The Fife Diet

Did anybody notice the winners of the "Best Ethical Contribution" in the Observer Food Awards, publicised in this week's Observer Food Monthly?  I'm sure we should be doing this round here.  What could be better than the Mourne diet?  The Fife people challenged each other to eat local produce for a year and report back on what is possible.  The results are a Fife diet that consists about 80% of local produce, with items allowed which have no local seasonal equivalent such as: lemons; coffee; tea; chocolate (yo!); spices (and I would have to hope for bananas).  The theory is celebrating local goodness, not 'an exercise in self denial'.  The Fife group says that some of them 'dabble in gardening', so you don't have to commit to the Good Life.  The good news is that the group report almost halving their shopping bill, and the challenge is they report doubling time on food preparation.  Eating seasonally becomes essential, and the www.fifediet.co.uk allows the group to share their recipes in order to achieve this.  Could we do it?