Modern life is complicated, and developments to improve our lives can have unintended consequences that may not become apparent for some time. There have been several examples in the press recently.

The first relates to two pesticides that have been shown to have adverse effects on bees. One is a group of pesticides known as neonicotinoids, which protect crops such as oil seed rape. The other is a pesticide called coumaphos, used on beehives to protect the swarm from the Varroa mite. The chemicals are thought to affect the bees’ brain physiology, inactivating the brain cells that bees use when learning, and impairing both memory and the ability to navigate. Bees that cannot learn cannot find food, thus threatening the survival of the whole colony.

In a completely different context, flame retardants are chemicals that inhibit or slow down the spread of fire. They were introduced for our protection, reducing the speed at which fire spreads through household items. For example, many materials used as mattress fillings are highly flammable. Upholstered furniture, curtains and blinds can also burn rapidly if untreated. UK legislation establishes levels of fire resistance for many household products such as these, and flame retardants help manufacturers to meet these standards. However, the chemicals, which can migrate out of the product and can be inhaled as dust or swallowed by young children, have been linked to cancer, lower IQ, developmental problems and decreased fertility.

Finally, concern is increasing over the amount of atmospheric radiation from man-made sources such as wi-fi, mobile phone signals, radio, TV and fluorescent bulbs. The European Assembly notes that our exposure to radio-frequency radiation is gradually increasing as the use of mobile phones, wi-fi and similar devices increases. Scientific studies are inconclusive, but some radiation is thought to be carcinogenic, and the Assembly says that exposure can be “more or less potentially harmful”, and it therefore advices a precautionary approach rather than “waiting for high levels of scientific and clinical proof”. This is especially important in children, who “seem to be most at risk from head tumours”.

But pesticides, flame retardants and various forms of radiation all contribute to what we think of as modern life. Would society without these developments be inferior or more ‘primitive’, or is it wise to moderate their use in order to protect human and environmental health?

Saturday 6th April was a beautiful sunny day on the Farm at Winfarthing. We even got warm! We are nearly at the end of last years crops and beetroot, parsnips, broccoli and chicory were harvested. Compost heaps were made up in our newly constructed bins. Potatoes are chitting in the homes of various members and a grand potato planting day is planned for the next Saturday Farm Day on the 20th.

Vicki Robins, author of Your Money Or Your Life, suggests that “how we spend our money is how we vote on what exists in the world”. In other words, every time we buy something we are giving our support not only to that product but also to its ecological impact, its method of manufacture, its social and economic effects, and so on. Ethical consumerism provides the intriguing promise of enabling us to change the world by simply changing our spending habits. There is a danger here, however, since ethical or ‘green’ consumerism is still consumerism, and we are in jeopardy of surrounding ourselves with ‘eco-bling’ (which architect Howard Liddell defines as the conspicuous consumption of environmental technologies).

An alternative to green consumerism is the ‘voluntary simplicity’ movement. Voluntary simplicity rejects high-consumption, materialistic lifestyles and instead seeks to provide our material needs as simply and directly as possible while minimising expenditure on consumer goods. While society uses an economic measure – GDP or gross domestic product – to measure well-being, the amount that we spend is, in fact, a very inaccurate representation of our happiness or fulfilment. The ‘work-and-spend’ cycle of consumer culture can distract us from what is really important in our lives. Adopting lower levels of consumption allows us to spend less time generating income and more time on real pleasures such as family, friends and neighbours, artistic, intellectual or sporting pursuits, and community projects.

A simple but rewarding pleasure that is important to Diss Community Farm is growing our own vegetables. Nathaniel Hawthorne, writing in the nineteenth century about his own vegetable patch, said that “I used to visit and revisit it a dozen times a day, and stand in deep contemplation over my vegetable progeny with a love that nobody could share or conceive of who had never taken part in the process of creation. It was one of the most bewitching sights in the world to observe a hill of beans thrusting aside the soil, or a row of early peas just peeping forth sufficiently to trace a line of delicate green.”

The next Norfolk Master Composters training course will be held on Thursday 18th and Friday 19th April 2013 at Gressenhall Farm and Workhouse near Dereham. If you are interested in attending and becoming a Master Composter please contact the organisers on  0344 800 8020, email: mastercomposters@norfolk.gov.uk.

Who are Master Composters?

Master Composters are volunteers who encourage people in their local community to start composting at home.

What do Master Composters do?

Master Composters promote composting in a variety of ways that are tailoredto their skills, strengths and interests. This could involve offering support andadvice to friends and neighbours, attending events, giving presentations to interested groups or writing articles for local newsletters. Master Composters are encouraged to think of novel ways to raise awareness of the benefits of home composting.

How can I become a Master Composter?

