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The Icelandic volcano could have one unexpected effect: it may cause us to reassess our relationship with food.
The disruption to aviation has not only stranded passengers, it has also made it impossible to transport by air much of the fruit and vegetables that we now import. Kenya, which relies on exports of flowers and vegetables for much of its foreign earnings, has been especially hard hit and some perishable produce has been destroyed, a scandal in a country where so many people are poor.
This should cause us to reflect again about the extent to which we use produce that is so far-flown. To some extent this is both desirable, for the sake of supporting producers in poor countries, and inevitable, in the case of perishable exotic fruits or winter roses. Other things, such as coffee, can be transported over land and sea. But is it really necessary to import onions from Morocco or fly asparagus from Peru or apples from South Africa? Produce that can be grown here should be grown here both on environmental grounds and for the sake of supporting our own farmers. English apple growers have, in recent years, been undercut by the French and the South Africans even in season, yet English apples are unsurpassed. It should not be so difficult to buy local in supermarkets; not everyone lives near a farmers' market.
The no-fly week is salutary if it causes us to think again about our dependence on food from abroad. There has been a remarkable resurgence in demand for allotments in London in the past few years, and there is a new interest in growing vegetables among people lucky enough to have gardens. But most of us will always have to buy our fruit and vegetables, chiefly from supermarkets. We should be supporting growers from developing countries for some produce but for basic fruit and vegetables we should look harder at the labels to see just where our food comes from, and ask why. We know now how vulnerable we are — and it's a sobering thought.
Yellow peril
The Liberal Democrat upsurge continues: one poll has suggested that the Lib-Dems are running neck and neck with Labour. For now, the Tories and Labour are eschewing direct attacks on Nick Clegg in favour of attacking the party's manifesto.
But it might be better if they were to acknowledge the strength of some Lib-Dem policies. Today, the party is campaigning on its pledge to separate the banks' investment banking operations from their basic high-street functions. It is an approach implicitly supported by the Governor of the Bank of England and given added force by the fresh investigation of the activities of Goldman Sachs. It is an item of Lib-Dem clothing the Tories ought to steal. So too is the policy of raising tax thresholds to remove people earning less than £10,000 a year. David Cameron admires the policy but says it is unaffordable, yet by scrapping child tax credits and the Child Trust Fund, it could be feasible.
Of course there are Lib-Dem policies that lack credibility, such as its support for an amnesty for illegal immigrants. Overall, though, the Lib-Dems' policies offer real substance for voters to ponder.
Bond must live on
It doesn't bear thinking about: the financial difficulties of MGM mean that the latest Bond film has been put on hold. Where SMERSH and Dr No failed, a mere corporate crisis may kill off the spy. What would Bond do? It's his kind of diehard pluck the franchise needs now.
Reader views (2)
The UK imports 1.5% of its food by air, how would a ban on flights impact the UK's food supply in any meaningful way? We either freeze or refrigerate most perishable food from abroad before shipping by boat and/or lorry.
The idea that it is better for us to grow our own food as it supports the UK economy is false and damaging, I suggest people look up "Comparative Advantage" before jumping to the pernicious and fallacious conclusion that buying British is best.
- Paul, London, UK, 21/04/2010 07:40
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Given the historical data of this volcano this disruption will continue over the next 4 months and the anticipated eruption of it's bigger neighbour has usually run it's course of 10 years.
Perhaps we should re-evalute our dependance of food sourced from overseas,despite the fierce criticisms of Thanet Earth perhaps we should be planning similar developments in other parts of the country
- Gjeff, Brussells Belgium, 20/04/2010 15:52
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