Comment: Local produce – the key to riding out the storm

Wednesday 10 January 2018

When Storm Eleanor hit last week, she didn’t just wreak havoc on the sea wall, but on our supermarket shelves too.

But while many bemoaned potential empty bellies, it got Express columnist Kevin Keen thinking about what might be the solution. And, it turns out, it’s all about loving local…

"Brits, and us Jersey beans, are well-known for obsessing about the weather. This has been with good reason over the last couple of weeks. I really don’t remember anything quite like it. For many of us, it has been a reminder of just what living on an island can mean: while ‘just in time’ supply chains may be the best way to deliver fresh food from all over the world, and keep costs down, they really can fall apart when the weather gets unkind. Climate change is clearly very real so we can probably expect similar disruption in the future.

Pictured: Stormy seas would be no match for the island's supermarkets if they were filled with local produce, says Kevin.

"The weather problems were most evident in our supermarkets where shoppers had to deal with empty shelves on quite a few occasions. Fortunately, and thanks to many very dedicated people, we still have some food production in Jersey, which can provide many day-to-day essentials… Milk, bread, eggs, vegetables, fish, meat, even beer, wine and gin! It’s something I find very reassuring - hopefully others do too, and will be more likely to support in the future. The Genuine Jersey movement really has come a long way since its inception, bringing diversity, innovation and choice - and not just to food and drink. Well done to them all. 

"Of course, with very limited scale and high on-island costs, it is impossible for locally-produced products to match the imported competition on price. For me, the quality and resilience local producers bring really is worth the extra money and food is now a relatively small proportion of household expenditure. According to the Statistics Unit, food and non-alcoholic drinks now only account for 11% of household expenditure – the same amount we spend on recreation and culture.

"There are many other benefits of local businesses, be they providers of products or services. Jersey is usually the centre of the universe for local businesses - without us they have no business, so they have to care. Local businesses also create local jobs, spend money on other local services, and pay taxes here. Sure they get things wrong from time to time, and just like any other business they try to make a profit as compensation for the capital they invest and the risks they take. That is not to argue that local business should be supported no matter what they do, but to say we should appreciate and back them whenever we can, not just when the boats can’t make it into the island. 

Pictured: Kevin wants islanders to start loving local again, and wonders whether it's time to resurrect an old campaign...

"Jersey can never be entirely self-sufficient, but we should look carefully at opportunities to be less dependent on imports and recognise the strategic value of what local provision we have already. 

"Maybe it’s time to dust off the ‘Think Twice Buy Local’ campaign?"