Tom Youngman

Co-founder of Green Vision: The Bath Youth Climate Movement, member of the Department for Energy and Climate Change's Youth Advisory Panel and member of the UK Youth Climate Coalition's delegation to the United Nations climate change negotiations. Human being and active citizen. thomas@youngman.me.uk.
April 1
Come along! greenvision: People’s Kitchen, round 3: Thursday 5th April 2012 Come along to Green Vision’s third ‘People’s Kitchen’ event, where we’ll be cooking food that would otherwise have been wasted and serving it for free or a donation. The food cooked will depend on what we receive in the immediate days, but you can be assured it’ll be tasty under the watchful eye of our chefs, CJ, Shane and Taryn. Our freshly-cooked food will be accompanied by fresh discussion, with our theme: How can we feed our growing population? Join us for discussion on alternative agriculture, local food, reducing food waste, genetically-modified food and vegetarianism. We’ll also be planting pumpkins! Plant your pumpkin at the People’s Kitchen, we’ll replant it at Bathampton’s Community Support Agriculture project and award a prize to the best in a few months time! Join us at Bath’s Green Park Station, between midday and 3pm on Thursday 5th April 2012. Whether enjoying the school/university holidays or on your lunch break, everyone is welcome! Click here to hit ‘attending’ and share on Facebook.

Come along!

greenvision:

People’s Kitchen, round 3: Thursday 5th April 2012

Come along to Green Vision’s third ‘People’s Kitchen’ event, where we’ll be cooking food that would otherwise have been wasted and serving it for free or a donation. The food cooked will depend on what we receive in the immediate days, but you can be assured it’ll be tasty under the watchful eye of our chefs, CJ, Shane and Taryn.

Our freshly-cooked food will be accompanied by fresh discussion, with our theme: How can we feed our growing population? Join us for discussion on alternative agriculture, local food, reducing food waste, genetically-modified food and vegetarianism.

We’ll also be planting pumpkins! Plant your pumpkin at the People’s Kitchen, we’ll replant it at Bathampton’s Community Support Agriculture project and award a prize to the best in a few months time!

Join us at Bath’s Green Park Station, between midday and 3pm on Thursday 5th April 2012. Whether enjoying the school/university holidays or on your lunch break, everyone is welcome!

Click here to hit ‘attending’ and share on Facebook.

5 notes
Tags: #green vision #food #people's kitchen #Environment

January 11

An Hypothesis on British Food Culture

British food is pretty shit. We have to admit it: as a nation, our national eating habits are poor. Roast dinners and shepherds’ pie can only take you so far, and even these dishes rely heavily on potatoes which haven’t been in the British Isles all that long. It wouldn’t be that bad, but from my perspective is has seriously exacerbated the environmental impact - and quality - of food in the United Kingdom.

As culture became globalised in the 20th century, people began to experience and consequently covet the way people ate in other parts of the world - especially the Mediterranean diet. The caveat to this is that the Mediterranean diet relies on fresh produce and on high-quality, in season goods - produce that just doesn’t grow well in Britain. Resigned to the fact that British food was appalling, British produce was abandoned too, with different fruit and vegetables shipped in from across the world.

On top of the massive carbon cost of this, this causes this food to lose the critical factor that makes the Mediterranean diet so appealing - it’s freshness. Rather than trying to recreate that element with the resources we had at hand we attempted to recreate the Mediterranean food quite literally.

Luckily this trend is now reversing. Farmers are seeing traditional British vegetables, such as squash, become increasingly popular as people become aware of the environmental impact of what they are consuming. A rise in food quality is inevitable.

5 notes
Tags: #culture #environmentalism #food #writing