Hugh's War on Waste

Ken68

It's all down to money, the farmer doesn't know he's going to get a bumper harvest, and when he does, inevitably the price drops, then maybe it's cheaper to plough the stuff in.
And if Morries sales fall dramatically, then they might have a case to sue HFW, especially setting up a stall outside one of the shops.

VfM4meplse

Rainy-Days wrote: »

I am disgsuted by Morrisons, their actions leave allot - by a considerable way - to be desired.

Don't think this is the exception. I would imagine the scale of Tesco gives them a license to behave even more despicably. I go out of my way to avoid Mr Ts, and have done for years now.

I would be very disappointed if Aldi and Liidl employed the same tactics.

fuddle

The solution to the waste is as follows:

1) Consumers stop buying food they can't eat.
2) Supermarkets stop buying food they can't sell.
3) Farmers stop growing food they can't sell.

jack_pott you share my thoughts, I have to admit. I was horrified at the visual of the waste. Absolutely sickening but the farmers are growing surplus intentionally to hit targets, as far as I can make out. The supermarkets are making those targets based on what they think the consumer wants, I feel, and the good old consumer is a bit of a stickler for getting the most out of their money... dare I say, expect perfection? Of course, not all. I know I am generalising hugely. I just feel that all camps are involved in this situation and it's going to take action from all to help solve the issue.

Probably a radical view but maybe one of the solutions would be to get rid of packs of veg/fruit in bags? I know you can still choose your carrots and potatoes etc but it's not across the board. Rarely I get to choose how many of x,y,z I want and have to pick up a bag of whatnot if I need an item and then have to incorporate the rest into meals that I have already planned. If you need a parsnip and there's only crooked, wonky stumpy ones left. 9 times out of 10 I'm sure they would be purchased. :cool:

Rainy-Days

VfM4meplse wrote: »

Don't think this is the exception. I would imagine the scale of Tesco gives them a license to behave even more despicably. I go out of my way to avoid Mr Ts, and have done for years now.

I would be very disappointed if Aldi and Liidl employed the same tactics.

They are pretty much all at it TBH. Tesco are the pits for their Buyers treating suppliers like dirt and I don;t do big shops there either. The one thing I found enraging about the programme last night was the fact that Morrisons gave clear agreements that they would engage with the programme and then continually back tracked.

Morrisons also will not be the only one to making 'veiled threats' to their suppliers to not speak out either! That was clear in the begining part of the prgramme when allot of farmers talked to Hugh off camera, but said no way would they go on it - for fear of losing the contracts with the supermarkets - so this is clear it's right across the board! ASDA, Sainsburys, Tesco (the main No1 contender for being the worst) and Morrisons! You can bet pound to a penny M&S and Waitrose will be even more snooty then the main bunch here!

I had heard that Aldi and Lidl pay their suppliers fairly and also on a 30 day basis as opposed to 90 days (yes thats three months) for the big four! It would be helpful if someone would clarify that because I only heard that from someone who previosuly worked there some time ago!

I just try where I can to get my veg and fruit from the local market (the chap at heighley Gate Garden Centre is also brilliant as well as he has a smal stall there) and also when i go into Newcastle I am very happy to buy and support Grainger Market - in fact more often than not it has worked out cheaper this way. I also only use the local butcher as well. Only meat I get from the supermarket is actually chicken!

I wholeheartdely agree with Catkins - the abject waste was appalling. Why in God's name would anybody throw good clothes into a bin? There are loads of charity bags that get posted through doors - sometimes two a week - just load them up put them outside and they get collected it just could be made more easier.

I knew we had become a throw away society, but this just takes it beyond the pale.

You know what some people would really do well to want - to know what it's damn well like to have to scrimp and save and put money by. Easy come, easy go and it will get worse!

Welcome to Generation Easy Street - and they have never had it so good :mad:

Gigervamp

meritaten wrote: »

and what happened to 'Russet' apples? you never see them now and they were my favourites!

They're my favourites too. Sainsbury sometimes sell them in the autumn.

I get mine from a stall at Riverside Farmer's Market. It's by the Millenium stadium if you can get there. I haven't bought any this year, but I think I paid about £1.50 for a kilo bag.

VfM4meplse

Rainy-Days wrote: »

I had heard that Aldi and Lidl pay their suppliers fairly and also on a 30 day basis as opposed to 90 days (yes thats three months) for the big four! It would be helpful if someone would clarify that because I only heard that from someone who previosuly worked there some time ago!

I would like to know a bit more about the supply chain for these two firms.

Rainy-Days wrote: »

I knew we had become a throw away society, but this just takes it beyond the pale.

You know what some people would really do well to want - to know what it's damn well like to have to scrimp and save and put money by. Easy come, easy go and it will get worse!

Welcome to Generation Easy Street - and they have never had it so good :mad:

Yes its annoying, but isn't the cause ignorance and lack of thought / maturity rather than intent? (Am thinking of the peroxide creature in the cafe). In which case HFW is doing the world a service on this occasion.

Rainy-Days

Jack-Pott you miss the point entirely! The farmers are planting crops to excess simply because the amount of rejects on the product is exponentially high. So, by over planting the waste goes through the roof because the standard set by the supermarkets is just ridiculous!

It's supply and demand if they did not plant to excess to meet the targets then they would not be able to supply the quantity and thus the supermarkets would switch to imports.

In a section of the programme Hugh was discussing with one guy who had set up a website about a whole field full of cabbages being rejected for simply having a few dodgy leaves. If you listened carefully in 2004 and again I think it was 2009 they said there was two poor harvest for potatoes (and another veg) and the over supply of what was previously categorised, by the big four as 'the rejects', was put into the normal supply chain - simply because there would not have been enough to go around - meet demand.

Yet, yet, yet not one single person (consumer) complained! So, there we have it, if the farmers were able to sell the entire crop then that would mean less planting, less waste and ultimately make the food slightly cheaper. They also would not need to employ the amount of staff 'checking' the produce for quality control.

It is the basic abject principle of supply and demand - the farmers have to bow to the demand of the perfect crop and Mother Nature has different ideas, so they plant more knowing that a siginificant proportion will have to be wasted in order to supply the perfect item! If they don't their contract does not get renewed!

kathrynha

Back in my student days (late 90s) I was in a market gardening area, and did agricultural work though the holidays.


The veg was picked, and the best looking of it was bagged for supermarkets, and you had to be really careful not to let the wrong stuff through, or the supermarket would return the whole delivery, potentially down to one wonky piece of veg in the first box they opened.


Most of the rest of the veg was boxed up for the wholesale market, for greengrocers, market stall holders, restaurants, etc. to buy.


The really naff stuff was sent for animal feed, but it was normally the really small stuff, or the stuff damaged by the harvester, not just stuff that was ugly.


I don't remember there being any edible waste really at all.

I am wondering why that isn't still happening today.
Are greengrocers, market stalls, restaurants being as fussy as supermarkets so no demand for not-perfect stuff now?
Do supermarkets force them to have exclusive contracts where they can't sell to others?

preciousillusions

I agree with a lot that has been said in here but i wanted to make one point: Sometimes, food wastage has nothing to do with being greedy, immoral or shallow. There are other reasons that I won't go into too much but fear or illness/disorder, basically. It isn't always a case of people just being ignorant and lazy.

fuddle

I don't think the point had been missed by jack_pott because the situation is what it is. There is an over supply problem in my opinion and it's down to all 3 parties (consumer/farmer/supermarket) over buying/growing and not using and there lies the problem as far as I can see.

The ethics of the situation is a different matter and that is what needs addressing in my eyes and I agree with the majority here that it isn't right.