Real Food – when was it that we lost touch?

When was it that we lost touch with real food and didn’t even notice?
What will it take for real food to be what people turn to on a daily basis and what’s on our plates up and down the country?

Don’t wait for politicians and government to change the food industry. Actually, food and industry are two words that I don’t feel comfortable putting together. Food is about producers – farmers and growers. They grow it and we turn it into a meal for ourselves and our families.

We should value food producers more than we do. It is the most useful and noble employment. Now and again in life we need a doctor, a lawyer or a police officer but three times a day you need a farmer. Good health follows good food. Health of the individual and health of the soil.

I don’t often turn the radio on these days but on two occasions recently when I have put it on I’ve heard two topics that I found shocking. The first was a guy talking about the huge market potential of obesity drugs (it sounded like he was salivating over the financial opportunities) and the next was the news that Oprah Winfrey was leaving the board of WeightWatchers as she announced that she’d begun taking weight loss medication.

What about making good, nutritious food available to everyone? There could be far less need for medication and medical interventions if we ate well and there was better education from an early age about what eating well really looks like.

BAN ULTRA PROCESSED FOOD: If you don’t recognise the ingredients don’t buy it, and don’t serve it up in hospitals or sell rubbish in hospital vending machines. I sometimes feel that the world has gone mad and totally lost touch with reality.

I consider myself very fortunate that I grew up eating vegetables grown at home, and milk, butter, yoghurt and meat from our own cows and eggs from our chickens.

I have to admit though that there was a time when one of my favourite treats was a chip buttie, on soft white bread of course, and in my twenties I turned my back on butter and chose margarine instead (🤭) but that phase didn’t last too long.

We are seeing a resurgence towards good food but that’s not because of anything government has done. I believe it’s a number of factors – ill health and an awareness of the part real food plays, allergies, environmental impact, social media to name but a few. Even Boris Johnson was recently seen to be advising us to avoid ultra-processed food, which I found vaguely amusing considering I never heard him mention that when he was in government. And then of course there’s Dr Tim Spector and Michael Mosley. Now I suspect that’s where many of our new customers have come from after listening to them talk about food and health.

What are the products we sell most of and what is it that brings us new customers? Raw milk, kefir and offal! I guess because these are things that are not widely available and are becoming really valued health wise. These are the things new customers will drive out of their way for and then once they’re here they discover all the other delights that we have to offer.

By Jenny Thornhill of Plaw Hatch Farm – with thanks from the BDA

For more information about Plaw Hatch Farm visit  https://www.plawhatchfarm.co.uk/