WHAT MAKES A FOOD TRADING SYSTEM SUSTAINABLE: 
 OUR KEY PRINCIPLES

 We have 12 principles that we apply to the trading we carry out in order to make it sustainable.

 The food involved should be:

 1.       Farmed and produced ecologically. Currently, we define this as organic, biodynamic,  sustainably harvested from the wild or home-grown without the use of artificial fertilisers or pesticides. i.e. those practices which do not increase the amounts of artificial chemicals, fertilizers and pesticides in our food and the environment, but which rely on sound soil and wildlife management and which involve the highest standards of animal welfare.   We are not just concerned with the build-up of toxic chemicals in the environment as a result of industrialised farming, we need to find ways of producing food which do not emit large amounts of greenhouse gases. The role that conventionally produced food has in increasing greenhouse gases is well-documented. Artificial fertilizers are synthesised using natural gas as a feedstock as well as requiring large amounts of energy to drive the process.  When fertiliser is applied to the ground nitrous oxide – a gas hundreds of times more powerful than CO2 in global warming terms is emitted.  Artificial pesticides are made largely from oil.   In this respect organic systems, therefore have an important role to play in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and our reliance on fossil fuels (See also ‘small scale).

2.       As local as practicable: The closer fresh produce is grown to where it is eaten, the greater the environmental benefit will be, as reducing the distance a food has to travel to get from where it is produced to where it is consumed, reduces the environmental impact of transporting that food.  The method of transportation e.g. air, ship, train or lorry also needs to be taken into account. How close produce is grown to where it is eaten can also have benefits in terms of freshness, nutrition and flavour.

3.       Seasonal:  In a similar vein, if that produce is ‘in season’ in the UK,  it is more likely to have been grown locally. It is possible to extend the natural season of crops by growing them under cover and we would certainly approve of this in order to increase the availability of produce throughout the year, but if this involves artificial heating then this environmental benefit is likely to be lost. By contrast, food that is available in our shops that is not in season must have travelled from somewhere where it is in season.  Seasonal consumption can help to ensure the environmental impact of food we eat is kept to a minimum. 

 4.       Mainly plant based.  We believe that animals have a part to play in a sustainable agriculture system but that the scale and nature of most current livestock systems result in negative effects on the environment, animal welfare and human health. In the current industrial farming model, huge areas of land are required to grow a few crops to feed an excessive demand for meat.  This land could otherwise be used for balanced small scale food production and biodiversity.  Growing plants for direct human consumption requires significantly less land. There is a case for the sensitive inclusion of livestock in an ecological farming system, and in the human diet “ as a treat not a staple”. Any animal products we trade or support are therefore from systems with high environmental and animal welfare standards.  We define these as mixed farming systems, grass-fed livestock and farms which are aiming to reduce their dependency on bought-in animal feeds.

 5.       Fresh or involve minimal processing.  Less energy intensive, better for health, less packaging.  

6.       From small-scale operations: We believe that food produced by small scale operations has particular environmental and social benefits.  Small-scale operations tend to be more labour intensive than large-scale ‘industrial’ operations which are more fuel/machinery intensive.  This means that small scale operations tend to have a more positive social and environmental impact e.g. they involve the employment of more local people, provide fulfilling work and contribute more directly to the economic and social well being of the local area. By relying less on fossil fuels and large machinery their negative environmental impact both locally and globally is less.  Small-scale sustainable producers however are less likely to have the time, capital or labour to access further funding or to make investments which will ensure their economic sustainability.  By prioritising these producers we can make a direct contribution to their survival and the diversity and sustainability of the food chain.  We are also committed to the idea that Growing Communities itself should be a ‘small-scale’ operation and while this is clearly hard to define, we will continue to ensure this is part of our thinking.   

And it should be distributed in a way which:

 7.       Supports fair trade:  The ongoing practice of driving down the prices paid to farmers and producers in this country and the developing world has lead to untold hardship and negative consequences for the local and global environment.  Ensuring the food chain (ie the different parties involved in getting our food to us) is as short as possible, developing direct links where appropriate (making it personal), being aware of our size and ‘buying power’ and seeking out accredited sources where appropriate are some of the ways that we can ensure we practice fair trade.

 8.       Involves environmentally friendly and low-carbon resource use: We can maximise the positive environmental impact of our projects by using resources wisely e.g. by reducing waste, reusing, recycling and specifying environmentally friendly materials whenever possible.

 9.       Promotes knowledge:  Many people, particularly in the city, have become disconnected from the processes of growing and producing food and are out of touch with the seasons.  They are not fully aware that the food choices they make can have negative consequences and that they can make choices which can have a positive impact.  If we are able to increase people’s understanding of our work and why it is important, not only are they more likely to continue to support us but they will be increasingly able to make sustainable food choices in the rest of their lives.  We can do this by working to ensure that all our projects embody our key principles in a tangible and direct way.  Having said that, we cannot make produce ‘cheap’ and we cannot make people richer, but we can work to change perceptions of value so as to make the produce we are promoting ‘affordable’. 

