YOU CAN COOK | Blog

This week Bosco Santimano founder and executive director of social enterprise You Can Cook, shares his thoughts on how we can live on a less meat diet that does not have a devastating impact on our planet.

When we talk about climate change, it mostly refers to reducing our air or food miles and moving from oil/coal to an environmentally friendly renewable option. One big factor is most often missed out in discussions and legislations at government or international levels; meat and dairy farming. Western meat and dairy diet are a big contributory factor to carbon emissions since the 80’s and has gotten worse with many poor and developing nations like China increasing meat in their diets from occasionally to every day! It’s not rocket science to understand the damage this will do to reduce our carbon footprint globally even if we make massive changes to other aspects of our lifestyle. Current data shows that meat and dairy farming is responsible for around 14% of greenhouse gasses.

Research shows that vegetarian and vegan diets are much more sustainable and climate friendly than meat consumption. So how do we go about achieving a reduction in meat and dairy in our diets? Simple solution is to reduce and ultimately stop importing these foods from other countries were its cheaper to produce them but as a consequence have a detrimental impact on the local ecosystems and people. For example, cattle raised on UK lands get access to greener pastures than those reared in South America where deforestation is creating a huge problem to local indigenous populations, their livelihoods and contributes to soil erosion due to pesticides and fertilisers used to generate single type of crops for Western consumption.

Unfortunately, subsequent studies have also shown that even if all Western countries shift to home produced meat solely fed on grass, then that too is not the solution as the already high consumption by countries and individuals will not make a dent in the carbon emissions. The only way forward is producing meat and dairy sustainably, locally and using organic farming methods.

Supermarkets sell milk and some meat products at cost or even at a loss in order to keep their customers coming through the doors. This practice alone not only distorts prices and the perception that meat is affordable but also creates huge amounts of food wastes that goes to landfill and money down the drain from the point of view of the customer. In the UK 4.5 million tons of edible food is thrown away by households and this also contributes to our carbon footprint.

A few years ago, food policy experts concluded that Western countries like the UK should adopt a radical method of eating, whereby they ate meat once a week and reduce milk to a maximum of one glass a day. If you convert to being a vegan and vegetarian than the impact improves dramatically. Growing up in India my family could only afford to buy meat once a week or on special occasions like birthdays. We had a very varied diet with fish, vegetables and pulses and food was cooked from fresh produce and ingredients bought on the day from the market. Only a radical change will stop the planet from tipping over. Tinkering at the edges and shifting the blame on countries like China where the local population want the lifestyle of the West will not help solve the issue. It’s time to act globally but we as citizens of Scotland need to act locally too as any small changes we make will collectively have an impact on polices that will help reduce our carbon footprint.

*Originally written & published in the Peeblesshire News.

This week Bosco Santimano founder and executive director of social enterprise You Can Cook, shares his thoughts on our knowledge of where and how our food is produced and the far-reaching consequences of not changing our current commercial food production to a more local and sustainable form of farming.

In the last few decades humanities thirst for everything quick and fast has accelerated to the point of no return. Its ironic that humans were stopped right in their tracks by a virus that cannot be seen with the naked eye. If you closely look around you in nature, and we are very lucky over here in Peeblesshire and the Borders in general; plants and animal life is thriving as mother earth is repairing and healing itself. It’s such a wonderful sight to behold and some would call it a miracle! The planet has shown us who is boss and also sends us a message that the earth will not only survive but thrive in the absence of humans as a species. Since the dawn of the industrial age, humankind has plundered and exploited the natural resources made available to us as a gift by mother earth, while she watched in silence hoping that men would change their ways.

Commercial farming on an industrial scale has decimated the soil and people’s livelihood wherever it was implemented. Food and water are the two essential things we need as a species in order to survive on this beautiful planet, only after clean air. As a species we have polluted not only the air but also the water and our food systems across the globe. Since the beginning of the so called ‘Green Revolution’ in the 50’s, soil, water and the immediate environment have been sprayed with Agri-chemicals to boost food production, often to the detriment of local ecosystems. Forests have been cut down to grow what came to be known as cash crops. But all is not lost yet! Individuals and grass-root organisations have come together as a collective to tackle this problem head on last year. Since farming is labour intensive, the West outsourced its food production to developing and third world countries, while at the same time providing huge subsidies to its farmers not to grow, thus artificially controlling prices of essential food commodities.

