Joe McNamee: We should invest in local produce — a growing model that skips the middleman
John Murphy and Roger Ahern at Bushy Park
I'm beginning to wonder if that glorious summer was no more than a fever dream. It was certainly hot enough to qualify as such and came with an underlying unease that nagged me through the hottest days. While we were luxuriating on our own ‘foreign holidays’ with neither the travel nor the expense, those formerly alluring destinations abroad spent the summer literally on fire. More than a few people acknowledged an underlying guilt at taking pleasure from comparatively mild experience of the extreme temperatures wreaking havoc on the daily lives of citizens of Central Europe. Sympathy abounded but far fewer seemed to appreciate how a burning mainland Europe might directly affect our own lives. Having long ago outsourced most of our fresh produce requirements, raging wildfires and scorching temperatures were directly impacting horticulture and agriculture in many places from which we import that required produce.
To all intents and purposes, the State continues to lag behind when it comes to our national food security but the giant multiples — whose own purchasing policies did much to decimate our national horticulture sector — are now beginning to sing from a different hymn sheet. Six major Irish grocery groups have just signed up to the Irish Horticulture Grower-Retail Charter to bolster long-term support for local producers. Aldi, Dunnes Stores, Lidl, Marks & Spencer, SuperValu/Centra, and Tesco have all signed up, stating an aim to enhance transparency, sustainability, and domestic food security, and to ensure they have locally produced food on supermarket shelves.
