by Anne MacLennan
Skye’s current food system is considered to be fragile, according to a study published in 2021. Food supply chains are complex and generally designed to supply urban centres efficiently and with cheap food, but that’s not good for food security in rural areas such as Skye. The study found that most food produced commercially in Skye leaves the island, and most food consumed here comes from supermarkets linked into global supply chains (i.e. the Co-op or online suppliers).
Local food is usually fresher, healthier and tastier, but tends to be more expensive and not widely accessible. Of interest, the authors almost discount fruit and vegetable production here due to ‘poorly suited’ soil and climate, so they might have been interested to discover, at the recent Feel Heal Real Food event, the range and quality of fruit and veg that can be grown on Skye and Raasay, in addition to local meat.
Unlike many European countries, the UK produces far less food than it needs. Both domestic and imported production have also been hit by the changing climate. Rural and remote consumers are further disadvantaged by a fragile system which can be disrupted by weather (e.g. Beast from the East), cyber attack, transport problems (e.g. refrigeration failure, fuel shortage, conflict) and other unexpected challenges to our long and complex supply chains.
‘Food system failure is a direct national security risk. When food systems break, the result is empty shelves, price spikes, unrest and political instability.’
Skye and Lochalsh Citizens Advice Bureau published a report last month identifying several factors contributing to food insecurity here, including seasonal employment (therefore income), high transport and heating costs which squeeze household budgets, limited public transport and long travel times to larger supermarkets, and an increasing reliance on food banks.
Cost of living pressures mean that good food is out of reach for many in Skye as well as elsewhere. Almost 90% of people using the Citizens Advice Bureau’s food bank were interested in fresh, nutritious food, but household income didn’t cover their food costs. Healthy lunchbox items for children from UK supermarkets cost 26% more than unhealthy items. And the people working to provide food are not valued; nearly half of food sector workers in the UK are paid below the Real Living Wage, so they can’t eat well either. That suggests that food production is not regarded as a priority.
Add to the above, much of supermarket food is contaminated by pesticides and plastics detrimental to human and environmental health. UK glyphosate use has increased ten-fold since 1990, and we ingest and inhale a multitude of synthetic chemicals from food and drink packaging and processing to cause health and reproductive harms, which we then share with many other species.
All of this points again to the importance of developing a robust local food system, from production to processing and consumption. A system where food is accessible and affordable and where workers in the system are highly valued. The economic, health and social advantages build resilience. As noted in one of the National Emergency Briefings, ‘A food system transformation is unavoidable – and beneficial. We must shift to healthy, plant-rich diets, cut waste, improve production and make our farming methods more resilient’.
The complexity of a food supply chain in central England.