Corporations in turn have been funding our politicians directly and through other means in order to make sure their profits are not impacted. Corporate greed is held in high standards at the expense of citizens right to water, food and environment. Protest movements have risen throughout this pandemic across continents to oppose our current political and financial model and are looking to replace these with sustainable practices in farming, environment and social justice for the working-class man and women in all countries. Scotland should remove all farm subsidies and encourage small scale farming initiatives across the country with training and expertise provided to high school pupils so that they can make a better choice going forward as a career option. Farmers markets should be encouraged in every town, village and city and not just well-off areas where this is mostly a hobby for the middle classes. We want the Scottish government to provide financial aid to small local groups and businesses that produce food in order that this country reduces its reliance on imported food from Africa and the far East.

Now is the time for governments across the world to change gear and this may probably be our last hope to look out for the collective good of humankind rather than just a few, transcending countries, boundaries and continents.

*Originally written & published in the Peeblesshire News.

This week Bosco Santimano founder and executive director of social enterprise You Can Cook, shares his thoughts on the scandalous state of affairs of companies linked to Tories providing free school meals to pupils in England.

Brexit has finally happened and citizens of the UK are slowly waking up to the reality of the consequences of being no longer part of the European Union. Last week we learnt that Tory donors resorted to stealing children’s lunch money in England. Chartwells were given the contract to supply emergency food packages to families who would usually rely on free school meals as children were forced to learn from home. The company at the centre of this storm is part of Compass Group Plc whose chairman Paul Walsh stepped down in December last year and was once a member of David Cameron’s business advisory group and is a Conservative Party donor. Once again it raises serious questions over cronyism within the Tory party which has unfortunately blighted their pandemic response. Will the Tories stoop so low that they are now stealing food from hungry children in England to fill their offshore bank accounts? Labour MP Ian Lavery from Wansbeck twitted “Not only are children being denied a proper meal but the taxpayer is being ripped off. This pandemic has exposed the crisis of crony capitalism where the only criteria for govt contracts is how much you give to the Tories. This shameful govt literally ‘takes the biscuit’. This must be the lowest of low that the Tories are stopping to in order to make money so soon after Brexit. The amount allocated and paid for by the government per child was £30 and the kids received what looked like food that cost less than a fiver!

£10.5bn worth of contracts have been outsourced to companies owned by Conservative Party donors and the relatives of MPs, often with little experience in the field of providing these services. Procurement processes have led to loss of tax payer’s money in millions to Serco Test and Trace system (£410m), £108m for undelivered sets of PPE for NHS workers and £7000 a day to Boston Consulting Group to help the government deliver its test and trace system, to name just a few. These are just the tip of the iceberg with more revelations coming to light on a regular basis. It is very upsetting that so called good folk of this country are still not reacting to this level of atrocity committed against children who for no fault of theirs are paying the price of a greedy Conservative government. The myth that people will spend money on alcohol or cigarettes instead of buying food for their children is perpetrated by these evil clowns who want to literally suck the blood of poor working-class families in this country. The irony is that these very people voted for the Conservatives in the last general election, so have no one else to blame for this sorry state of affairs.

The right-wing Tories have to set aside their unfounded fears of the poor misspending taxpayers’ money and concentrate on money that is being funnelled through contracts to their own friends and families. Locally, the Tory led administration have shown to be equally inept and incompetent where council budgets are concerned and are splashing money at corporations and vanity projects like the iPads (£15m) instead of looking after the health and well-being of their constituents. The last ten years have already shown beyond doubt the physical, mental, emotional and financial damage Tory-Lib-Dem policies have caused in the United Kingdom.

God save the people!

*Originally written & published in the Peeblesshire News.

This week Bosco Santimano founder and executive director of social enterprise You Can Cook, shares his thoughts on how a successful reuse project set up under the You Can Grow umbrella was scuppered by nepotism, favouritism and local politics!

During the final year of delivering our pioneering growing project “Food for Life” at St. Ronan’s primary school, Innerleithen; we embarked on a reuse project working with Dominic Hodgkiss from Scottish Borders Council’s Waste Services. Initially we setup a 3 month pilot to collect data on number of gardening items going to landfill. Alex Wilson, Project Manager was working with the council to setup this much needed service as part of the recycling facilities at Eshiels, near Peebles. 