10.   Fosters community:  Not only is lack of ‘community’ a problem in itself but it can be a barrier to people feeling willing or able to take action in support of their concerns.  Feeling isolated can be very disempowering.  By interacting with the work of the organisation, through whichever route people take, we want people to feel that they can do something positive to contribute towards making things better.  If we can inspire people to feel differently about their community and the contribution they can make to improve it, we can increase people’s motivation to act in support of our aims.  We can’t make 'community’ happen but we can work to create the conditions whereby it has a chance to emerge and we can work to create situations whereby people feel connected with us, with each other and with the people who produce our food. By taking where we actually live and work as our starting point and concentrating on the surrounding local area we can create a strong local presence and increase the potential for community building. We can also look in more detail at the different groups of people we want to reach and work out strategies for how to reach them through the projects we carry out.

 11.   Strives to be economically viable and independent:  The best chance our projects have of growing into the long-term solutions we are seeking to establish is if they are able to exist independently of external funding and therefore be less vulnerable to the foibles and funding priorities of the powers that be.  This means that they must aim to cover their running costs by generating income from within and/or by being able to exist long term through voluntary effort, gifts in kind, barter or mutual support.  The ideal situation would be for all core projects to be 100% financially viable and to also be able to contribute towards the overheads of the organisation as a whole. The fact that a project’s trading activity is having a positive impact does not necessarily mean it will be able to generate sufficient income to make that activity financially viable.  Conversely, a project may be successful in income generating terms but be failing in terms of the impact it is actually having. But while we should not judge the impact of a core project simply by the income it is able to generate, there is a relationship between the two which we cannot afford to ignore

 12.   Is transparent and promotes trust throughout the food chain: We know the economics of the current food system are stacked against us and if despite our best efforts (including creating a fairer internal system than might exist in the ‘real world’) we cannot make a project work financially, then we could choose to cross fund it via internal or external funding.  But this must be done as transparently as possible.  Continuing, ‘hidden’ subsidies can hide the true cost and value of the food we are providing and therefore don’t help either to build a real picture of what is wrong with the current food system nor provide a real example of the alternatives we need to create.  They can also help to obscure what the core purpose of a project is.  There is certainly little transparency in the current food system that applies subsidies unfairly and allows a whole range of costs to the environment and communities to go unaccounted for.  So, any subsidies we choose to apply must be as explicit as possible – this will help us identify what else needs to change as well as be honest with other communities who may want to replicate our work. We also need to be honest and open in our financial dealings with those who supply our food (we should expect the same from them); honest about how we spend any surpluses and honest with ourselves and the public about the choices we make, according to the resources we have.  Working to reduce the number of links in the food chain (ie the number of different parties involved in getting our food to us) will also help. 

Our key principles are a work in progress.  We continue to refine and improve them as our understanding develops and the context in which we work changes. In practice, balancing all the different principles is easier said than done and involves weighing up a number of different considerations reflected in the Box Scheme buying policy, the Farmers Market rules and the Urban Market Garden site designs and planting plans.  We rely on common sense, integrity and feedback from the community to enable us to balance these principles while continuing to live in the real world. 

Background

How it all started

Growing Communities was set up by a group of friends including Julie Brown, (now the director of Growing Communities) more than thirteen years ago.  Growing Communities started life as a Community Supported Agriculture scheme which linked members up with a farm in Buckinghamshire.  The box scheme started in 1993 with only 30 families signed up to it.  "These were the early days of box schemes," says Julie, "and it really felt very subversive to be unloading vegetables fresh from the farm at 6am right under the nose of the local Sainsburys!"  At the same time Julie began organising weekend working trips to the farms supplying the box scheme so members could help with the watercress harvest, plant plum trees and pick caterpillars off brussels sprouts.

Inspiring development. The success of these trips helped inspire Julie to find sites in Hackney which could be transformed into flourishing organic vegetable plots with the aid of a grower and volunteers. "I started looking for land in Hackney by cycling around and peering over hedges and under fences". In 1997 Growing Communities got our first site:  a tiny piece of land by the butterfly tunnel in Clissold Park. This was followed by the Oaktree site later in 1997 and then the Springfield site.  Our most recent site at Allens Gardens on Bethune Road, Stoke Newington was secured after we lost the Oaktree site to a housing development.

Not just about vegetables! "We've always wanted to be about more than just veg", so in 2003 Growing Communities set up the UK's first all-organic farmers' market.  Initially the market took place next to Growing Communities' office at the Old Fire Station - but a need for more space thanks to the market's popularity led to a move to William Patten School on Stoke Newington Church Street in April 2005.

growcomm@growingcommunities.org