Palm Oil

There was a time when all I had to worry about was whether there was a vegetarian option on a menu or at a party. No meat, no fish and, preferably, no Quorn for me thank you very much. How things have changed. Now I need to know if the vegetables are organic, how many miles they've travelled to get to my plate and, what they're cooked in.

My (non-veggie) husband loves fish and chips. Yesterday on the way back from the west coast we stopped at an F+C restaurant. Deciding on a portion of chips with mozzarella sticks I asked the waitress what the chips were cooked in, meaning beef dripping or vegetable oil. I was amazed to hear her say Palm oil. My conscience pricked and I struggled with my demons before giving in to hunger and eating them.

Palm oil is, in fact, in many of the foods we eat, the packaging it comes in and the toiletries and cleaning products we use. It is, indeed, hard to avoid. The reason it is so widely used is that it is far more economical to grow than soybean or coconut trees, using up to ten times less land so I don't imagine it will be banned altogether and many people's livelihood depends on the industry. What we do need to establish is whether it is from a sustainable source or not.

Oil palm trees grow in tropical conditions. Deforestation causes the release of greenhouse gases which then ruin the natural habitat of orangutans and other species. The only sustainable way to grow these trees is to plant them on land which has already been cleared. It's a bit like the green belt vs brown belt land for building. There is a body (RSPO) which has tightened the rules on using only sustainable Palm oil and in 2012 the Government pledged the UK would only use oil from sustainable sources. By 2016 we achieved 75% but there's still a way to go both in the UK and globally.

Tomorrow I shall be emailing the manager of the restaurant to ascertain whether the oil is from a sustainable source. Hopefully so as those chips are laying heavy in my stomach and, on my conscience.

When Life Gives You Lemons

When life gives you lemons ... Make Limoncello!

During a recent visit to Naples, Italy, I visited a small, family run business making the vibrant yellow liquor. We were welcomed and given sample tasters of both the traditional and the milky Limoncella Crema. 

The process was then explained (and can easily be replicated on a smaller version at home).

lemon skins + alcohol + sugar + boiling water (or milk for the cream version)
leave for a while (7 days or so)
strain, bottle and serve
Voila!

This delicious digestif served at the end of a meal is a bright end to the night

Planet Potential

This week marks the 93rd birthday of global treasure, broadcaster and natural historian, David Attenborough. He has brought wildlife and plant life to our screens for many decades and his most recent Netflix series, Our Planet, is both fascinating and frightening. When Sir stands in front of us and declares that we have only a matter of years left to protect and save our world, we had better pay attention.

Series producer Keith Scholey tells us that the next 20 years are critical and that it's not just about saving our wildlife, it's about saving ourselves.

At the same time Swedish schoolgirl Greta Thunberg has told MPs that her future has been "stolen" and has rallied other students to protest about climate change. 

So, the elderly and the young seem to understand the need to act, and fast, but what about the middle ground? Extinction Rebellion, the climate change activists, have also increased public awareness with their peaceful protests in London.

So we have just had local elections in the UK and the results are a real shake-up for the two main parties, the Lib Dems being the biggest winners and the Green Party making progress. Brexit is probably the main culprit and the public honestly don't know which way to vote.

For those of us wanting to save the planet, we need clear leadership. We need someone at the helm to make recycling compulsory and consistent, someone to ban the production of non-recyclables, someone to give us clear rules to follow. If we are all singing from the same (bird)song sheet we can reduce our carbon footprint.

If you want to vote this week, try this, from Michael Pollan, author, journalist and activist;

"The wonderful thing about food is you get three votes a day.
Each one has the potential to change the world."