Why is food so expensive and why is food so cheap?

Our food production system is unstable. We ship foods across the world because it's cheaper to intensively grow huge amounts of one crop (aka Monocropping) than it is to look after farmland. So when there's a drought in California, who produce 82% of the world's almonds, prices rise in the UK. We prioritise convenience and abundance, so stocking supermarkets with a constant array of vegetables - whether they're in season or not - generates huge amounts of food waste from unpurchased food. And we cover the cost of this waste by raising food prices.

We treat food not as fuel but as a status symbol - and organic, healthy food as the biggest status symbol of all. Why not charge more for some oats mixed with nuts and seeds, as long as it's encased in beautiful packaging and those who buy it will pay extra to feel part of a wholesome, vital and inherently middle class movement?

On the other hand, in some cases food is incredibly cheap. You can walk into Tesco on Woodgrange road and buy a 4 pint bottle of milk for £1 - much less than it used to cost. Supermarkets, in competition to attract people who want (or need) to save money, can squeeze farmers into lower and lower cost farming practices. The terrible consequences of this for environment, animals and farmers themselves you're probably already familiar with. Or they can charge less than the milk is really worth, in a bid to get you into the shop and buy some (much more profitable) processed bread with it. Smaller, local and organic food producers cannot do the same, no matter how much they lower their prices.

All of these practices, and more, have warped the price of food so that it is no longer related to what it costs to produce. If you're already familiar with food co-ops, then you probably know that their main advantage is saving money on food. We buy in bulk, don't spend as much on premises or labour, and aren't concerned with making lots of profit. But if a food co-op is to save people in Forest Gate money on good food, it needs to find better ways to do it than to attempting to undercut supermarkets. We need people who care about this stuff to get together and share their ideas and opinions!

Are you in?

So things are a bit empty around here while we get up and running. But get in touch if you want to get involved, or if you have any questions! We need volunteers who are passionate about cheap, healthy food and/or can give a few hours a week - or space, equipment or advice.