Radish Leaf Soup

The trend towards people growing their own food has sprung from a desire to eat healthily.

THE ever more alarming obesity figures are spooking governments everywhere from Europe to the US, and India to China. As yet experts can’t seem to agree about the root cause or indeed the remedy. Meanwhile, the public are completely bamboozled by conflicting messages and even more serious is the situation that many busy people find themselves in where they cannot access nourishing food easily. The Americans have long ago coined a phrase — food deserts, the definition of which is a geographic area where affordable and nutritious food is difficult to obtain, particularly for those without access to a car or local transport.

Desperation forces us to think outside the box and the results can be encouraging. When the bread in the US became so mass produced that it was virtually inedible, artisan bakeries bubbled up. When food became so processed and ultra fresh nourishing food was virtually unavailable, a few ‘desperately seeking’ souls started the first farmers market.