StreetCube Steps Up To ‘The Social Distancing Sustainable Organic Market’ Plate
The StreetCube Great Organic Sustainable Market opens to the public on Friday, July 3rd at 10 am and is located on The Piazza, at SouthSide, Wandsworth High Street. SW18 4TQ.
StreetCube is the sustainable Street gastronomy project launched by MasterChef Raymond Blanc in SW London last year and CWT short-listed award finalists. It is advancing its quest to help change the future of food, nutrition and community empowerment by bringing the first and the biggest outdoor organic, sustainable food market to London.
On the familiar site where the project was first launched, at The Piazza, at SouthSide, Wandsworth High Street, the Streetcube team have had support and approval by their forward-thinking landlords LandSec to invite some of the Nations most ethical farmers and organic food producers to join them.
“We want to show London that in order to preserve and sustain the health of people and planet, we must fundamentally change our food systems from a global, broken industrial one, to a more organic, more local and more seasonal food system,” explains Pascal Gerrard, Founder of Streetcube. “Our supermarkets and City Centre eateries have been largely reliant on a chemical farming system, plastic-wrapped food and junk food chains that import unsustainable ingredients from around the globe, none of which are paying any attention to good health or to the environment.”
“It’s time for a change!” exclaims Pascal. “We need to move to a more regenerative, nutritious, sustainable food system with chefs and farmers guiding the way to using more local, seasonal, organic produce” explains Pascal. “Our soil is one of the most critically important elements in the overall health of us all and it is by far one of the biggest carbon sinks we have. Whatsmore, our farmers need help and support to grow better, more nutritious food and to work with our chefs to help reduce our impact on the planet”
The StreetCube project has received much positive attention and wide acclaim since its launch a year ago, including nominations for innovation and being short-listed for the ‘Food Hero of the Year’ award from The Caroline Walker Trust.
“We continue to refer to the advocates for support and expert advice and guidance. We get a lot of fact-based science data from our world-renowned experts for climate change, sustainability and nutrition, we publish it all on our website.”
“I don’t profess to know everything there is to know about sustainability, in fact, most of us are still getting to grips with it, but given that the Covid-19 pandemic could potentially be a result of our poor hygiene standards, lack of consideration for nature, and the rising risks of zoonotic diseases, we absolutely must radically change our food systems,” suggests Pascal
“The Great Sustainable Organic Market is being billed as London’s most significant in terms of its carbon negative impact and its focus on planetary and public health and we are inviting the UK’s finest organic growers, from across the entire U.K. – farmers, producers and even local volunteers. We want StreetCube to play a significant part in leading the way towards sustainable food – many local communities need to help drive community food growing and to form partnerships with land-owners to grow more food so that our chefs can translate the local nutrition into delicious sustainable Street Gastronomy – but our farmers and our organic growers play a very important part in the overall system. Without good, healthy soil, we just can’t nourish our children.”
“Research shows that more than 35% of all greenhouse gas emissions come from our industrial global food system, with deforestation due to beef production being the worst culprits. Transporting out of season food thousands of miles around the globe is also very heavy on CO2 and lower rates of nutrition as often food is picked before its ripe, and then it is force-ripened using chemicals and gas. The result is of much poorer quality food.”
The new outdoor market will feature farmers bringing organic, seasonal produce grown from within 100 miles of the StreetCube installation, which do not use plastic wrapping, and which contain higher nutrients due to less storage, with no risk to ingesting the cocktail of chemicals found on most fruit and veg. “Traditionally, we produce and consume less than 2% organic food in the U.K., and studies show that most of the food we import is coated with at least a dozen different chemicals. Whilst individual chemicals like Glyphosate are banned across Europe, the U.K. still allows the use of it. Manufacturers of these insect-killing chemicals are tested individually and deemed ‘safe’ for humans, but many law-suits in the US have swayed on the sides of farmers who have contracted cancer and other related illnesses.” states Pascal.
“We also need to be very aware of the kinds of ‘deals’ our government are negotiating with US produce. The United States has much lower food standards than we do here in the U.K. we must all be very aware of what our government are trying to push through Parliament without us realising. Chlorinated chicken, hormone-injected beef, genetically modified organisms are all part of an extremely detrimental industrial food system, and we all need to be very aware of what is around the corner in terms of climate change”, warns Pascal.
‘We are over-subscribed at the Wandsworth Sustainable Organic Market, a combination of pent-up demand and people longing to have access to better quality food, but we need more organic growers from the local area to apply and join us as we will soon be opening every day” states Pascal
StreetCube is all about giving everyone access to a more sustainable source of nutritious food, that everyone can afford – whilst caring for the health of people and planet. As we say at StreetCube;
“Good Food Doesn’t Have To Cost The Earth.”
