Ethical on a budget

lynzpower

Ive noticed a lot of people buying blueberries from the other side of the world too

seems crazy when our own hedgerows are bursting with blackberries. Not much proper foraging either, given that there are stacks of them literally on every grass verge in Leytonstone- so im not even in the ccountry and I can get locally grown, none chremically treated food for free

Im getting out there and filling my freezer and making some jams, should last a long time I reckon and a good way to 5 a day

savvy

Aaah yes, I remember spending many days picking blackberries and elderberries as a kid.............................and what for?? My parents homemade wine that I was only ever allowed to taste a drop!!!! :rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes:

savvy

Ytaya wrote: »

I applaud what you're trying to do and your common sense attitude to it (ignore the magic ORGANIC word and consider other ethical aspects too)! But, erm... France? Spain? New Zealand? Holland? How local are they! Onions and garlic are easily grown in this country, I know English blueberries are having a bumper year too.

This was why I cancelled the box scheme I was getting from the milkman :rolleyes: but when we shop at our local organic farm I see a lot of stuff imported there too

high-rise_andrew

I must only spend around £60 a month on food & household goods. But being on Income Support I don't really have the same luxury to be middle-class about these things as some. I try my best though, recycle and reuse. & NO unnecessary purchases. Maybe a lot of peole just have too much money to <comfort-spend>??

Bella56

high-rise_andrew wrote: »

I must only spend around £60 a month on food & household goods. But being on Income Support I don't really have the same luxury to be middle-class about these things as some. I try my best though, recycle and reuse. & NO unnecessary purchases. Maybe a lot of peole just have too much money to <comfort-spend>??

£60, wow! What sort of meals do you get for that? And where do you shop?

I did try to be ethical and green, and got the Abel & Cole box plus organic food from Tesco... but it totally broke the bank! And frankly, when I am paying extra for local organic food, I don't expect it to have weird fungi growing on it!! (Unless it happens to be a mushroom!!!) So now it is Lidls and Tesco.... sigh.....:(

happiestpuppy

This is really interesting to read everone's thoughts. In our home we can't really afford the organic food either, but we always walk to the shop with the rucksack and re-use any plastic bags. I also try and choose products that are from Europe where possible (eg UK apples rather than NZ) although sadly this is not feasible with bananas!
One thing that we do quite well is not wasting any food, very little is thrown away. Also the packaging gets recycled as far as possible!

Che75

I think this could be a really interesting thread. I'm trying to reign in my food budget ATM - we're just too sporadic with the shopping and end up wasting a lot of fresh food. I want to get more organised and less wasteful, but also buy as ethically as possible.

Samsampotts - I'd love to know how you make your soda bread as I quite fancy having a go at this.

betterlife

hello everyone im new to this site and think this link is great. ive always wanted to be more green and ethical, we have just moved to a different council area and there recycling is so much better, everything in the green bin goes into a giant composter and once a year we can all collect free compost! anyway what i was going to say was has anyone thought about growing there own fruit and veg from home. you can grow in the ground, pots and containers etc and in small spaces. how much more organic and local can you get than your own back garden. things like tomatoes, cucumbers cut again salad leaves, runner beans, carrots , garlic and loads more can all be grown easily. why buy blueberries from abroad when you can buy a plant from the garden centre for less than £10.00 and grow your own. in the next few weeks i will start to dig a new veg patch in my garden, it wont be to big only about 2.5 x 2.5 metres but will supply alot of veg if i work it carefully, i am married with 3 children under 7 and 6mths pregnant. im no hippy but think its important to teach our children the importance recyling etc. thanks for reading.:p

geordie_joe

Welcome to MSE, I'm sure you'll find a lot to interest you in here.

betterlife wrote: »

what i was going to say was has anyone thought about growing there own fruit and veg from home.

We have a board dedicated to that, well at least I think it is but I haven't actually been in there. Have a look down the list for the Greenfingered Moneysaving board. I'm sure you'll find it interesting.