As a vegan, taking the local food pledge has been a little bit tricky- especially as a lot of local food producers in the Lancaster area are livestock or dairy farmers. However, through doing the pledge I have learnt about excellent local vegan options, and I have had to get creative! I have been sourcing vegan organic veg from Growing With Nature via the Food Assembly, and have also been harvesting plenty of fruit and herbs and potatoes from my allotment and Claver Hill community farm. In terms of protein I have started making my own plant based milks using oats and various nuts bought from Single Step, and I have been drying peas for eating later in the depths of winter. The challenge has, however, raised questions for me about what a truly sustainable diet involves. If I live in an area that predominantly produces meat and dairy, would a local diet that incorporates these products have a lower carbon impact than a diet that is plant based but imports some foods??? Food for thought!
