Roofs & Rambles

Seems like my interest in nature today is being usurped by food. I love food. I love the idea of local food, slow food, local shops, local production but am realistic to realize that their is a big corporate machine that is as hungry for hegemony as a starving person is to fill their belly. That is the nature of the market.

As a member of the London Food Board – I think I am only a member as I know about roofs [and with no particular interest in veg growing though] – the announcement that MacDonald’s own the branding for the London Olympics has caused a bit of a stir. Emails abounding – and quite rightly. The work of the board and the real food people is to move London to a more sustainable approach to food. I’ll be installing a few nature roofs with some growing capacity later in the year. The board is keen on local shops, local produce and – I think- the notion of the periphery of London being a market garden that can help provide the central core with food. But then the big cheese, the big thang, the big ego, the event – the Olympics- working as such a beast can only do, accountant driven, ££££££€€€€€€£££££ driven was never going to be London’s Olympics. it was always going to be the big consultants and brand’s Olympics. That’s what it is a brand, which needs brands to realize it’s brand.

So what to do? You don’t fight brand with brand with you erode brand or make it change. A bro-ha will happen. People will clamour outrage. But what we need to do is draw our focus away from the big event and get on with undermining the processes we dislike and enervating the many people who are already engaged in the process of local and farmers markets, producing their own food. Erode the principles of the mega brand.  Let them stump up the money and lets show them in 2012 that London ain’t that interested. If you can’t beat them – undermine them.