The Reality of Working for a Supermarket in 2009/Return to Victorian Britain

lostinrates

abaxas wrote: »

How about squirrel? I dont mind a bit of hoy sin squirrel on the BBQ!

I've never eaten squirrel, so couldn't say! Things I'd also prefer not to forage are snails (I do not like escargot, nor frogs legs, nor tiny pretentious and heartbreaking tiny drumsticks of birds that would have resulted in more calorie expenditure to shoot than one would gain from the meat).

I forage a fair bit, nuts, fruits, greens.

Lotus-eater

Does rummaging around in supermarket bins count as foraging these days?
I suppose it should, the modern face of wild food

What greens do you get LIR's? Has this gone OT a little?

lostinrates

Lotus-eater wrote: »

Does rummaging around in supermarket bins count as foraging these days?
I suppose it should, the modern face of wild food

What greens do you get LIR's? Has this gone OT a little?

I'm a big nettle eater. I'm convinced they are remarkbly healthy. Also lots of wild garli in spring, DH loves it. Wild mint, sorrel, borage, linden...what ever is edible that I see. I'm most adventurous with plants really, although we have chickens, and I can shoot, its not something I enjoy and I only feel confident about a limited range of mushrooms. I do enjoy trying new things, and lack of watse. I got quite excited when I found out chickweed was edible, but...its only ok.

One thing I'd love to try that I never have are fiddleheads. My mouth waters when I think about them but I'v never eaten them: 'm not sure if any of the ferns/brackens here are suitable.

bendix

i8change wrote: »

Market forces do not set pay rates. Workers in John Lewis electrical department get better pay and conditions than workers in Currys because John Lewis choose to treat their workers better, regardless of operating in the same market.

If John Lewis pay their staff better than Currys, why doesn't every worker in Currys resign and head over to work at John Lewis?

The answer is simple - there are only a certain number of jobs available at John Lewis. Once that quote of better paid jobs at a desirable employer is filled, the remaining workers - presumably those that John Lewis and other better employers don't want - will settle down to their natural level and seek to get less desirable jobs at other companies which pay lower wages at such places as Tesco and Currys.

The shopping experience is likely to be better at John Lewis as a result. So be it. That is a commercial risk that Tesco and Currys will take. That Tescos are making huge profits seems to suggest it is one that works for them. Some people will prefer to shop at John Lewis because of the better experience; others will go with cheap and less than cheerful Tesco with its crappy staff.

So be it.

If that isnt market forces at work, then I'm a banana.

ninky_2

Lotus-eater wrote: »

Does rummaging around in supermarket bins count as foraging these days?
I suppose it should, the modern face of wild food

What greens do you get LIR's? Has this gone OT a little?

i'm a big fan of freegans. although it is not really legal. the contents of the bin actually belong to the supermarket and removing stuff from them is officially theft.

lostinrates

ninky wrote: »

i'm a big fan of freegans. although it is not really legal. the contents of the bin actually belong to the supermarket and removing stuff from them is officially theft.

I wonder what place this takes in the thrift paradox.

I have no really strong feelings, other than that I'd see the healthy waste go to the genuinely in need, e.g. the homeless. Interestingly ON posted a convining eplaination of why food vouchers were not acceptable as an alternative to peolple recieving benefits. I wonder if a ticket to be eligable to supplment their diets with this sort of food could be. Presumably, health and safety and claims to one side for a moment, it would be t the benefi of us as a nation to reduce waste, and to the supermarkets to redue the cost of waste.

ninky_2

bendix wrote: »

The answer is simple - there are only a certain number of jobs available at John Lewis. Once that quote of better paid jobs at a desirable employer is filled, the remaining workers - presumably those that John Lewis and other better employers don't want - will settle down to their natural level and seek to get less desirable jobs at other companies which pay lower wages at such places as Tesco and Currys.

.

bendix i really do marvel at your faith in the market to reward the worthy and punish the undeserving. do you really believe that those who work hard do well and those who don't fail? take your "secretary" (what a lovely old fashioned world the city is), you suggest that because she is lithuanian and made it to this reasonably paid pa position that means all those from lithuanian who haven't are somehow just less capable. (i bet she still gets paid a fair bit less than others in your office and probably works no less hard). maybe she came from a family where education was encouraged, had access to english language at a younger age than others or maybe had the luck to be born a little more attractive and perky. i don't know. but i don't think she is evidence that all is well in the world of the market.

andygb

ninky wrote: »

i'm a big fan of freegans. although it is not really legal. the contents of the bin actually belong to the supermarket and removing stuff from them is officially theft.

Where I live, the farmers are letting orchards of apples rot on the ground, because it is not worth their while picking them - that is criminal IMO. Why can't they let schools or poor people pick them free of charge, and all of the other fruit and vegetables which go to waste.
We have gathered quite a few kilos of walnuts recently, along with cob nuts, blackberries, plums, and earlier in the year cherries.
I would have no hesitation shooting rabbits (Bit worried about possible disease though) or pigeons. You will find plenty of recipes for squirrel on Google, but I have never tried it. Why ignore fresh water fish, the French eat Pike and Perch, and so do many other European countries.
I would have no qualms about going through supermarket bins if I got desperate enough, but we get enough fruit and vegetables from our local market for a tenner a week, so that isn't bad.

Paulgonnabedebtfree

lostinrates wrote: »

I wonder what place this takes in the thrift paradox.

I have no really strong feelings, other than that I'd see the healthy waste go to the genuinely in need, e.g. the homeless. Interestingly ON posted a convining eplaination of why food vouchers were not acceptable as an alternative to peolple recieving benefits. I wonder if a ticket to be eligable to supplment their diets with this sort of food could be. Presumably, health and safety and claims to one side for a moment, it would be t the benefi of us as a nation to reduce waste, and to the supermarkets to redue the cost of waste.

Around my way, the rough sleepers just used to help themselves from the bins behind the shops in the town centre. I just hope it didn't make them ill. The bakers shop was a prime target.

bendix

Shakethedisease wrote: »

Tell me, how does one improve one's 'marketability' nowadays ? More education ? More experience ? A 'wow' personality ? .. when one is a warehouse picker (with a degree ).. I'm interested to know ?

Why are you looking to me for the answers. It isn't my problem. I'm just giving my observations.

My secretary was hired because of precisely those things - education, experience and wow factor. Had this warehouse picker turned up for an interview - with or without a degree - would he have been suitable for the job in hand? Probably not.

It is hardly employers' fault if there are a lot of people out there who are well educated but not suitable for any meaningful job in the market in which they choose to look for work. He has some kind of aeronautical engineering degree from eastern europe, right? Well, unless there are suitable jobs in that field in the UK, he's going to have to find something else to do, isn't he?

It's not the UK's fault he can't find a better job here. It's not business's fault he can't find a better job.

If he wants to improve his lot in the UK, then he needs to either retrain into something that gives him more chance of a decent job, or give it up as a bad job.

Why is it always someone else's responsibility?