Transition Derby UK

The Hungry for One World event was an afternoon with Derby Forum of Faiths www.ffderby.org.uk and Transition Derby UK www.transitionderby.co.uk – sharing bread from different cultures, looking at how our food supply is changing and seeing what we can do about it. A broad age range was in attendance of various religions, cultures and community groups.

Stevie Rosso of Transition Derby UK (TDUK) warmed us up with a ‘people barometer’. Questions, such as, ‘Do you grown your own fruit and veg?’ were asked and we all moved to one side of the room or other to indicate ‘yes’ or ‘no’.

We then formed three discussion groups to talk about the energy and environmental implications of a sandwich bought from a supermarket, trying to find out how and where the components were produced and how far they might have travelled. I was in an all female group and the conversation soon developed into aspects of motherhood. We were wondering why our children reject clothes when buttons fall off and reached a conclusion that it was our job to teach them to sew buttons back on rather than do it for them. We also questioned why very few people walk to school and work. One lady said two members of her family had each ruined £30 pairs of fashion shoes by doing so. We then found we had touched on another barrier to a low carbon lifestyle – a fear of looking shabby or unfashionable – the fossil fuel age has afforded us the luxury of dressing like princesses instead of peasants. We also talked about the value of clothes and blankets we had made ourselves and how they were more precious to us than ones bought from shops.

Finally, the group reassembled in a large circle and Rosy Townsend (Justice and Peace Commission, Nottm Diocese and TDUK) steered the conversation back to the bread people had brought in; traditional loaf, polish sourdough and chapatti’s. It was really interesting to hear different members of the community describe how their bread was made and heart warming to hear about recipes and methods passed down within families. Homemade bread can be of a much higher quality than mass produced bread which uses very high gluten flours and is overloaded with yeast – this means it rises faster but gives people bloating and tummy problems. The lady next to me was concerned that in a low carbon future we will not be able to make enough bread for everyone, considering the huge population. I had to leave at this point but wanted to say that we can regard the ‘man on the street’ as the solution instead of the problem. We can encourage people to share skills, such as bread baking, bring communities together, empower them and promote ‘local resilience’, with interdependence on each other, instead of relying on the current fossil fuel dependent food supply systems. (e.g. driving to a supermarket to buy mass produced bread.) With a bit of creative thinking this philosophy can be applied to all areas of life.