Beshara

Future of Food and Farming:  the ‘Non-Colin Tudge’ weekend, 29 April - 2 May

One thing is certain about the future - it will surprise you. On the day The Future of Food and Farming weekend was scheduled to begin we were unpleasantly surprised by the dreadful news that Colin Tudge was too ill to attend.

We responded by rapidly designing a new programme, one based on conversations rather than lectures, and, of course, informing all those who had registered for the weekend.

Quite understandably many of those who had booked (and we were completely booked out) decided not to come but quite a few did. Invitations then went out to people in the area to the new programme and many responded. The result was that the Mead Hall was full for most sessions over the long holiday weekend. It also meant that there were plenty of people able to enjoy the especially wonderful meals that Georgia Cass and Benjamin Salisbury so carefully prepared over the three days.

The extraordinary quality of Georgia and Benjamins’ cooking was not a real surprise to us who know them. What was a surprise, and this time a very pleasant surprise, was how successful the weekend was considering how little time there had been to prepare for it in the form it took. Everyone (perhaps especially first-time visitors) expressed real appreciation for the conversations, for the general ambience (and the food of course), for the understanding they gained and for the hope they left with.

What emerged? For the non-farmers we learned more about the reality of farming and of the changing understanding of how the earth responds to what is demanded of it. We learned that we should see ourselves as co-producers rather than as consumers because what we are prepared to buy helps determine what - and how - food will be produced. We learned how knowledge of soils and foods have changed over recent decades, so that old certainties have been overturned. For example and admittedly generalising, animal fats are good (as well as being tasty!). Soil far from being an inert reservoir of minerals is now seen as a living environment for roots; chemicals, then, at best must be used with caution rather than as simple substitutes for mineral deficiency. Grasses too emerged as more complex than had been appreciated - responding well to ‘mob grazing’ so that raising cows can turn into a way of reducing carbon in the environment.

What did the farmers and scientists pick up from us? The nature of nature was discussed and so the importance of right metaphysics highlighted. That the idea of progress could be reinterpreted was brought up. Worship as a general phenomenon was mentioned - God could take the form of GDP or tons per acre.

‘Disconnectedness’ was a commonly voiced concern, each of the players in the process of bringing food from farm to table to mouth likely failing to appreciate the links they depended on. For example, the farmer could be out of touch with the soil; the cook unaware of how the food was produced. A perspective founded on unity of being necessarily recognises connectivity.

What should be done? The responsibilty of each of us as individuals was stressed. Each of us can make informed choices when we buy foodstuffs whether in the supermarket or in a restaurant. Ask for the provenance of what you are being offered, Georgia stressed.

A film project was suggested - one that would expose in dramatic fashion the true basis of processed foods. The film makers in the Mead Hall (there were at least three) are keen to pursue the idea.

No surprise that the role of education (this is a school) was seen as vital whether it be children learning more about cooking and gardening or more generally by improving communications between (and amongst) producers and ‘co-producers’.

We began the weekend reading the words of wisdom of an unnamed Hopi elder. These included,  “Banish the words struggle from your attitude and vocabulary.” We did learn much of the struggles that farmers currently face from social isolation and falling prices to regulations designed “… to make it as difficult as possible to put a steak on your plate,” as one participant put it. However, everyone agreed with the Hopi wisdom as the right way to seek change. For example, rather than criticising producers, accept that each is doing their best as they understand it and then ease them toward a better way.

Though much was learned there is clearly more to do. The consensus was that conversations like the ones we enjoyed should be a repeated. Chisholme offers a convivial location where ideas can freely be exchanged. Future such gatherings might deliberately seek to include participants from particular sectors such as major food distributors. There is also the real hope that the weekend as originally planned will take place in the near future. Everyone departed wishing Colin a full and speedy recovery but thankful to him since it was his initiative that had made this surprising weekend possible.

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