Trying to make the festival a family affair with something to do for everyone, the planners decided to implement a Kids Taste Tent and a bazaar featuring street food from around the world, including Thai, Indian, and Somalian fare. My personal favorite was the Greek couscous with yogurt, fresh broad beans, and coriander– yum!
Not Just for Eating
Besides stuffing my face with delicious organic eats (which believe me, I did plenty of that), the festival also featured live music and dance shows, and workshops to teach the public about how to cook with organic ingredients. Now, usually I am a disaster in the kitchen, but the workshops were designed to teach even the least talented chefs among us how to cook. I was able to learn how to make some great food (like mango chutney!) from some famous chefs.
Because of a recent article published in The Guardian that stated that the Food Standards Agency found that organic food is not healthier compared with conventionally produced food, there was also a greater emphasis on why organic food is better for you regardless of what the study says. Sustainability was a buzzword that was floating around the air throughout the entire weekend, because the fact of the matter is that conventional farming isn’t a sustainable method. It depletes nutrients from the soil, expends a huge amount of fossil fuel, and doesn’t allow for a high standard of animal welfare. Organic food is just the way to go for farming of the future.