A Taste of the Mediterranean in South West England
Most people, when they think of farming in the South West, think of pigs, cows, sheep, wheat and grain.
They might, if considering harvest time, think of pumpkins or apples, maybe even blackberries.
All these people will no doubt be surprised that the South West of England is now home to a growing number of farms that produce goods you'd expect to find around the Mediterranean rather than Cornwall, Somerset or Devon.
One thing that caught a lot of media attention when it started, but has become what appears to be a reliable business since then, is a man called Mark Diacono who began growing olives in Devon.
The plan was to use them to produce olive oil, and there has been a lot of interest from people wanting to buy the oil, but Mark has said that he wants to sell the produce locally to reduce the food miles.
This is unsurprising, as he set up the business partly to demonstrate that global warming is a real issue.
Because the average temperature of the South West has risen by a degree since 1900 and the growing season is a month longer, it's now possible to grow olives in Devon.
He believes that this physical demonstration of the changes that are occurring in our climate should help to convince people of what is occurring.
The other industry that has benefited has been the British wine industry.
Previously, British wine was generally looked down on in the international community, but now, especially with Camel Valley in Cornwall leading the charge, Britain is able to produce quality grapes, and thus quality wines.
Sparkling and non-sparkling white wines from Britain have won international awards in previous years, and over 2.
1 million bottles of wine are produced in the UK each year.
With all of this, and the focus on supplying these goods locally in an effort to reduce climate change, it seems that a holiday to the South West may be a real alternative to going to Spain, Southern France, Italy or Greece.
It'll also help to reduce your carbon footprint even further, as there aren't any costly, polluting flights involved.
Other things that now grow in the UK are peaches, tea and soya, all of which will reduce the UK's dependence on imports and mean that foods don't have to have travelled thousands of miles for us to reach them.
They might even be nicer than imported fruits as they'll be left to ripen whilst still attached to the plant, rather than having to ripen in transit.
They might, if considering harvest time, think of pumpkins or apples, maybe even blackberries.
All these people will no doubt be surprised that the South West of England is now home to a growing number of farms that produce goods you'd expect to find around the Mediterranean rather than Cornwall, Somerset or Devon.
One thing that caught a lot of media attention when it started, but has become what appears to be a reliable business since then, is a man called Mark Diacono who began growing olives in Devon.
The plan was to use them to produce olive oil, and there has been a lot of interest from people wanting to buy the oil, but Mark has said that he wants to sell the produce locally to reduce the food miles.
This is unsurprising, as he set up the business partly to demonstrate that global warming is a real issue.
Because the average temperature of the South West has risen by a degree since 1900 and the growing season is a month longer, it's now possible to grow olives in Devon.
He believes that this physical demonstration of the changes that are occurring in our climate should help to convince people of what is occurring.
The other industry that has benefited has been the British wine industry.
Previously, British wine was generally looked down on in the international community, but now, especially with Camel Valley in Cornwall leading the charge, Britain is able to produce quality grapes, and thus quality wines.
Sparkling and non-sparkling white wines from Britain have won international awards in previous years, and over 2.
1 million bottles of wine are produced in the UK each year.
With all of this, and the focus on supplying these goods locally in an effort to reduce climate change, it seems that a holiday to the South West may be a real alternative to going to Spain, Southern France, Italy or Greece.
It'll also help to reduce your carbon footprint even further, as there aren't any costly, polluting flights involved.
Other things that now grow in the UK are peaches, tea and soya, all of which will reduce the UK's dependence on imports and mean that foods don't have to have travelled thousands of miles for us to reach them.
They might even be nicer than imported fruits as they'll be left to ripen whilst still attached to the plant, rather than having to ripen in transit.
Source...