The Salmon
and the Tomato
Highlighting the impacts of our food suply chains
Highlighting the impacts of our food suply chains
Supermarket staples, like salmon and tomatoes, were once luxury or seasonal items. How are they farmed today, and what is the impact of their intensive production?
This project focuses on two intensive food production systems—salmon farming in Northern Europe and tomato greenhouses in southern Spain—to shed light on the social and environmental costs of how they are grown. The story takes us from the icy fjords and lochs of Norway and Scotland to the warm, fertile waters of West Africa, and on to the vast expanses of plastic-covered greenhouses under the Mediterranean Spanish sun.
But this isn't just a story about salmon and tomatoes. It's a story about The Big Machine—neoliberalism and food imperialism, whereby richer nations control food production in poorer ones, offshoring the negative impacts of intensive production. It asks "what are the impacts of our cheap, year-round food?" and imagines a future where food is seen as a human right for all people, not a means to generate profit.
"A powerful and important tool for educating young readers about the complex interconnections of global food systems and their impacts on people and the environment."
Greenpeace Africa
"The [children's] book introduces the topic in a sensitive and thought-provoking way that would appeal to a wide age range of children, whilst emphasising opportunities for positive change."
Naturalist and television presenter
"“We are here because you are destroying our countries!” is a slogan heard at protests by refugees in Europe demanding the right to stay. This project refers, in an impressive and memorable way, to the structural link between displacement driven by capitalist resource exploitation in the Global South and the exploitation of racialised, “cheap” labour in the North."
Migration expert, medico international
"This is a very important [children's] book, and will make a valuable contribution to developing our children's understanding of where their food comes from, and how everything is connected in our globalised world. We consider this to be a very worthwhile endeavour and fully support its publication."
Scotland Director, WildFish