Moral Question(s) - Ethical Food Shopping

eamon

Firstly thank you all for your opinions and thoughts.

I found all of it to be interesting and informative, didn't expect so many to be so mercenary in their approach to food shopping but I don't wear their shoes and have to make their choices, so respect to them. I suppose that once the food stuff from far flung places has arrived and is available to purchase then it makes little sense to not buy it. I still question though the economics behind it and remain to be convinced and I do realise that by making said purchases I am inadvertently ensuring that the process continues, supply & demand etc.
Trying to be an ethical food shopper remains a work in progress methinks!

Eamon

bornintoit

Edwardia wrote: »

More fish gets discarded in the North Sea than caught so I joined Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall's Fish Fight www.fishfight.net I try to choose sustainable fish and it seems like supermarkets are offering them now BUT I bet if it takes off fish like sardines and pouting will cease to be cheap. Years ago, according to my mother, monkfish was cheap and coley (saithe) only for cats !

I have signed and have emailed the petition forward to others.

kerri_dfw

I think if you take into consideration the amount of transport time involved with buying imported food you'd find that the quality of British food is higher than that from abroad. Take for instance tomatos, on the one hand you have them being imported from Spain; picked when they are still green; riped on the truck. On the other you have English tomatos picked within a 10 mile radius; grown to their maximum then picked from the vine. The tomatos that are picked when they have finished growing are going to have drawn up more nutrients than the ones that were picked earlier, their taste is going to be greater, and they are likely going to be better for you and the environment.
However, I also see the need for importing produce we don't create in our own climate, however cheaper isn't necessarily better.
Personally, I had this debate with myself last year and decided to only buy British, start an allotment, and put into my system the best quality I could and I feel a lot healthier for it. There are many areas of life that it doesn't matter if you drop your standard, but fueling your everyday life... not something I'm going to compromise on

useless_git_requires_wife

Buying organic (if you can afford it) is arguably more ethical than concentrating on where products come from. The costs of transportation (financial, environmental etc) are very hard to figure on a product by product basis because there are just so many factors.

What organic farming represents (for the most part) is a more sustainable and healthy method of food production. Sustainability and looking after the planet properly is a good thing to encourage (by buying organic).

Kirri

Buying organic though often the products are coming further afield I've noticed, in Morrisons anyway. I prefer organic but then have distance to consider.

As for the Senegal beans, why bother eating them this time of year, they won't taste anything like a lovely, home grown bean - grown yourself I mean and eaten within hours of picking, which is easy if you have even a small garden or allotment. The taste of beans changes after a few days very noticeably, you probably don't know how good they can be though if you haven't ever grown them.

I grow most of my own veg, store or freeze what I can for winter and buy as little as possible from the supermarkets for myself (unfortunately I have to buy veg in winter for pets still from shops but try and stick to at least European items if no British option).

Eat seasonally British food or home grown, farm shops, veg boxes or market stalls, all better if poss than supermarkets.

I was reading an article this morning on the huge amount of pork Asda was selling that was imported before Christmas to offer it cheaply - the supermarkets are killing off British producers and all we'll be left with is substandard items lacking in ethical production or taste.

A._Badger

useless_git_requires_wife wrote: »

Buying organic (if you can afford it) is arguably more ethical than concentrating on where products come from. The costs of transportation (financial, environmental etc) are very hard to figure on a product by product basis because there are just so many factors.

What organic farming represents (for the most part) is a more sustainable and healthy method of food production. Sustainability and looking after the planet properly is a good thing to encourage (by buying organic).

Only if you believe the myths perpetrated by 'Big Green'. If we are going to feed the world's hungry, we are going to need every technology available to man - not a retreat to the Stone Age.

Thirty years ago I was taken in by the 'Organic' movement - both as a keen gardener and in my professional capacity. But the more I looked into the movement, the flakier it seemed to get.

What we need is wholesome, affordable food and, in the case of meat, meat produced to high animal welfare standards and with proper safety checks. What we do not need is overpriced food designed to make middle class Westerners who feel uneasy about their lifestyles, comfortable in their sanctimoniousness.

Edwardia

A._Badger wrote: »

What we need is wholesome, affordable food and, in the case of meat, meat produced to high animal welfare standards and with proper safety checks

Agree but wholesome affordable food for all with high welfare standards IS more expensive to produce.

If supermarkets offer us cheap organic stuff because they source it from countries where labour is cheaper then customers moan about about food miles and exploitation.

We have to remember that food produced within the EU is highly regulated and subsidised. We taxpayers are paying through the nose so that some farmers can make a killing out of EU grants by taking land OUT pf production. That's as crazy as making fishermen chuck prime cod back dead in the sea because they've used up their quota.

Don't agree with the sanctimonious middle class comment. I'm the daughter of middle class parents, married to a man from a working class background and my husband and his family are just as keen to eat decent food as my family -his mother wouldn't dream of serving up a ready meal.

useless_git_requires_wife

A._Badger wrote: »

Only if you believe the myths perpetrated by 'Big Green'. If we are going to feed the world's hungry, we are going to need every technology available to man - not a retreat to the Stone Age.

Thirty years ago I was taken in by the 'Organic' movement - both as a keen gardener and in my professional capacity. But the more I looked into the movement, the flakier it seemed to get.

What we need is wholesome, affordable food and, in the case of meat, meat produced to high animal welfare standards and with proper safety checks. What we do not need is overpriced food designed to make middle class Westerners who feel uneasy about their lifestyles, comfortable in their sanctimoniousness.

I've no idea what 'Big Green' is. As for the Stone Age....quickest way back there would be in encouraging a farming model that is based on heavy use of finite resources and ignores the very basics of soil management in favour of short-term profit.

Modern organic farming is a sound model and in some cases produces more product (and value) per hectare than comparable non-organic farms. It's not a perfect system, but it is sustainable and sensible.

I doubt the future is the 'either or' scenario that you seem to suggest, but I hope to see more organic farming both here and in developing countries.

ninnoodle

I get a weekly veg box from a local farmer. It is less than a mile from me, pretty cheap and is fantastic value. When I'm in the supermarket I always look for British produce. I think it is important to support British farmers. One day we may look back and wish so much we had supported them more.
I also think it is healthier to have veg that hasn't travelled 1000s of miles over several days. As someone pointed out, if there is a choice between a UK grown product and one grown elsewhere, the UK one wins hand down. I generally only eat seasonal veg anyway - it tastes nicer.

A._Badger

useless_git_requires_wife wrote: »

I've no idea what 'Big Green' is. As for the Stone Age....quickest way back there would be in encouraging a farming model that is based on heavy use of finite resources and ignores the very basics of soil management in favour of short-term profit.

Let me guess. You don't have any relevant scientific background in agriculture, do you?

The 'very basics of soil management' are well known and understood - quite as much by farmers who take advantage of science as those who prefer to believe in muck and magic.