Comments for Food Culture West Cork

Comment on Can We Feed Ourselves? by Madeline

Madeline — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 22:14:03 +0000

Hi Ivan, I did see farm for the future and I sincerely hope the permaculture system can feed us all because its a lot of work to cultivate land without a tractor. I have e-mailed you my figures. Gardeners do produce a lot of food in terms of bulk but not in calories. You would need 10kg of cabbage to give you the 2,700 calories of energy you need per day but less than 1kg of wheat or cheese. Grains and pulses store better than vegetables and are easier to transport. They can provide a reserve to be used in times of crop failure. Vegetables however have lots of minerals vitamins etc and can be produced in the smallest areas.

Comment on Can We Feed Ourselves? by ivanmcc

ivanmcc — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 15:10:48 +0000

Thanks for that Tom looks really good. Glad to see that they’ve added beer to the essential diet. I wonder what is being done in Ireland. I know that Trevor Sargent was putting something in motion last year, have you heard more about this?

Comment on Can We Feed Ourselves? by Tom

Tom — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 13:56:59 +0000

Hi Ivan – great article. You might be interested in some calculations Simon Fairlie did for the UK. Here’s a link to his article (pdf format):

http://transitionculture.org/wp-content/uploads/2007/CanBritain.pdf

And there’s some discussion here on Transition Culture:

http://transitionculture.org/2007/12/20/can-britain-feed-itself/

I’m seeing Simon on a scythe course in Mullingar this weekend so will bring this topic up with him to see what he has to say.

Interestingly Madeline’s calculations came out quite close to Simon’s.

In terms of land we have plenty in Ireland with our low population density. The trick is getting enough people working at growing effectively – i.e. producing useful amounts of food without huge expense of cash or time. The development of ‘grow your own’ is exciting and hopefully just the tip of the iceberg.

Comment on Can We Feed Ourselves? by ivanmcc

ivanmcc — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 13:37:33 +0000

Thanks Stephen. I have young kids too and it’s so hard to find time. I’m going to try the allotment for a year next year and see how it goes. Hopefully the kids will want to go there and will get involved.

Comment on Can We Feed Ourselves? by ivanmcc

ivanmcc — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 13:31:34 +0000

Hi Madeline
Sounds very interesting, I’d love to have those calculations. I wonder how many people could make a good living from that. Did you see Farm for the Future? They were able to feed loads of people in the permaculture system but I couldn’t see it throwing up much cash flow. As I see it , gardeners can produce an awful lot more food than farmers but they don’t create big surpluses for trading, distribution etc.

Comment on Can We Feed Ourselves? by ivanmcc

ivanmcc — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 11:55:57 +0000

Thanks David
The intergenerational learning is a wonderful outcome of this renewed interest in growing both at home and in community gardens and allotments. I agree that nothing can beat the taste of fresh mackerel. Ivan.

Comment on What does free range mean? by ivanmcc

ivanmcc — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 11:45:19 +0000

Hi Katy
I’ve passed on your message to Valley View Free Range Eggs and they shoudl be in touch shortly. Thanks
Ivan

Comment on What does free range mean? by katy lucey

katy lucey — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 09:05:26 +0000

Hello,

My name is Katy Lucey from Gougane Barra Hotel, I would love to get yer free-range eggs. Could ye send me a price list and possible dellivery options.Nan O Donovan calls here with cheese and said she could collect possibly?

Comment on Can We Feed Ourselves? by Ivan asks – Can we feed ourselves?

Ivan asks – Can we feed ourselves? — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 07:29:44 +0000

[...] important piece by Ivan on food security and our future. Don’t just read it, leave your thoughts [...]

Comment on Can We Feed Ourselves? by David Reilly

David Reilly — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 23:34:57 +0000

Great post – my father has had a portion of his garden turned over to growing for years before the term “organic” was really ever used ! Friends used to come over and comment that there was no way that the veg could be that color and shape ! I remember fresh caught West Cork mackerel done is bran with all the trimmings – the taste of everything was really different to the supermarkets i.e. it had taste!

My father still grows his own and I intend (in a small way) to tap his knowledge and do the same myself, inspired by your article!