When you change to the routine of consuming real food over ultra processed many things begin to happen. Aside from the health benefits ( of which there are many!) One of the striking changes is how often you shop. Here is the deal.. Less is more. A little and often etc. We have certainly noticed patterns change with customers. They tell us that they can manage better, waste less, plan better, eat better. It did get me thinking. Aside from the transaction it offers more opportunities to engage and connect for people. This cannot be a bad thing. Providing as many opportunities as possible for this engagement is important for our health.
Of course you can go shopping to a 24 hour supermarket if you want to. But I am talking about markets with real food available constantly. Let’s just say it is probably the case that at any time of day or night you could get your hands on a can of coke. Can you say the same about raw milk? Can you say the same about organic grass fed beef? I believe we apply our supermarket habits of shopping once a week to the market stall model and assume once a week is enough. Speaking with our US friends in Weaver St North Carolina they tell us that the norm there is once every three weeks for general shopping. All I can picture is the huge task that is to face. Not to mention very isolating. Our experience here has taught us that people enjoy the little and often approach because we have facilitated it to happen. Increased social engagement of shopping enhances the experience of accessing nourishment. We are social beings and need this now more than ever. Anne Maher
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Spring time though late after a long winter is more than welcome. As nature bursts forth its latent potential the growth of the grass will be eagerly welcomed by the farmers eager to get animals fed outside again. 40 shades of green or the green green grass of home? Either way this is real food for many animals that we rely on in our food system. We need reminding regularly that our farmers are our source of food. It seems ridiculous to state the obvious but alas as the years move on we disconnect with the reality that we rely on them. Pardon me for being the harbinger of doom here but imagine if the supply lines were cut off to our island and trade routes were interrupted. Let’s say through adverse weather or conflict. Apparently we have three weeks of food supply available. Forget the toilet paper supplies! How resilient are we to cope with a major shock? This is a question I often ask. Our consumption patterns of UPFs signal our rising risk. On the plus side we have embraced gardening and growing with more enthusiasm than ever. If nothing else it reminds us how much work is involved in getting food to the market and justifies an appropriate value of the food. We have a lot to do. Building our networks of local supply again. This is not a tick box exercise on circular economy. This could be life or death.
Anne Maher Whoever is involved in marketing Monster, they will be getting a rather large bonus I would say!
It is everywhere! A beverage of choice particularly for our teenagers I note the variety of colours and shelf space these products are taking up in the shops. Another ultra processed product displacing real food for us consumers. Clearly the profit is worth it. But at what cost to our health?? Considering up to 60% of our food choices is now ultra processed is it any wonder we struggle with health issues. I’m back at the graveyard for my thoughts on real food for living… what you say? Where is the relevance? Fascinating places to visit especially when you remember the individuals and families concerned. Sometimes their character comes through in how they are remembered. Nick names, previous names, ages, memorabilia all help to piece together the stories of their lives. More recently I note the headstones with the photos attached. A visual prompt to remember them as they were in happier healthier days. It did come as a surprise to find in recent days a memorial plaque to a recently deceased man featuring a large picture with a can of Diet Red Bull. Was this his beverage of choice I wondered? This icon sat among the family pictures smiling out at me. How far we have come with such ultra processed foods that they take pride of place at this time. Maybe it did just what it said it would.. it gave him wings… Anne Maher It’s that time of life when I am finally interested in genealogy. Looking through my family trees to trace back in time and elicit the stories of interest. Farmers feature a lot. Generation after generation. Irish history is echoed through the generations and it is quite surreal to recognise that my great-grandparents lived through the famine and beyond. How did they fare through it? Tenant farmers where the land must have provided vital nourishment and income in the midlands. My grandparents bought farming land through the land commission at the beginning of the last century. To be owners of land and not tenants must have been a proud time then after the long fight to gain independence and autonomy. How did it feel to plough that land with a growing sense of security? Wars and world events may have been secondary to the toil needed to sow and harvest raising a typical Irish family held tightly by religious traditions. The oldest son of a large family later, my father, reluctantly continued the farming tradition in the place he was born. He could not leave due to his place in the sibling hierarchy. An age-old tradition to ensure succession to protect that land. Siblings scattered to their destinies of emigration, religion, civil service, a step away from the land but they too kept a regular connection with the ground that nourished them. Cousins were regular visitors and memories were made. We heard stories as children of good old days of gatherings there on the farm, of music and dancing in the barns, of bicycle trips to Dublin after haymaking. The sun shining on the freshly made reeks. The corncrakes in the meadows and horses stopped work as the church bell rang out. The land did continue to yield forth a life and a living for us all with a wisdom gleaned from before but I know it was a challenge for my father to accept the modern techniques that were becoming popular in agriculture. He resisted silage for many years arguing he would wait until they fed this to horses. Meanwhile, I as one of nine children were mesmerized and seduced by the device called a Television. Learning about shiny new things that were far away from the land….yearning to leave and shake the dust off our feet. Three generations before me. All returned to the land where they rest now. No matter how far away from the land we do go there is no escaping the fact we will one day return.
