market place.

As I’ve already indicated in an earlier blog comment, discussion with the SLACC group has lead my wife and I to consider offering, on an agreed basis, part of our 15 acre small-holding, as a way of alleviating the group’s ongoing search

For there really are some major issues facing the way the countryside is farmed in relation to the climate change/carbon footprint issue. For example, the livestock sector is responsible for nearly 20% of CO2 and 37% methane greenhouse gas emissions.

To put it bluntly, and I expect controversially, in order to cut back on such emissions, if everyone who eats meat reduces their intake by 50% this would have an immediate and significant impact in reducing carbon emissions. Apologies for these figures. They are not my normal medium! But they can be used; hopefully, to help bring about a shift of attitudes to how land is farmed.

Is this talk taking place within the farming community? Are the National Farmer’s Union, DEFRA and the Environment Agency promoting seminars to help take forward such a shift of general approach?

Meanwhile, our small SLACC group plan to take action on our holding in the hope that it will serve as an example of doing something active about this key issue. Perhaps other landowners might consider offering up parcels of land to the new activist pioneers where there is a recognised demand. This way, as I’ve pointed out before, the snowball will start to roll. Hopefully it will encourage local councils to join the ‘club,’ so between us all we can get the show on the road.