Carbon Neutral

Carbon neutral diesel, I came across this last week while filling up our car, I didn’t know there was such a thing.

We have a diesel car and for now we need diesel so I opted for the ‘carbon neutral’ option. 

3 things struck me. 

1. Initially the idea of offsetting carbon emissions by a multi billion dollar company that makes its money from selling  hydrocarbons struck me as false and green washing. 

2. At the same time,  if there is a way to help reduce the damage being done by burning oil then we absolutely need to have that option right now, but this should not give the oil companies an ‘get out of jail card free’.

3. It was more expensive, did I think twice about paying the extra? No, but that is one of my core principles and by extension one of the cornerstones of our business. 

As we are lucky and privileged to live in the first world are we not obligated to pay our share of the damage done to the climate  inherent in our lifestyle? Can we afford not to? 

Yes of course big business has a long way to go and needs to take action now. We all know we need to stop burning hydrocarbons but that will take a little time. But if these companies know that consumer behaviour is changing it will drive them in a greener direction faster and that is a good thing.

Right now we are using our first electric delivery vehicle for all our deliveries to Limerick and Clare and it is working tremendously well, our plan is to make all our delivery vehicles electric by 2025. 

Growing and selling sustainable  food is our business and it is an expensive business to be in and to do it right. 

We have always been at the forefront of sustainable change and we are taking the next step in that journey by being one of the first food delivery businesses in Ireland making deliveries in electric vans.

I am excited to think that by 2025 all our deliveries will be in 100% electric, zero emission vehicles. The ones in Galway will be powered from the solar panels on our packing shed.

Here’s to a greener delivery system. 

Kenneth

Get your organic, plastic free fruit, veg & groceries delivered to your door www.greenearthorganics.ie

Spring is in the Air

Thanks to your generosity last week, we will be donating €900 to The Irish Cancer society.

A sense of possibility and new beginnings is naturally in the air in Spring. On the farm, maybe it is the start of the new plant and seed arrivals that kindles this feeling, but there is a sense that we can do things better this year, that we will try a little harder to get things right, that all will be well in the end.

Nature is waking up, the birds are singing, the daffodils are blooming, the new leaves are beginning to unfurl on the trees. The extra daylight means that life cycles are changing and growth increasing, it is a natural rhythm, and it resonates on a subconscious level, if you let it.

Even our lovely new season salad is responding well to the extra light, and we will be harvesting ours and also Mick and Audrey from Millhouse farm will be delivering their gorgeous salad to us for all the boxes next week.

The sun is higher in the sky and on clear days you can feel the first tendrils of warmth, there is more power too in its rays and from now on the capture of this power to make electricity works well. (We installed a large solar panel array two years ago and it sits on the roof of one of our sheds generating clean renewable energy.)

Frequently now we can see plants growing, hear the birds singing and the insects buzzing well before it is time. This can be symbolic of a world out of sync and it has ramifications for all living systems. Planning a season of vegetable growing on the farm becomes more of a gamble as the natural order we rely on can change unpredictably and dramatically.

Luckily to date here in Ireland we have been spared the worst of the effects of the climate emergency. The climate crisis is a complex global problem but maybe the solutions are also simpler than we think? Down at the level of you and I there is much that can be done. Planting trees is one of the simplest ways to help redress the balance, as farmers we have an obligation to plant trees, and as gardeners there is always space for a tree. Again, thanks to your support, we just recently planted another 1500 trees here on our farm. By supporting local food growers like us and Mick and Audrey you too are doing your bit to tackle the climate crisis.

The prediction of the weather for the year ahead was often associated with a saying closely tied to trees, “ash before oak you are in for a soak, oak before ash you are in for a splash”. It seems this year at least here in Galway that the ash has won the race. Nevertheless, if living and farming in the west of Ireland has taught me one thing it is that the weather is unpredictable. It changes fast and sometimes when you least expect it, it surprises you.

Here is hoping for a lovely, sunny Summer surprise this year.

Kenneth

PS – DON’T FORGET IT IS DELIVERIES AS NORMAL FOR US NEXT WEEK, AND MONDAY IS A BANK HOLIDAY BUT NORMAL ORDERING AND DELVIERES APPLIES!!

We are maintaining the FREE Delivery over €100 next week also!

PPS – You have until Monday evening to grab your place on the Green Fingers course part 1 as we will be sending out seeds and resource packs next week by post!