Our pilot was an instant success and we were given a contract, unpaid of course, to collect unwanted gardening tools to be refurbished and given back to the community. We developed a partnership with Scottish Prison Service(Saughton) and  Garvald Edinburgh where tools collected from Eshiels would be taken to Edinburgh, repaired and  refurbished as new and then delivered back to us to pass on to communities. All this was done by our organisation using our own financial resources in the hope that after proving its success and providing evidence of need, reduction of items going to landfill and huge carbon savings to the council we would be given a service level agreement (contract) that would at least cover all our running costs. During this time with the help and support of Dominic Hodgkiss we expanded the gardening tools reuse hub to all other recycling centres in the Borders. The whole project was now set to move to the next phase with the approval of our financial proposal to the council.

We were informed that there was no money to support this project even though the costs on a yearly basis to the council would be less than £20,000!  SBC elected councillors turned up for a photo opportunity in the beginning of the contract, but this project has never been a priority for the current ruling administration as I have known to be very vocal about my views and my organisation has paid a heavy price over the years. Elected representatives and community leaders back only those local groups, organisations and individuals that keep their mouths shut or make funds available to organisations that they themselves are on the boards as Chair or Directors. £15 million for iPads can be made available in an instant to boost the egos of this current administration but not £20,000 a year for a reuse project that has proved beyond doubt its impact and community benefit. I have never pandered to politicians and their ideologies and have constantly paid the price in our so called democracy! 

The decision to not fund this initiative financially was taken before Covid-19!

Finally! With a heavy heart we had to take the decision to terminate this project as no financial package was forthcoming. We have suffered a financial loss during this time but that’s all part of the political game and not having a “Godfather” and not being one of the boys! has definitely not helped. It’s time to expose these individuals and organisations that claims that they have the communities interest at heart.

On a positive note, we would like to take this opportunity to thank all our staff, volunteers, supporters and well-wishers including our partners Saughton Prison, Garvald Edinburgh, Dominic Hodgkiss (SBC), Change Works (Peebles) and Why Not? (Galashiels) for their whole hearted support of this pioneering project in the Borders.

Wishing all a Happy New Year 2021!

*Originally written & published in the Peeblesshire News.

This week Bosco Santimano founder and executive director of social enterprise You Can Cook, shares his thoughts on growing food as a subject alongside home economics in schools.

One thing the Covid-19 pandemic has definitely taught us is that humanity has to get its act together in order to survive on this planet. No more climate change deniers being elected into power, no more control, funding and lobbying by oil companies of our politicians and governments both local and national. The future may look bleak at the moment but this pandemic will pass like many before it, but we need to radically change our economic policies. More emphasis should be placed on a work-life balance while food and health should be at the top of any governments priority list for its citizens, no matter what the political ideology. 

Having setup You Can Cook and You Can Grow in 2007, we have seen massive changes in the communities we delivered our projects. Not many are aware that we were the first social enterprise/community organisation to setup an Organic Training Garden on school grounds in Scotland in 2015. This project is still going strong with community support and has not folded since the original funding ceased. We worked tirelessly with the school and with support from school staff and volunteers helped develop an educational programme that was linking with the school curriculum, an achievement that has far exceeded our expectations. Pupils from Nursery up to Primary 7 were given hands-on training on how to grow and also cook from scratch with raw ingredients. We acquired four allotments plots on a 5-year lease from Traquair House Charitable Trust for local residents to grow their own food. We provided all the growing materials, seeds, training and support throughout the process, while making sure allottees could cope with growing food for the first time. The project has managed to light the imagination of local residents who felt motivated and inspired to grow their own food locally. This was the first of many steps the organisation took in fulfilling its long term sustainability plan for the Scottish Borders. 

We were the first social enterprise in Scotland to launch a book for growers, no matter what your knowledge or expertise is about wanting to grow your own food. The time is ripe for joined up thinking in our schools with help from local councils to make pupils aware of the consequences of climate change and impart skills and training in cooking and growing so that future generations will be able to be self-sufficient and not have to completely rely on food imports which currently make up over 50%. 

Let’s face it, we all need good, nutritious food and it does not matter whether we are rich or poor, SNP, Tory, Labour, Greens, or Lib-Dems. This is one policy we can hopefully all agree on. Make Food Poverty History.

Wishing all readers a Merry Christmas and Happy New year 2021! Stay safe and let’s grow, shop and eat local!

*Originally written & published in the Peeblesshire News.