Farmers Markets : Caroline Wright, September 19, 2009 (From Worcester News)

Farmers Markets : Caroline Wright, September 19, 2009

12:00pm Monday 21st September 2009 in Farmers' Markets

AS we are now in the middle of British Food Fortnight, it seems appropriate to look at one of the main reasons shoppers should buy British food – and that is food miles.

Half of all the vegetables and 95 per cent of all fruit sold in the UK is imported and flying food around the world adds significantly to pollution, as well as detracting from local produce, markets and varieties.

Imported food is often specially treated to last during its long journey, so is less fresh and not ripened naturally – leading to it having significantly less flavour.

If you head to your local supermarket you will see lots of signs pointing out food as “British produce” – which is all well and good, but as supermarkets centralise their operations, food often travels a great distance even within the UK.

For example, produce grown in Worcestershire might travel hundreds of miles to be sorted, weighed and packaged, before being transported back again to be sold in a Worcestershire supermarket.

So, even if you buy local produce in the shops, the chances are that it has travelled a great distance. The best – and, apart from growing it yourself – only way to ensure food has reached you after having travelled as few miles as possible, is to buy it from the people who grow it. And that means your local Worcestershire farmers’ market.

Henry Wormington, chairman of Worcestershire Farmers’ Markets Association, said: “A real example would be carrots.

If you come along to a market on a Saturday our carrots would have been dug out of the ground by hand the day before and they’ll be on the stall with the soil still on them. It’s so quick from our farm to your dinner table and you can really taste the difference.

“Pre-packed shop carrots will have been washed, chilled, packaged and stored, sometimes for weeks – and all that time they are losing their vitamins and their flavour. If you buy your produce at our markets everything is fresh – and you can taste the freshness.”

Today’s market is in Abbey Road, Malvern, from 9am until 2pm. Next week’s market is at St Peter’s Garden Centre, near Worcester, from 9.30am until 2pm. For more information about farmers’ markets, log on to wfmg.co.uk.