Anne Maher The Urban Co-op is an interesting place. A microcosm of energy and ideas that keeps everything real and grounded for us. The complexity of conversations and interactions weaving a security blanket of comfort on cold days…
I had an interesting conversation with one customer who spoke about watching children's movies with her children and how farmers are being portrayed as often quite nasty characters. Fantastic Mr. Fox, for example, is hugely entertaining but yes the farmers do come across as being quite fearsome and unsavoury characters. It made me think that if children do not have direct exposure to farms they may never know anything but negative associations. Meanwhile, Jim Cronin is enjoying his retirement as I type and I am reminded of a conversation he had with us about how he was encouraged to consider supplying the Limerick Community Grocery when the concept started 10 years ago he spoke about a mother explaining why she wanted a place to get food that would not involve saying no to her child all the time when she was shopping. He agreed, and we are grateful he did. I am sure many children in the last decade have met many not so fearsome wonderful farmers as a result. Anne Maher One of the real joys with working at The Urban Co-op is seeing the progress of customers who learn that food can have healing properties. That slow awakening to the power of nature provides the answer we are looking for. Repeatedly the theme is the same. Food is usually the last chance saloon option after medical answers are pursued. But when there are positive results from food there is a period of disbelief followed by stages of awakening. It reminds me of the Kubler-Ross stages of grief. Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression and Acceptance appear to be more subtle and possibly not in the same order. I could suggest it is in the following order Denial / Depression / Bargaining / Acceptance / Anger. It is worth discussing this because there is an energy that builds in this process and harnessing this energy is having an interesting impact!
Anne Maher Bacon and Cabbage is a national dish that is renowned worldwide. Love it or hate it is comfort food at its best. Aside from the nod to Pigtown bacon I do want to draw attention to the humble cabbage.
In season from large to small form, as we enjoy brussel sprouts lately, we can underestimate the impact of this vegetable. From its versatile use in the kitchen – salads, stews, ferments it is a robust vegetable to grow and regrow (let’s face it if I can grow it, it is a sure thing). It represents such good value, travels well, zero packaging. Therapeutic properties of restorative gut health via sauerkraut or soothing comfort for engorged new breastfeeders... there are many anti-inflammatory benefits as well as improving the digestive process. In our endless search for the magic pill, we could remind ourselves to look closer to home and recognise the answers that are right in front of us. Anne Maher The day was going to come and we dreaded it. When it happened though perhaps we were prepared for the inevitable. Sean was retiring as a raw milk farmer. Our source of sustenance stopped. The rich creamy nourishing goodness that has sustained so many of us customers at The Urban Co-op for many years now. It felt like we were just getting into our stride as more people were discovering the wonder of this local real food. The normality of raw milk now is a blessing and every day that goes by we are grateful for this fact. Succession is now the theme as we forge ahead with the sustainability of this food supply. Principles of farming and growing see us prune to achieve stronger growth and this metaphor is key. Sean may have ceased production but he continues to inspire more farmers to go the route of once-a-day organic raw milk. We are eternally grateful for his dedication through the last few years and indeed he is a major part of the story of The Urban Co-op both in the past and into the future. Who knows where this will go!
Anne Maher |
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January 2025
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