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Can OS be ethical?
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I dont' remember if I mentioned this before but I'm planning on growing some stuff on my balcony...OK it's a fire escape, but there's lots of room. Thanks for the links. I'll edit that link in the orginal post.
And, at the risk of sounding redundant, I am really surprised at the number of responses! Still haven't found a copy of Save Cash and Save the Planet yet, might just have to bight the bullet and buy it.
Speak soon!
Joe0 -
missk_ensington wrote:Where do you all find the time?!?!?
My weekly organic fruit and veg box actually saves me a lot of time - no fruit and veg to buy as it just turns up on my doorstep - then I only need to pop into the fishmonger and butcher a couple of times a week (which I enjoy anyway) - some stuff goes in the freezer so i am stocked up and going to the butchers and fish shop takes a lot less time than walking up and down all the aisles at Tesco. I stop off at the local health food/grocer shop on the way home for milk, craime fraiche, lemons, muesli, and any othe bits and pieces I need - takes 10 minutes and they are open until 7 or 8pm every day. Once a month or so I will do a bulk online order from Sainsburys for toilet rolls, mineral water, kitchen towel and the like - as I order the same stuff each time this only takes 10 minutes and again as its delivered to my door it's a lot quicker than going to the supermarket in person."The happiest of people don't necessarily have the
best of everything; they just make the best
of everything that comes along their way."
-- Author Unknown --0 -
missk_ensington wrote:I saw an organic chicken and it was a fiver!!! Could buy 3 non-organic chickens for that! !
But your 3 chickens will probably have been raised in rather unpleasant conditions, fed on the cheapest food, possibly given antibiotics to keep it alive in the crowded living conditions and will taste bland and uninteresting. The organic chicken will hopefully have enjoyed a happier healthier life, fed a better diet, only given antibiotics if it was ill, and therefore will actually taste of chicken. One chicken will easily feed 4 people or stretch to 2 or 3 meals for 2 people (plus homemade soup/stock with the carcass) - either way that's less than 2 quid per person per meal (less than the price of a pint down the pub). It's up to the individual what they spend their money on and I realise that many are on a limited budget, but personally I would rather do without SKY TV, the latest mobile phone, etc, etc and spend a bit more on decent food.
By the way with chicken (genuine) free-range is a good halfway house - often the only difference between that and organic is the organic feed which costs a lot more hence the higher price. With lamb, organic is probably an unnecessary extra expense as lamb is the least intensively reared farm animal and not really suitable for factory farming."The happiest of people don't necessarily have the
best of everything; they just make the best
of everything that comes along their way."
-- Author Unknown --0 -
Personally I'd rather eat one extremely good but expensive chicken once a month, than something costing £1.99 every week. The expensive one, as the OP says, will actually taste of something, will last for several meals and hasn't been fed on cr*p... There seems to be a belief out there that a meal isn't a meal unless it involves meat, and that we are all entitled to eat it at least twice a day.
Remember also when you're debating about organic v local that a lot of small scale UK food producers can't afford to register as organic with the Soil Association - they might be just about organic but can't afford the extra £400 (I think) to register. I've also never understood how anythign that's been flown from Kenya can be described as organic - eat locally and seasonally!0 -
Some organic things arenot that much more expensive - I do an order from Suma, and for example, on a 3kg bag of lentils the difference is about 40p for organic - so when I order from Suma I order organic where possible.
Its up to everyone to make the choice and draw the line where appropriate for them - I can't criticise others for buying factory chicken because chances are when I porder chicken in a restaurant - its factory farmed.0 -
I bet KFC isn't free range! No offence but I can't tell the difference between a free range chicken (or eggs) and battery. Although its not pleasant thinking of a chickens Battery life, I'm not abouit to pay an extra £2 for a happy chicken! Its not just one item, if it was I could stretch to £2, but if you buy all your meat organic, as Ive said its like an extra £10 at least on your weekly shopping bill (of which I have set a £35 maximum budget) Thats more than a quarter of my budget on organic meat! And thats putting aside the veggies and other stuff!
X0 -
It's a minefield & oersonally I have a mental battle with it everytime I go shopping.
For me Organic is about the health benefit to my family first I'm afraid, I firmly believe that hormone-injected fast grown meat cannot be good for us & thats why I chose organic meat where ever possible. I will ONLY buy organic chicken, where ever it comes from. tastes a world better than the cheaper stuff & I think chicken is teh owrst of the meats for hormones etc. I try to buy free range for the good of teh animal but that is decidely lower on my list of priorities & it coems down to how the budget is looking at the time. Beef & Lamb I usually stock up on organic when it is reduced but I will buy inorganic if i need it & I can't afford organic. Fruit & veg & free range organic eggs come from my box scheme, milk for Spud is always organic but for us is not as our intake is just to varied to predict & I use long life. If I can buy local produce I willd do do simply beacuse I would rather line a local producers pockets than Mr Tescos but again price often wins out I'm afraid. Tescos is teh only place locally that stocks fairtrade coffee (again I perfer the taste) & I cannot get fairtrade decaffinated organic tea so I have to compromise with just 2 out of the 3 & I get organic decaf tea.
The upside is that Tescos is within walking distance, so apart from a big monthly shop I try to avoid using the car. If only I could pluck upt he courage to go & talk to my local butcher!!Post Natal Depression is the worst part of giving birth:p
In England we have Mothering Sunday & Father Christmas, Mothers day & Santa Clause are American merchandising tricks:mad: Demonstrate pride in your heirtage by getting it right please people!0 -
can anyone point me in the direction of a thread with instructions on how to grow things?? I want to try to potato one you've mentioned in buckets! How long does it take? Are seeds better than using old spuds? When will i know if they're ready without uprooting them from the soil? (Sorry if this sounds really dense!)
And would like more info on the things people grow on their windowledge, please advise! Im going green!0 -
Hermia wrote:I find it very hard to be ethical, but do my best. I live in the suburbs of London and we have 3 Tescos here and no other supermarkets or food shops (apart from a dreadful Londis corner shop). There is a Marks and Spencer a bus ride away, but obviously it's too expensive to do everyday shopping. Obviously there are no farm shops nearby as there is no land to farm on! The local Tescos have very little organic/ethical produce in as there isn't a culture of that in the area.
Maybe there's a farmers market near you? There are several of them around London. Have a look at http://www.lfm.org.uk , but there are more than the ones listed on the website.
I was lucky to find one close to me, where I could get excellent meat. Much tastier and cheaper than from the supermarket.0 -
joebloggs69 wrote:£Ronnie, if you find that site I'm sure many here as well as me would be interested in it. Like I said before https://www.ethiscore.com and https://www.corporatecritic.com - spend a little time playing around on the sites and you'll soon start to get a feel for it, maybe first check out http://www.urban75.com/Action/ethical.html for a kick start - make sure you click the "Boycott 10" link.
Check out http://www.ethicalconsumer.org/ too. They have several buyer's guides that you can view for free.I'm also on the look out for a cheapcopy of "Save Cash and Save the Planet" as my library doesn't have a copy. Is it any good?
I borrowed that one from my library and found it a very useful book. They cover lots of subjects, house cleaning, construction, energy suppliers, etc.0
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