Fifteen months ago in one of these columns I deplored the public’s lack of knowledge about food.
The extent of this among some sectors of the community had been exposed by responses to an HGCA survey commissioned in association with its breakfast initiative. Of those questioned, 26% thought bacon came from sheep; 29% believed oats grew on trees; and 17% thought eggs were an ingredient of bread.
I concluded that it was a paradox when we live in an age that knows, or has access to, almost any information we need via the internet that many still live in blissful ignorance of the most basic things in life.
Apparently someone at the National Trust (which claims to be Britain’s biggest farmer with 250,000ha under management) agreed and took up the challenge to do something about it.
Using ideas developed by the various social networks on the internet, they have come up with an initiative to involve 10,000 people in decision-making on a real farm. Sounds crazy? I thought so, too, when I first heard about it, but the more I learned the more I warmed to it.
The real farm in question (which for the purposes of the internet exercise will be called MyFarm) is NT’s estate at Wimpole Hall in Cambridgeshire. It runs to 485ha and is partly through organic conversion.