Anyone over the age of 18 can become a Master Composter. You don’t need to be a composter already or have any volunteer or community group experience. As a volunteer you will receive free training from Garden Organic in home composting and related environmental issues. Once you have completed your training you will be expected to spend 30 hours over the following year promoting home composting as a volunteer. Becoming a Master Composter is a great way to meet new people, learn new skills and benefit from being part of a team that makes a difference.

The recent horsemeat scandal has encouraged us all to think more deeply about the origins of the food we buy. Of particular relevance is the complexity of the food supply chain. The food supply chain refers to the various stages that food crops and food products pass through on their way from the land to the consumer. If I buy eggs from someone in my village who keeps chickens, the food chain is simple and transparent. But if I buy a ready meal from a supermarket then the food chain is very complex and difficult to unravel. According to NFU President, Peter Kendall, “the longer a supply chain and the more borders it crosses, the less traceable our food is and the more the chain is open to negligence at best, fraud and criminal activity at worst.”

At the height of the scandal, burger chain McDonald’s were confident that its burgers were free of horsemeat because they had invested in supply chains that are relatively simple and transparent and rely on close contact with the British and Irish farmers who produce all of its beef. Only 10% of its chickens come from the UK and Ireland, but it claims to use free-range British eggs, British pork and milk, and burgers made with 100% British and Irish beef.

By contrast, many supermarkets rely on factories producing tens of thousands of tonnes of ready meals. And these factories buy their meat from contractors who buy from traders who may have subcontracted their order to another trader, making the chain of supply very hard to follow. Since the horsemeat scandal, supermarkets have been seeking to follow McDonald’s example, with Tesco announcing plans to source more meat from the UK and Ireland, including all of its fresh chicken, and to simplify its supply chain. But the supermarket system favours big suppliers and distribution systems that move food over large distances and generate considerable waste.

The answer may be to rely more on small local stores with a shorter distance from field to plate, and decentralised distribution that doesn’t rely on a few giant warehouses. But national supermarket chains currently dominate grocery spending, accounting for 77% of all main shopping trips. And this weekly supermarket shop has displaced food from market places and town centres, with the number of independent food stores such as butchers and greengrocers falling from 120,000 in the 1950s to only 18,000 in the late 2000s, a loss of a staggering 85%.

The parts of the field not being planted this year were ploughed and slurried on Thursday although no slurry was applied to the area to the right of the path so we can expand here if needed. Jonah and David will power-harrow the whole ploughed area when they judge it to be dry enough, probably in about 2 weeks.

All the greens were harvested from the tunnel to make way for 4 rows of first early potatoes.

There was a very full turnout at the field today. We began by seeing how many DCF members fit into a small caravan – answer about 12. Frances handed out some very good cheese scones and chocolate brownies and hot drinks. We had snow, sleet, rain and sunshine but all with a bitter wind.

After some minor controversy over courgettes (zucchini to some) we settled on the range of crops for next year based on Chris Ls survey of members wishes but there is plenty of space on site for those who would like to do something extra, probably in the garden plots behind the caravan which we are taking over this year.

Under Gabbis direction we decided on the area to be cultivated this year and marked it out with canes. The planting areas will be plotted and finalised at our next meeting. Mr Mitchell will plough the rest and we will seed it with clover and rye grass to keep down the weeds and maintain the fertility.

The field is still producing and celeriac, leeks, cabbages, broccoli and sprouts were harvested.

A guesstimate of £35.00 per member contribution for the coming year was arrived at. Good value for a years veg!

Life on the field at Winfarthing in 2012 was a learning experience and a tough one for the dedicated helpers. We saw and felt for real the challenges that the weather will throw at those who grow our food for us. We also battled with the harvesting and distribution problems of a veg box scheme run by a limited number of volunteers.

For 2013 we will continue veg growing at Winfarthing on an allotment model where a share of the produce will depend upon a consistent and fair contribution to the work needed to grow and care for it. A growing group has assembled and is making plans for what to grow and how much of the field to bring into production in readiness for the new season which is almost upon us.

The Co Ordinating group is meeting to re focus our basic aim and develop other activitites such as: a food hub, group buying schemes, seed sharing, permaculture, education and social activities.

Much to do!

We went out to Winfarthing today to have a walk in the snow and look at the field. The leaves in the poly-tunnel closest to the door look very frosted and sad, but those in the middle have faired better. There were the paw-prints in the doorway. Some of the brassica nets have collapsed under the weight of snow – we left them for time being since the snow is probably a good insulator against very low temperatures, but a job will be needed after the thaw, along with all the other jobs!        Chris Lewis

Chris Lewis and I were at the field today, on a cold wintry morning.  I thought it was looking wonderful, clean, productive for winter, ready for us to do a lot more.

We watered the leaf vegetables in the polytunnel and harvested some carrots, parsnips, beetroot and some salads.  A very short work session, but enjoyable.

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