Pot of soup revolution

Thursday 24 May 2012

The Fife Diet may sound small but it's the largest local food project in Europe.

Launched in 2007 with money from founder Mike Small's own pocket, since 2010 it has enjoyed support from the Scottish Government's Climate Challenge Fund and has received another three years' funding. It started from a sense "that there was something fundamentally wrong with the food system", and encouraged people to eat locally, eat less meat, reduce food waste and compost more in a bid to cut emissions from mass food production and global transportation of food.

Such has been its success – it has thousands of members – that it feels emboldened to strike out further. While enthusiastic about the Scottish Government's food and drink policy, Small and his team have dared launch an alternative Food Manifesto for Scotland – a title whose connotations of people power and collective bargaining is not, you feel, entirely coincidental. "There are lots of good things happening in Scotland through government initiatives, but I do feel it's just not joined up enough," explains Small, an Aberdeen academic who was brought up in Edinburgh. "There are so many competing demands being made from industry, business, health and environment lobbies that there's a danger government policy becomes a bit static. We like the idea of seeking collaborative gains to move forward. We feel it's a more positive approach to work at grassroots level in communities and work out from there rather than hand down prescriptive advice such as 'you must eat more fruit and vegetables'." Last week's news that even fewer Scots teenagers than before are following government advice of eating five fresh fruit and vegetables daily adds fuel to that argument. "We also feel there's been too much emphasis on food exports, as if that's the only indicator of our economy," says Small. "In addition, exports don't fit with our ambition to cut emissions by 42% by 2020. Something doesn't quite give there." So, as a starting point, The Fife Diet's Food Manifesto For Scotland begins the Soup Test. This simple idea means that no young person should leave primary school without being able to make a pot of soup. "It's more a rite of passage for a school leaver, who should be made to make a pot of soup for his or her teachers and the school janitor to mark the occasion." It's a convincing idea. Swapping the prom dress for a pinny, as it were, might help change the shaming statistic that the majority of 18-25 year olds leave home without the ability to cook even a simple recipe. It also reinforces the need for the reintroduction of kitchens to schools, and an improved food procurement policy to include fresh food. This leads naturally to the growing of vegetables in school grounds – and having the Right to Grow (point two in the Manifesto), a presumption in favour of people growing food on land that is lying unused. "Right to Grow echoes the Right To Buy policy of the 1980s and is a modern model for moving forward," says Small. The manifesto also calls for a tax on fizzy drinks, and a halt to supermarket expansion. But most pressing for Small is its plea that food should be elevated in the climate change agenda. "We're funded by the Scottish Government to be a critical thinker, and that's what we're doing. And we plan to expand our influence far beyond Fife." Visit www.fifediet.co.uk.

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Pot of soup revolution

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