C4 Dispatches programme-price of veg

lawrenson

Hi,

health experts recommend more than 5 a day, but the government didn't think they could get the British public to eat more than that, so aimed for 5.

Cheers,
karen

Edwardia

Pretty sure I watched a YouTube from University of California which says 5 a day started as a marketing campaign for fruit and veg in Cali.

DPJames

I have no idea what this thread is meant to be about.

lindseykim13

I watched it but again already knew it all not to be big headed or anything lol
Going to make more of an effort to avoid the big 4 in total anyway as someone else said if it's not market day can always go to lidl ect and we do have a local veg shop.
Will use lidl to stock up on weekend meat deals and reduced meat in the other stores.

We will be making more of growing our own this year as last year i was too ill. Going to concentrate on butternut squash as stores well too i believe. Corgettes as can freeze and add to stews/stirfrys.
I'm not going to bother with potatos as mine always seem to go wrong lol and a sack is still reasonably priced in lidl or market.
Sweetcorn as we love that as can freeze if have a glut.
Might try parsnips too.

Think ahead for growing stuff as anything that you can store for winter use will save money and you can eat out of season.

Edwardia

http://www.poundland.co.uk/top-tips/bulbs-and-seeds/
http://www.99pstoresltd.com/products.asp?CAT_CODE=50

Lidl also good for veg seeds, though they sell out very quickly.

A._Badger

avantra wrote: »

As for the public health statements in the program, can someone explain why is it 5/a day in the UK, 7/day in Denmark or 20/day in other countries?

I

It was always a nonsense, invented by a Californian nutritionist, Susan Foerster, to promote fruit and vegetable consumption. Growing fruit and vegetables is one of California's biggest industries.

The first big five a day hype came when it was claimed it helped fight cancer. But as the research came in, this was proved wrong.

The American National Cancer Institute has said that “no studies have tested the impact of specific numbers of servings on cancer risk”. But it says five was chosen in California in 1988, as it doubled the average consumption, and “the number five was memorable and provided a platform for creative message and programme delivery”

But wait! Isn't that just marketing speak? Yes, it is.

Recently, the co-discoverer of DNA (Watson of Crick and Watson fame - winner of the Nobel prize for physiology and medicine, no less) actually opined that more cancers could be being caused by antioxidants than cured by them!

The figures from heart disease research are equally depressing for the five a day advocates. Inconclusive, at best.

The truth is that nobody really knows. Diet isn't a magic bullet to cure or prevent all ills. The five a day slogan suits retailers and producers as it helps them sell products by guilt-tripping people into buying five. ten, twenty a day of this, that, or the other.

It also suits the neo-puritanical nanny types and health freaks generally, because it sounds right. And, of course, it may be, but is not science and it is still a myth. It was a figure plucked out of thin air that has gathered huge momentum for reasons that owe as much to sloganeering and marketing as to genuine research..

Sorry if that upsets some readers of this forum. People invest a lot of emotion in faith and heretics frequently end-up getting flamed.

Ken68

I now look forward to a programme on the price of protein, this being the main cost of a meal.
And the biggest crime of supermarkets is selling uniform sized fruit and veg. My guess is that to offer wonky carrots etc would interrupt their marketing technique.

Middy

I have purchased veg from the market before and I had to bin most of it as it gone over in 2 days.

I can keep stuff bought in supermarkets for weeks.

I wonder where the market traders store their produce to make it go over quickly?

lindseykim13

Middy wrote: »

I have purchased veg from the market before and I had to bin most of it as it gone over in 2 days.

I can keep stuff bought in supermarkets for weeks.

I wonder where the market traders store their produce to make it go over quickly?

I always find if you buy their 'deals' the pick a bowl for a £1 type ones-that stuff is there going off stuff and they are tyring to shift it. Still eddible but not going to last long.
If you buy the full price stuff it tends to be fresher & lasts longer.
I still get the deals but only if i know that it will be eaten quickly.
I got a sack of estima potatos 5kg for £3 the other day and they were better than anything i've ever got from the supermarket.

Edwardia

In the USA, vegetables are often irradiated ie exposed to radiation to kill bacteria and make them last longer. In the UK you can buy irradiating cabinets to install in commercial kitchens to irradiate the knives used but there are few licensed irradiation operators and irradiated food has to be labelled. I've never seen any.

However, I I have, like Middy noticed varying 'shelf life' for fresh produce. Very often, when you go in a supermarket, the fruit and veg area is kept at a colder temperature and the fruit and veg is actually chilled. Unless you keep that food in the fridge, it can go off quickly. I bought Tesco (sorry Tesco but it's true) carrots on a summer day and before I was in my mother's car, there was water in the bag - the following day the carrots were black with mould.

Swedes I buy, whether washed and shrink wrapped or dirty from a veg box do tend to last weeks as does celeriac and squashes. So the veg type has a bearing, probably.

I had organic chard in a veg box, which started to wilt within hours. I dunked it in a bowl of cold water for a few hours and it perked up so I put it in a food bag in the fridge and it's fine.

I think myself it boils down to whether the veg has been in cold store for months, whether it's prime fresh Class 1 in the first place, how it's stored before you buy it and how you store it at home.

My rule now is if it arrives refrigerated it gets refrigerated. If it's delicate, it gets washed and refrigerated. If it's unrefrigerated root veg it gets stored in baskets lined with newspaper in the cold part of the kitchen out of direct sunlight.

That has helped me.