September 27, 2021 - 670 views
As part of her own 'buy local' campaign, the Member of the Welsh Parliament for Aberconwy and Shadow Minister for Climate Change – Janet Finch-Saunders MS – has endorsed work by Wildlife Trusts Wales under their Waste Free Lunches banner, encouraging local residents to ‘ditch the waste’ by supporting local producers.
According to Wildlife Trusts Wales, if all food came from within 20km of where we live, we could save £1.2 billion every year in environmental and congestion costs.
Mrs Finch-Saunders has previously called for the development of a Local Food Charter which all shops, cafés, and restaurants selling food local to the area could sign up to, helping consumers know which businesses are supporting local or Welsh food producers.
Cementing her support of the campaign, she said: “Yoghurt pots, wrappers, cling film, tinfoil – if we examine our lunchtime habits, we will easily find that there are so many bits of packaging that we can do without. Ahead of COP26, I’m encouraging local residents to ditch this waste by examining the local produce on offer.
“Small businesses are the backbone of our communities, and we should make it our mission to help safeguard their future and decrease our food miles. From farms to butchers, vineyards to veg stalls; many are also playing their part in producing sustainable, waste-free food.
“Food products in our aisles are often transported to us via air, sea or land and the journeys use enormous amounts of fossil fuels. By using the technology available at our fingertips, and with a little bit of research, these could easily be replaced by scrumptious local alternatives.
“As the Shadow Minister for Climate Change, I will continue to work to ensure that active farmers are supported in achieving their aspiration to be net-zero by 2040. To support this admirable endeavour, we the public need to use the power of our pounds to back the environment."
