Seasonal Eating

When I was growing up in Burnley, I would get sent to the greengrocer’s at the end of our road. I would get the fruit or vegetables I was sent for and bring them home in brown paper bags. I can still remain going to get the last lettuce or the last tomatoes. That didn’t mean there was more coming tomorrow. They were the last of the season. Next week there would be something else instead. That’s how seasonal eating works.

What’s in season now?

Everyone is talking about sustainability and reducing carbon footprints. Manchester is introducing a Clean Air Zone. Yet veganuary is also being widely promoted. In order to eat many of the meat and dairy substitutes advocated, the food will have been flown thousands of miles from much warmer climates than ours. Looking through River Cottage A-Z by Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall, I discovered that the only fruits in season in January in the UK are rhubarb and certain varieties of pears and apples that have been stored since the autumn.

Saving money through seasonal eating

One of the keys to sustainability then must be to seasonal eating. We should be enjoying British lamb during the summer, not New Zealand lamb at Easter. We should leave behind salads in the winter and move onto the root vegetables that are in season in the autumn and winter. By choosing this way of eating, we can also save money. Renovating the farm, I can see the cost of materials has gone up by as much as a third due to increases in the cost of fuel, timber and glass. So we all need to save where we can. That’s why I’m hoping to grow seasonal crops that will help us eat in a more sustainable way. I’m also hoping to sell these, alongside seasonal meat, in my farm shop.

Not everyone can grow their own but we can all choose local produce. It might mean you have less choice but it also means you look forward to when local strawberries are available or new season potatoes. It brings back the joy of a paper bag full of ripe tomatoes, rather than a plastic tray with under-ripe fruit that has been flow a thousand miles.

Posted: January 19, 2022