BBC 2 is currently running a series of documentaries that are looking at the FUTURE OF FOOD fronted by former Fair Trade patron George Alagiah both here in the UK and the rest of the world generally.
The first episode looked at the issue food security and water in particular and showed the lengths to which a Punjab based wheat farmer goes too to access water to irrigate the wheat that is headed to the west and the level of debt this has left him with whilst elsewhere in Punjab some have committed suicide as they could not cope with the level of debt they were in nor could they see a way out.
This week’s episode has left me (us) with some dilemmas. With European waters over fished and dwindling supplies, we are heading further a field to look for fish and one of the countries at the receiving end of our quest for fish is Senegal a relatively poor African country. Fish is a vital part of the diet of the coast villages in Senegal but with the arrival of European fishing boats, the locals don’t stand a chance and one fisherman said "he simply wishes they would go away". The consequences of the Europeans fishing Senegalese waters has meant that fish in Senegal has become so expensive that most local people can’t afford it!
The story moves on to a farm in Kenya that grows green beans for UK supermarkets. I was having dinner whilst watching this part and on my plate was grilled Salmon, mangetout, grilled courgettes and tomatoes and I must admit to struggling to finish it.
The Kenyan story is very sad indeed. A country that grows and exports a lot of food to the UK but has to rely on UN FOOD AID to feed its people! Perfectly good beans being rejected because they have a bit of soil on them or are the wrong shape!
The programme touched on the issue of Bio fuel. Yes we need to protect the environment and one way is to check our fuel consumption and the sources of fuel. But is it fair to take away farming land form rural people that use it for growing food and turn it into a field for bio fuel crops that neither people nor animals can eat?
What about feeding cattle on cereals/grains in order to fatten them whilst some people can’t access this cereal for food? I sincerely don’t know what the answers to these questions are, but all I know is that we need to address these issues one way or another.
As George said we have some tough choices to make especially here in Europe. Our food choice is currently threatening the food and water security of some of the poorest people in the world. It would appear too that we face unknown future in as far as our own food security is concerned unless we rethink how we farm and eat.
Is the way forward to "GROW" our own? Is the ethical thing to do to farm our own fish instead ot taking fish from those that need it the most? What about our shopping habits? Are supermarkets simply giving in to our demands of super perfect Kenyan green beans?
Have you got a view on any of the issues raised here? Please share it! I would urge to to watch George’s programmes on BBC 2 or iplayer
About ethnicsupplies
I leave this comment at Ida’s invitation.
Lake Victoria (atleast the Ugandan portion of it) used to supply enough and affordable fish harvests for the population living on the shores around it and in the islands located in it. We all know the dietary and commercial benefits this meant to them.
In the 90′s firms specialising in exporting fresh water fish to western countries arrived on the scene and 15 years down the road, the results are disastrous. The stocks of fish in the lake have plummeted to an extent that some species are now impossible to catch. We, the locals, can hardly afford to purchase whatever fish is available as the prices for the same fish in Europe keep rising (traders sell to the highest bidder kinda situation).
I have spoken to some of the affected fishermen whose canoes and nets government officials have destroyed in a bid to curb over-fishing. These fishermen have now turned to cutting down public rain forests, selling some of the timber illegally and burning the rest into charcoal to sell in surrounding towns (in Uganda, less than 10% of the population are connected to national electricity grid) where its demand is high.
In reality, our challenges are more complex and cannot solely be attributed to over fishing in our lakes. In my view they arise out of a combination of poverty, unchecked corruption, inadequate education, population increase, disease, etc. For that reason, the solutions are not going to be simple either.
Welcome to the discussion Ivan, as an Environmental engineer you must see some scary things out there!
I understand that Uganda and Kenya are arguing over a piece of rock in Lake Victoria and that this is due to fishing rights?
I was saddened to see how much Mabira forest had ben cut down during my last vist.
Yes you are right, the solutions to these matters are not simple. The last of that BBC programme the Future of Food, thye visited a kenyan village where it is reported that the the government there has plans to sell the land from teh udner teh villager’s feet to the Qatar government. The land will apparently be turned into farms to supply Qatar, as folk there have run out of options!