Food

In Europe, food is the second biggest contributor to greenhouse gas emissions after transport. Emissions can be generated while the food is grown (methane emissions from livestock for example, heating greenhouses to grow foods out of season) but also when it is distributed, with hundreds of tonnes of fresh foods being air-freighted to supermarkets every day.

Additionally, intensive farming using pesticides damages the long-term health of our soil and contributes to chemicals in our natural environment and food chains.

Actions to take

As far as possible eat seasonally, locally and organically. When shopping in a supermarket, buy foods with the fewest airmiles.
Support local markets such as the Lewes Friday Food Market and the Lewes Farmers Market held fortnightly – and local veg box schemes.
Reduce your meat and dairy intake – per gram of protein, producing beef uses 20 times the land and emits 20 times the emissions as growing beans.
Minimise food waste – an estimated 1.3 billion tonnes of food is wasted globally each year, one third of all food produced for human consumption.

What we’ve been doing

The Transition Town Lewes Food Group set up the weekly Lewes Friday Food Market to support local food growers and producers, and encourage seasonal eating. In addition, TTL puts on talks, films and events trying to encourage all sections of the community to think about the food they eat, how it’s grown, and where it comes from.

Lewes Friday Food Market

Founded by TTL and now run as an independent community interest company, the Lewes Friday Food Market is held every Friday morning in the Market Tower in the heart of Lewes. It features a wealth of local food growers, bakers, fishmongers, butchers, cheesemakers, bakers and lots more – all carefully selected for their local provenance and focus on sustainability.