We've just grown our own pumpkin. That's why I know allotments won't feed the world | Jay Rayner

The best way to remind yourself why we need mass agriculture is to try it on a very small scale yourselfRecently, my family welcomed a new arrival. This event was keenly anticipated. We had watched it grow, fretted over its development. And then suddenly, there it was, sitting in the kitchen: a bright orange pumpkin, about the size of my head and equally as weirdly shaped. While I was thrilled to see it, I can take none of the credit for its production. The farmer was my wife, Pat, who fretted appropriately over the way the pumpkin plant clearly shut down all other production to bring forth this one beauty. A reasonably productive tomato plant kept it company. We also got a couple of chillies from a tiny seedling brought to the house by a lunch guest. Tom and Barbara Good had nothing on us.For a while we fretted over what to do with the pumpkin. We thought about carving it into a lantern for Halloween but in truth we've opted out of being mugged by children for sugar. Ours are adults. We're done. Round our way if you don't put out a pumpkin, the door knocker stays unmolested. So we thought about roasting and even pickling it. Continue reading...