Money Moral Dilemma: What should Baby do about Johnny's stalk?

sarav

Yes, he should keep the stalks to make a nourishing soup.....after all he wouldn't expect to peel onions or potatoes before buying them - would he? :rolleyes:

sluice

I suspect that when the broccoli is harvested in the first place, the pickers are under instructions to cut more stalk than they need. This enables the supermarket to sell more weight than you need; after all, you're going to want a specific number of heads rather than a specific weight of broccoli. it is then not immoral to break off the unnecessary length of stalk; it's only there to rip you off in the first place.

rubix_76

Fiona_s wrote: »

I am amazed at people that snap anything off........... I need to peel my potatoes but I do it when I get home not in the shop. I also have to pay for the skin that I then compost!

Damn, I was going to say that.

I bet the extra weight (of brocilli stalks, potatoe peelings etc) costs less than buying compost anyway ! And we are helping the environment by composting !

This just is a case of consumers wanting it cheaper and bigger (or smaller) and quicker than before. but it is a business and they have to make money so would you rather pay more for a smaller brocilli stalk or less for a bigger brocilli stalk ? it all equals out eventually.

EvilMonkey

If I remember rightly their are 4-5 golden rules about morality. One of them is "is it still ok if everyone does it?"

In this case, it clearly isn't ok. If everyone did it then supermarkets would just charge more for the brocolli to compensate.

So if it's not ok for everybody, it's not ok for anybody to do it.

That said I do look for the shortest stalk / break off particularly large ones...

E.M.

Rob_K

Of course, true money savers would be buying their broccoli from the market stall rather than a supermarket..

Raspberry_Swirl

as i'm only cooking for 2, i do snap the ends of leeks as my local supermarket seems to insist on only selling giant leeks loose. they put all the smaller leeks in the pre-packaged sets and i'm not paying for those.

MoaningMyrtle

If I see people doing it, I have a little word in their shell-like. They are usually the same people eating grapes, cherries and peeling spuds as they go.

Oh, hang on, the God that is Jamie Oliver said it was OK.:rolleyes:

When I worked in a Supermarket, if a customer had done this, I subtley leant on the scales whilst I weighed it, so they would have to pay more money anyway. :rotfl:

Dog eat dog and all that.

SuzySF

i snap the stalks off, and i pop the stalks of mushies too if they are ropey looking !!!(loose ones only i dont use a whole prepacked box). I do tend to look for the short stalks on brocc tho and buy them, but sometimes the stalk is excessively long !! as for the lady who snaps the muddy bit of leeks - weelll why not just wash its only a bit of dirt !! (or rub it off if u think it adds more weight at the checkout) guess u buy only washed potaotes too - clean and shiny lol.I grow my own spuds, leeks, dwarf beans etc but for some reason cant get broccoli or purple sprouting to do at all well...guess thats a question for the gardeing department

JayD

unrich wrote: »

I see the stalk as keeping the florets fresh and its part of the deal. Its not really the done thing to pick bits off. I think you'd get short shrift from a real live grocer if you stood there and did it. They'd kick you out of the shop.

Because the supermarket staff do not "own" the produce they are less likely to get into confrontation with "shoppers" doing this kind of thing. Easier to say nothing than risk a complaint or worse, abuse/assult.

If we all did this then the price would go up to take this into account.

The price on offer is for the whole thing and the invitation to treat is for the whole thing. The shop accept your request to enter into a contract when you take the stuff to the checkout. It would be nice to see the checkout operator/manager issue a summons for damaging stock rather than the price for you picking the best bit.

Its one of those things that if we all did then the system would break down. Like queues, it relies on having a social conscience.

It is the same as buying a chicken at £5.00 a kg, chopping the breasts off and expecting to still pay £5.00 a kg whilst leaving the rest. Nice filleted chicken breasts would be £12.00 a kg. Nice little selected florets cost more than the whole head.

Johnny should keep and pay for his stalk.

I totally agree!
The more 'trimmed' fresh produce is, the higher the cost. If you think it is too pricey with that amount of stalk attached, then shop for your broccoli elsewhere.

So I say "Johnny - leave your stalk alone!"

ILIKE2MOVEITMOVEIT

i find this proposition fairly ridiculous.
what next? peel off all of the banana skins because you don't eat them?
...or maybe take a sharp knife and cut out the apple cores!! :-)

have i made my point?