West Northamptonshire Climate & Nature Partnership (WNCAN)
Humans
Human beings, that is 'us', are the major cause of both climate change and nature depletion. But, the good bit from that sentence is that it suggests we are also the solution. It's the 'cause -> solution' change that seems to be especially tricky at the moment. WNCAN members believe if we come together as households, neighbours, communities, businesses, schools, churches, and then counties, countries, and globally, we CAN make a difference.
What people think about climate change
A good data-based resource for an overview of what the UK's citizens think about climate change and what to do about it is the organisation Climate Barometer whose website says: "Climate Barometer monitors and makes sense of patterns and trends in opinion on climate change"
Editor ACTION - cut this down to a few key points and add link
WNCAN comment: Food is pretty useful for us all. We tend to assume it'll always be there and quickly accessible. But, have a read of this article.
"UK must stockpile food in readiness for climate shocks or war, expert warns"
Prof Tim Lang says country produces far less food than it needs to feed population and is particularly vulnerable"
The British government should be stockpiling food, according to a leading expert on food policy, as it is not prepared for climate shocks or wars that could cause the population to starve.
Prof Tim Lang of City St George’s, University of London said the UK produced far less food than it needed to feed itself, and as a small island that relied on a few large companies to feed its giant population, it was particularly vulnerable to shocks.
The first UK Food Security Report in December 2021 found the country was 54% food self-sufficient. Other rich countries such as the US, France and Australia are all food self-sufficient, meaning they grow enough food to feed their populations without imports if required.
The UK is one of the least food self-sufficient countries in Europe. The Netherlands, for example, which is densely populated, is at 80%, and Spain is at 75%.
“We’re not thinking about this adequately. We’re ducking it,” Lang said, speaking at the National Farmers’ Union conference in Birmingham.
“The default position that others can feed us is hardwired into the British state system, and indeed into the nature of how agrifood capitalism works in Britain. Others are wiser. Other countries are stockpiling,” he said. “Other countries have much more flexibility in their systems than we do. What we glorify as efficiency is now vulnerability.”
Other countries have emergency stockpiles in case of war, food contamination or climate shocks. Switzerland still has a stockpile sufficient to feed its entire population for three months and is increasing it to a year. The UK government’s advice to households is to have three days’ worth of food in their cupboards.
The government has no plans to improve the UK’s self-sufficiency, and will not set a target for food production. The environment secretary, Emma Reynolds, said: “I am not going to come up with a percentage. I would like us to boost food production at home, particularly in horticulture and in poultry where I think that there are real growth opportunities. But I’m not going to give you a figure.”
Self-sufficiency is likely to be falling; production of wheat, beef, poultry meat and vegetables are all down in the past year.
A small gap in food supplies could have drastic consequences. Experts recently warned that one shock could spark social unrest and even food riots in the UK, because chronic issues had left the food system a “tinderbox”.
Lang’s report for the National Preparedness Commission, published last year, found that the UK’s food system is extremely vulnerable to attack due to its concentration with a few large companies.."
Action
If we come together as neighbours, communities, countries, and globally, we CAN make a difference.