what is sustainable food?

Blindboy ran a great podcast recently about unstainable meat. A gifted story teller weaving the history of Pigtown as a sustainable food system compared with the current system of cheap food that is far from sustainable. It’s gorey and bloody and while he certainly warns folk of the sensitive nature of content it is a fascinating listen. Pigs sustained Limerick. The Limerick Ham was a delicacy and highly prized, the offal was an inexpensive nourishing food for all. Skills in butchery were valued. Pigs provided food and a living. It seems ridiculously simple that a single food source could achieve so much. We cloak ourselves now in the righteous indignation of animal cruelty to prevent ourselves dwelling on the reality of this lifestyle familiar to Limerick older generations. Imagine going back to this type of life again? Local foods expertly processed to nourish. Local foods that provide a living and a lifestyle. Imagine that! Fruit & Veg won’t be enough to fit this model. Soya is not local…and its production is not sustainable. We need meat.
 
For that there has to be death. Our local butchers are that conduit. It’s time to cultivate their importance again in sustainable food systems.

​Anne Maher