Britain starts eating the planet on Sunday 16 April each year
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Britain starts eating the planet on Sunday 16 April each year |
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New
research reveals Britain’s rising global dependence as the nation goes into
ecological debt on Easter Sunday. The
New Economic Foundation’s UK Interdependence report reveals that on
Sunday 16 April the UK in effect stops relying on its own natural resources to
support itself and starts to ‘live off’ the rest of the world. At current UK
levels of consumption our ‘ecological debt day’ – the
day we begin living beyond our environmental means
– falls only a third of the way through the year and has crept ever earlier
over the last four decades. In 1961 it was 9 July, advancing to 14 May in 1981. The
world as a whole is also now living beyond the capacity of its ecosystems to
regenerate and goes into ecological debt on 23 October, causing long-term
environmental degradation. By
2050 we will need the equivalent of 3 planets to support our lifestyle. The
New
Economics Foundation’s 'Ecological
Debt Day Calendar' shows the days in a typical calendar year when, in
effect, a range of countries stop relying on their own natural resources, and
start to live off the rest of the world. You can download a copy here. We can reduce our burden on
the rest of the world by sourcing as much of what we consume as possible from
local producers and ensuring that products imported from further a-field have
been produced in as fair and sustainable way as possible. Local Eating for Global Change
For one year, two Canadian
activists vowed they would buy or gather their food and drink from within 100
miles of their home and the 100 Mile Diet
was born. Since then dozens of individuals and grassroots groups have launched
their own 100-Mile Diets and their website has become a locus for turning the
idea into a movement. ’s Farmer’s
Market provides a great range of fresh local produce. The market is held at
Piccadilly Gardens on the second and fourth Friday and Saturday of each month,
10am - 6pm Another great way of
‘eating local’ is to join a box scheme, where local, seasonal produce (often
organic) is delivered to your front door. And because suppliers can deliver to a
multiple customers at one time, box schemes reduce the number of ‘food
miles’ so helping to reduce the amount of carbon emissions its taken for food
to get from field to your plate. There are a number of box
schemes servicing - such as http://www.northernchoice.co.uk,/ http://www.everybodyorganic.com/ http://www.northernharvest.co.uk/ Further
Info Enter your
address at http://www.bigbarn.co.uk/ The
Open University’s Interdependence Day project seeks to provoke new dialogues
about the complexity of our interconnected world through collaboration between
researchers, publics, artists, NGO’s and the media. Home of the 100 mile diet For a summary of the New Economics Foundation UK Interdependence report see http://www.neweconomics.org/gen/Britainstartseatingtheplanet160406.aspx |
Action for Sustainable Living, St Wilfrid's Enterprise Centre, Royce Road, Hulme, , M15 5BJ.Email: [email protected] Tel: 0845 634 4510 Fax: 0870 167 4655 |