Professor of Food Policy urges UK to get growing
Posted Thursday 4th September 2008
Professor Tim Lang
Tim Lang, Professor of Food Policy at City University London, will be calling on the nation's public to roll up their sleeves and get digging in his new role as President of Garden Organic, the UK’s leading organic growing charity.
Famed for coining the phrase ‘food miles', Lang is notorious for forthright and visionary views on food's relationship with health and the environment. His new position as President at Garden Organic will be formally announced at the charity's 50th Annual General Meeting (AGM) this Saturday, 6th September, which marks the start of Organic Fortnight and more importantly the launch of Garden Organic's new campaign – Dig for Victory.
During his speech at the Garden Organic AGM on 6th September, Professor Tim Lang called on gardeners to respond quickly to the DEFRA discussion paper Ensuring the UK's Food Security in a Changing World. Responses need to be in by September 15th.
Act now:
- Download Ensuring the UK's Food Security in a Changing World from the DEFRA website.
- Read the paper and respond as soon as you possibly can by sending your comments by email to: foodmatters.security@defra.gsi.gov.uk - your response can be any length you need
- Download Garden Organic's response to the the DEFRA Food Security Paper - (PDF 143Kb)
Tim Lang's speech:
With over 11 million gardeners in Britain already armed with the skills to grow their own, Professor Lang, a long-standing Garden Organic member and former organic farmer, will be urging even more of the UK to start growing their own food at the event.
During the Second World War over 50% of the nation's fruit and veg was grown on allotments and in gardens, a scene that Garden Organic is keen to recreate across Britain with their re-launch of the historical Dig for Victory campaign.
Myles Bremner, Chief Executive of Garden Organic said: “At a time of rising oil prices, lower income and food shortages, growing our own food is a cheap and environmentally sensitive solution. Our Dig for Victory campaign will combat head-on the issues of food security by mobilising Britain's gardeners into using their skills to grow food and enabling non-growers to give growing a try. It is time to re-skill a nation that has largely lost touch with nature.”
“As one of the world's leading commentators on food policy issues, our new president, Professor Lang, will be speaking at our AGM about the importance of gardening in an era of food security and promoting growing food at home and on allotments as a viable solution for developing sustainable local food production.”
Prof Lang said: “Gardening is poised to move from a leisure activity with aesthetic purposes to become a vital core function of food production. Garden Organic, with its 40,000 members, is well positioned to enable a new culture of exchange between gardeners and encourage people across urban and rural communities, to get growing. Rather than digging for the victory of the nation as we did during World War II, I see our focus as digging for food democracy, with every person playing their part in the future food supply.”
Myles Bremner continued: “Seen by many as an organic visionary, as was Garden Organic's founder, Lawrence D Hills, Tim Lang's involvement with us will help shape the future of the organic movement, ensuring that we remain at the forefront of the organic debate, driving policy forward and convincing as many people as possible about the benefits of organic growing.”
Lang takes over the presidency from The Right Honourable The Earl Kitchener, who retires from the position after almost 50 years of active involvement with the organisation.
Notes to editors:
Tim Lang is also a prolific author and co-author on the subject, having penned 120 publications, including eight books, numerous reports for international bodies and academic journal articles. He has been a frequent consultant to the World Health Organisation as well as a special advisor to four Commons Select Committee inquiries, including the UK Parliamentary Health Committee Inquiry into Obesity in 2004. He was an advisor to the recent Cabinet Office report on Food and Food Policy, and in 2006 was appointed Land Use and Natural Resources Commissioner on the Government's Sustainable Development Commission. In 2001 he was elected a Fellow of the Faculty of Public Health (of the Royal Colleges of Physicians).
Top of pageGarden Organic is the working name of the Henry Doubleday Research Association (HDRA).
We are not responsible for the content of external web sites.
Bookmark this page on: