The Temptation of the Takeaway!

One of the things I’ve enjoyed in my life over the years is a good takeaway.  I love that classic British takeaway, fish and chips.  I’m quite a fan of the doner kebab, but only from one takeaway, Cyprus, in the market town of Poulton Le Fylde.  I quite like McDonalds burgers these days now that they taste of beef instead of, well, nothing really.  And I love KFC, Chinese and pizzas.

One of the things I had to think really seriously about as I embark on living a self-sufficient and green life is whether takeaway meals can form a part of that new life.  Quite apart from the fact that the takeaway meal is almost the complete opposite of self-sufficiency there are a whole host of factors to consider.

The first issue is that where I am buying food as opposed to growing it myself, which at the moment is pretty much all of it except bread, it is my intention to buy local food and where ever possible organic food.  I am almost certain that the food served by the big takeaway chains is not, on the whole, locally sourced and it certainly isn’t organic.  It falls at the first hurdle.

The second issue is one of traceability and animal welfare.  If I buy beef from my local butcher he can tell me where is has come from and how the livestock on the farm is treated.  I have yet to find a local source of organic beef, but at least I know that the beef I eat is local and that the cows it comes from have been treated well.  Can the same be said of a fast food burger?

What of one of my favourites, KFC?  Well, in their favour their website states that “Our chickens are raised in barns where they are free to roam. All our original recipe chicken on the bone comes from British and Irish farms and bears the Red Tractor symbol guaranteeing standards of quality and welfare. And all our suppliers, all over the world, are held to the exact same standard.  All our suppliers in the UK and Ireland make sure the chickens have natural light coming in from windows in the barns; wooden perches and hay bales for exercise and nesting; and pecking objects. We're working with our suppliers to see some of these enrichment methods introduced in our suppliers' farms overseas as well.”  This is good, but how many food miles are used to get that chicken to the restaurant?  These welfare standards are better than some, but they are not free range chickens.  Neither are they organic chickens.  In good conscience can I, as somebody who is trying to be self-sufficient and live ethically buy KFC?  The answer has to be a reluctant ‘no’!

It takes more effort, but what could be better and safer than preparing your own equivalent to takeaway food?  Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall championed this idea in one of his River Cottage series on Channel 4. 

My bread machine makes fantastic pizza dough which I can top with fresh, organic, local ingredients (and eventually home produced ingredients).  I may even build a clay wood fired pizza oven in the garden! 

Free range and even organic chicken can be sourced locally in most areas and can be prepared and cooked in all sorts of ways, including the use of home grown organic herbs and garlic.  Chips can be made at home in the fryer from freshly peeled and cut organic potatoes.

Burgers can be made at home from organic or local ethically raised meat, seasoned with chopped home grown organic onions and enclosed in homemade bread buns.

Fresh sustainable fish can be bought from a fishmonger and fried in homemade beer batter (batter made from organic ingredients and home brew beer).

I’ve yet to try a homemade equivalent of a Doner kebab, but when I do I’ll let you know.

The fight against the takeaway temptation is hard though.  Only this morning I was driving from Poulton Le Fylde to Otley when I stopped off at McDonalds for a sausage muffin.  It was only when I was half way through it that I realised what I was eating.  It’s so easy to slip back into bad habits…..