To get you thinking about food I have done a bit of research on CINNAMON. This is a spice so officially allowed to be eaten during the challenge. Now to give an idea about food production for an average kitchen multiply the distance below by 1000s to cover all the different ingredients. Once you start to think about how EVERYTHING is produced, the impacts it has on people and the environment (both good and bad) – its a bit mind boggling!
What is Cinnamon?: Cinnamon comes from the inner bark of a tropical tree in the Lauraceae family, it is dried and rolled into 'quills'.
History: Cinnamon is one of the oldest spices known, having a history of almost 5,000 years, recorded as being used in ancient Egypt, China and Rome. In medieval times it was one of the first spices traded between the Near East and Europe and was affordable to the richest and highest ranking in society. From 16th to the 19th centuries there were many power struggles between European nations as to who would control the spice trade in Ceylon.
Modern Production: Today Ceylon cinnamon is produced in Sri-Lanka, India, Madagascar, Brazil and the Carribian. Cassia cinnamon is produced in China, Vietnam and India. The harvesting is labour intensive as branches are cut and stripped by hand and air dried although mechanical harvesting is being developed in Sri-Lanka where almost 80% of all cinnamon is grown.
Growing Cinnamon: The trees are coppiced after 2-6 years and are then productive for up to 50 years. Most farmers producing cinnamon have less than 0.25 ha of land although there are also many big farms. Chemical are generally used to control pests unless the cinnamon is organically grown.
Travel: Cinnamon is transported by ship in bales to packaging factories. From Sri-Lanka to the UK is 5400 miles (5370 miles over our limit!).
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