Lucy's Big Ride, Day XIII
Only 120 miles to go now! Lucy and co did a 50 mile leg yesterday - less than usual - in order to get a bit of rest before the final push this weekend. Unfortunately, Inverness YHA didn't turn out to be the most restful place; a host of teens were also calling it home for the night. Oh dear!
Lucy is going onwards and North Eastwards to Helmsdale today before finally reaching John O'Groats tomorrow, so tomorrow's blog will be the last in the series (sob!). I'm hoping to put up a fancy map to show you just how far Lucy has gone in support of FareShare.
On to today's topic- how to feed a human population that is growing like a colony of particularly frisky rabbits. Try this fact for size: by 2050 we'll have around 2 billion extra humans to feed. Scary, huh? We'll have less available land to grow food on as well, and farming itself could get more difficult with that big elephant in the room, climate change, having an increasingly noticeable impact as the century progresses. Funnily enough (you have to laugh to stop from crying), there's not much being done to address the problem at the moment. With that in mind, perhaps it would be better to compare humans with lemmings rather than rabbits.
So what can we do? As the article linked above admits, it will take more than just technological innovation and more efficient farming practices to improve the situation. One of the biggest issues is trying to increase food production without causing further damage to the environment. That means choosing what we eat more carefully. The easiest change we can make now is buying local. It makes complete sense: reduce your environmental impact, support your local farmer and local economy, increase the nation's self-sufficiency. The Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) is currently asking for people to take the 30:30 Pledge by sourcing 30% of your food from within 30 miles of where you live. That sounds like a good way to start! Watch this space.
It's not too late to support Lucy and FareShare North West! Please donate here. There are also long-term PR packages available to corporate sponsors, so get in touch with Lucy at lucy@emergemanchester.co.uk
Lucy is going onwards and North Eastwards to Helmsdale today before finally reaching John O'Groats tomorrow, so tomorrow's blog will be the last in the series (sob!). I'm hoping to put up a fancy map to show you just how far Lucy has gone in support of FareShare.
On to today's topic- how to feed a human population that is growing like a colony of particularly frisky rabbits. Try this fact for size: by 2050 we'll have around 2 billion extra humans to feed. Scary, huh? We'll have less available land to grow food on as well, and farming itself could get more difficult with that big elephant in the room, climate change, having an increasingly noticeable impact as the century progresses. Funnily enough (you have to laugh to stop from crying), there's not much being done to address the problem at the moment. With that in mind, perhaps it would be better to compare humans with lemmings rather than rabbits.
So what can we do? As the article linked above admits, it will take more than just technological innovation and more efficient farming practices to improve the situation. One of the biggest issues is trying to increase food production without causing further damage to the environment. That means choosing what we eat more carefully. The easiest change we can make now is buying local. It makes complete sense: reduce your environmental impact, support your local farmer and local economy, increase the nation's self-sufficiency. The Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) is currently asking for people to take the 30:30 Pledge by sourcing 30% of your food from within 30 miles of where you live. That sounds like a good way to start! Watch this space.
It's not too late to support Lucy and FareShare North West! Please donate here. There are also long-term PR packages available to corporate sponsors, so get in touch with Lucy at lucy@emergemanchester.co.uk
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