About three years ago, friends and I spent well over a year and a half trying to get meetings and then to come to an agreement with our local council for the use of an appropriate site for a country market. It was an exasperating and fruitless effort but the market did open, in a private courtyard, in June last year. In the process of this we contacted Darina Allen and she gave very helpful and practical information. Above all, she was most encouraging and supportive. For our own reasons we have had to ignore her advice and run our produce and craft market only once a month, but it is doing well. We still hope that one day, she will be able to come to visit and perhaps give a talk to the marketeers and her admirers! Last month she agreed to give me an interview. It could only be brief but it was most informative.

RF. I know the subject for some of your talks that is close to your heart is, ‘Our Food is Our Medicine’. What do you mean?

DA. Basically, everyone is so busy they are not connecting the food they eat with how they feel. I equate it to running a car: if you don’t put in the right fuel it won’t operate properly. People should realise that their food should be their ‘medicine’. Many people look on food as something they shovel into their mouths when they feel hungry, but if you nourish your body, you nourish your mind. At a doctors’ conference recently it was reported that there has been research into an increase in mental illness. Doctors reckon there could be an epidemic of mental health problems directly relating to the fact that many people are consuming food that is deficient in necessary vitamins and minerals.[*1]

Too much depends on ‘your dinner’ to ignore what we put in our shopping baskets - it affects our families. These days we are relying on the health of our ancestors: I quiver when I think of what is being passed on to our descendants!

RF. In a recent magazine article I read an article encouraging people to get started on their own vegetable patches and about stretching the harvesting seasons with staged sowing and planting.

DA. We should eat fresh, naturally produced, local food, in season and organic, when possible. People need to cut down on processed foods. I would encourage people to grow food themselves. The joy is twenty times greater when you grow it yourself!

RF. These days there is lots of discussion on how many air miles our food is travelling - even ‘organic’ foods.

DA. We need to take responsibility for this. We need to consider the costs of aviation fuel use - and cheap flights to the environment.

RF. But won’t this mean we are potentially ruining the lives of farmers in poor countries, in Africa for example?

DA. We are ruining their economies because they are not being fairly paid, except by ‘Fairtrade’. Our Agricultural subsidies are ruining their economies.

RF. My Yoga teacher used to say that one should not prepare or eat food in states of anger or distress. I recall one classmate saying she was ‘always angry when peeling carrots’! What do you think?

DA. Your food will taste much better if you are making it with love for your friends and family. It sounds very esoteric but I believe it!

RF. People lead very busy lives nowadays and many feel they do not have much time for meal preparation. Personally, I don’t care for microwaves but they are used so much in homes and of course, restaurants. What do you think about their use in food preparation?

DA. I do not use a microwave. Actually, it kills off most, if not all the nutrients. I’ve always felt queasy about them.[*2]

RF. What are your thoughts on the design of kitchens?

DA. An Aga [Range] in the home kitchen is conducive to gatherings. People love congregating in a warm cosy kitchen. I know we are all very busy and life is more frantic but we can jump off that [wagon]. No matter how busy we are, it is REALLY important to make time to eat with our family and friends. It is sacred time around the kitchen table - even if we are quarreling! The joys of sitting with children and grandchildren . . memories are made of this . . the apple pies, roast chicken and gravy - and picnics too. Children are not grateful to you for making lots of money, but you do get paid back a thousand times for taking time for food preparation. The payback of not doing this is in doctors bills and pills.[*4]

Processed food is alarmingly low in vitamins and minerals. As a result we are getting nutritionally deficient. We are eating more to satisfy cravings and this contributes to the major cause of obesity. It is REALLY IMPORTANT to buy ‘live food’. In supermarkets, or from anyone selling food that has travelled far, it is not really fresh. Freshness is of paramount importance. Obviously we need such foods as lemons and oranges to supplement our diets, but I prefer not to buy ‘flown foods’, even if they are organic.

RF. I think many people find or they perceive that ‘organic’ foods are often more expensive. Is it really justifiable to charge so much more?

DA. Things have fundamentally changed since the 1950’s. We now have ‘maximum food with minimum cost’. I think we should pay 13-15 euros for an organic chicken because it takes over twice as long to grow as an intensively farmed one and the organic food [for the chickens] costs twice as much. Commercial chickens are given not just antibiotics but also anti-depressants! [*3]

With an organic chicken you can try to save on the initial cost by using all of the chicken - every scrap! Sometimes I can get five meals out of a chicken. However, there is a sad loss of cooking skills today.

RF. FIVE?! I have managed to get three meals out of one chicken. I think we could have a competition here!

RF. Many people regularly eat out in restaurants these days. Who do you think should be leading this campaign for good quality, fresh, well-prepared food? The public, producers or restaurants?

DA. Everybody needs to increase the awareness. I know there is a whole world out there where none of this matters but people can look for local food. Chefs could highlight on their menus what comes from local suppliers. People can gently ask in restaurants ‘where do you get your beef/lamb’, for example. I do it. We can ask the same in our shops - whether they are selling local produce. We could ask about the breakfast foods in B&B’s and hotels and have awards incentives. Local authorities should be sourcing locally...and the hospitals...!
It makes people [in the trade] aware that the public do have concerns.

Local Planet: Unfortunately that was the end of the interview as Darina Allen had to dash away. Our thanks to her for giving us time in her busy schedule. We hope you will enjoy the delicious, seasonal recipes she sent us for Local Planet readers to try.
• Umbrella organisation for markets in Ireland: Irish Food Market Traders' Association. Contact: Caroline Robinson. This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
• Darina Allen of Ballymaloe also has a stand at the weekly Middleton Market, Cork, which she helped found.

Notes:
As suggested by Darina Allen, LP contacted Caroline Robinson of the Irish Food Traders’ Association for further information on some points made by her. Here are her responses.

[*1]... also omega 3 fatty acids. The Global Health Forum and WHO have predicted increases in perinatal conditions, cardio-vascular diseases and mental illnesses by 2020 due to poor nutrition and the decrease in the consumption of fish, seeds and vegetables.

[*2] In 1998 The Journal of Natural Science published an extremely significant paper, written by William Kopp, dealing with the effects of microwaves on humans. He referred to some of the evidence from over 7000 scientific publications dealing with the health damage caused by short wave transmitters (most research has been done in Russia). Microwave heating causes significant decreases in the nutritive value of all foods researched. There was a drop in the availability of B complex vitamins, vitamin C, vitamin E and essential minerals in these foods. [ed. note not enough space to list all the illnesses and problems!]

[*3] Synthetic sedatives are given in the food. Read 'Not on the Label' by Felicity Lawrence. 45 days is the life of an intensively reared broiler chicken. About 10 - 12 weeks for an organic one.The protein Tryptophan is added to feed for chickens and pigs all over the world. It works against depression by increasing Serotonin levels and helps to put weight on the animals. All intensively reared chickens are given antibiotics, usually in their water.

[*4} A lot of research is being done on food and behaviour.

See http://www.fabresearch.org