I recently had the privilege to hear Sir David Attenborough speak to bankers and financiers in London, pleading for all the successful entrepreneurs in the room to invest in companies trying to save animals, the planet and our health.
It was incredible to listen to a 93-year-old man who has dedicated his life to warning us about what is now actually happening to our world. He said all the solutions are there – but all of us have to do something about it – and we can achieve this by our choices in our everyday lives.
A lot of people don’t think about where the food on their plate comes from. But every purchase we make affects our livelihood, our economy. Britons stood up and shouted for Brexit yet, day after day, they buy imported food rather than home-grown produce.
The nation shouts and marches for climate change, then so many pop to the shop afterwards and don’t even read the label to see where their food comes from, or even stop to consider their own carbon footprint.
Supermarkets are still buying from all over Europe and not supporting British manufacturing or farmers.
At my company Vbites, we have invested heavily in UK-based production, creating hundreds of jobs in theNorth East. We have taken huge risks in investing in this country to help farmers grow oats, peas and potatoes that we can make into protein isolates and put into our products to feed the nation.
Meanwhile, some supermarkets continue to unnecessarily import food when they could so easily support the farmers and manufacturers in the UK which, in turn, supports the economy and the survival of this nation.
So next time you’re out in the supermarket take a look at the packet and see where the product was made. Because it’s down to you to bring about change in consumer demand – a change that could ultimately help save our planet.