Food, Inc. (documentary)

[bonniethomas06]

Good point citizentwiglet, I sympathise with the whole family/friends thing.

We don't have much money - our food (and cleaning stuff etc but NOT wine!) budget for a month is strictly £200 (ok, there are only two of us and a cat) but everything we eat is organic (not grown ourselves yet as this is our first year with a patch for ages) local and if not, fairtrade where at all possible. I can honestly say that unless it is a real emergency, I don't shop at supermarkets.

I get snotty looks from certain family, when they are at ours and the Riverford meat box turns up. It is well known that we have no money, and I think they feel like an organic veg box is a luxury we can't afford. But we cook from scratch and plan meals roughly for the month and order in bulk from ethical online suppliers, so I very much doubt we spend more than she does, shopping in Waitrose!

Something in the film really hit home - when an independant farmer described how people baulk at paying $3 for a dozen eggs - and moan about it with a 75c can of coke in their hands. He also questioned why cheap is always best with food - when nobody wants to buy the cheapest car on the market.

Oops, ranting yet again....sorry.

[citizentwiglet]

My current dilemma is that our local greengrocer actually imports his produce from further away than the supermarket does! For goodness sake, we live in Scotland - there is no need to import potatoes from across the planet!

Slightly off topic, but another dilemma that often keeps me awake at night: What's better? Non-Organic apples from Belgium, or organic apples from South Africa? Chemicals or food miles?

Sooner we get this community garden up and running the better. Our budget is roughly £200.00 a month for two adults and two kids (albeit both under 4, but can really put it away - thank God they seem to be hyperactive as well), sadly that has to include wine as well! Yes, I go to supermarkets by necessity at the moment (sad state we're in where they have, essentially, forced the independents to close down, leaving us no choice), but I prefer to get my staples from the Co-Op who, at least, seem the best of a pretty bad bunch.

[bonniethomas06]

Ooh, now that's a good question with the apples...from a purely selfish perspective, I would go for organic, only because I read that apples are the most sprayed fruit (or one of). I don't know whether apples can be shipped or whether they are flown? It is all something I would love to know more about.

Your community garden sounds fab though, it must be painful waiting!

And I agree with the point about independant shops..such a shame - in Bristol City Centre you cannot buy fresh veggies from a greengrocer unless it is a Wednesday (farmers market). It's shameful. And our farm shop is bad for food miles too, unless it is something they can grow themselves.

All makes me want to set up a greengrocer. Shame I am not a morning person!

[Susie]

My current dilemma is that our local greengrocer actually imports his produce from further away than the supermarket does!

I know this sounds sarcastic, it isn't meant to! - how do you know? Did you ask him? I am inspired to go and track down local veg in Cambridge (we have a veg box and then I supplement it from a supermarket, and I'd really like to reduce our use of supermarkets because there are other options here, we are lucky) - and I don't remember seeing any info in our greengrocer about where things come from. I think I assume that unless something says LOCAL GROWN CABBAGE!!!!! in big sparkly letters it is from somewhere they don't want to boast about, but perhaps I should be more assertive and start chatting to people about their veg?

(I sound wussy, don't I? )

[grahamhobbs]

Sorry but people seem to be beating themselves up over these questions. Although I haven't seen the film, isn't it about processed foods? Cutting these out is the big thing, debating over whether it should be local or organic is a relatively minor quibble.

Although that said, I am fortunate to be able to produce 90% of our vegetables and a lot of our fruit organically from our allotment, but more importantly the number of processed foods you will find in our kitchen is minute compared to most peoples - flour, rice, rolled oats, dried pasta, raisins, butter, cheese, Marmite, a few stock cubes, water biscuits, Ryvita, the occaisional pot of jam from a friend, etc. And I think we eat better, more exciting (great cook my missus) and more varied diet than anyone who relies on processed foods.

Cutting out processed foods (together with severely reducing the eating of animal products) is the way to save the planet and your health.

[citizentwiglet]

Susie, yep, I do chat to the greengrocer, but often he does write up where his produce is from - if nothing is written, then I do ask - any opportunity for a chat, really!

(Bear in mind I am a mum of two boys under four, on her own all day looking after them so I don't get much adult conversation....I am therefore getting increasingly like the batty old lady in the Post Office queue that will start random rambling conversations with anyone and everyone in a desperate attempt to stop sounding like a cBeebies presenter).