It's getting tough out there. Feeling the pinch?

London_1

I love sweet potatoes plus the fact they seem to last a whole lot longer than ordinary ones. I know a couple of sweet potatoes seem to be in the veg rack and are still in good condition for far longer than the supermarket ones that start to sprout within a week

Years ago when you would buy your spuds (usually King Edwards on a market stall complete with bits of mud on them) I seem to remember they too lasted a lot longer.

Perhaps its our obcession with having them minus the earthy bits that gives them a shorter shelf life.

On Tuesday at coffee morning we were talking about potatoes (we are a weird bunch I know )and were saying how we used to be so pleased years ago when the Cyprus spuds came in season onto the market and when the Jersey Royals came as tiny button sized ones in late spring.
But back then things were eaten in season, now unless its fruit, very little is seasonable.

I live in Kent (the Garden of England) yet unless you travel to Brogdale (near Faversham) to buy your apples the choice in the supermarkets is fairly limited. I'm lucky in that me next door neighbour has an apple tree, and in exchange for a home baked cake or two I get some of her surplus apples,  which I peel slice and cook in a squirt of lemon juice and a decent dollop of honey .
Once drained and cooled they are portioned up into soup bags and frozen to use in winter for crumbles ,pies etc. I think , as my late husband used to say I am reincarnated from a squirrel  

JackieO x

Woolsery

tooldle said:

Rosa_Damascena said:

Shell is creaming it off with a 43% jump in profits to £7.2 billion. If that's not the worked definition of profiteering at the expense of those with little, I don't know what is.

This is only part of the story. Without knowing the percentage reinvestment and indeed what the reinvestment is for, it is impossible to judge. Basically you need a fuller picture. Net zero is a very expensive ask for such companies. 

It's also a very expensive ask for us too! Impossible in some cases.

We'll have to keep nuclear and some fossil fuel capacity for the foreseeable future or the lights will go out, but it's not PC to say that. What we do is pretty small beer anyway compared with China and India.

I'm not arguing against the need to protect our environment, but there will have to be some hard choices to reach goals still not universally agreed.

Personally, I think  those choices have been made, just not made clear. Turkeys don't vote for Christmas.

tooldle

Woolsery said:

tooldle said:

Rosa_Damascena said:

Shell is creaming it off with a 43% jump in profits to £7.2 billion. If that's not the worked definition of profiteering at the expense of those with little, I don't know what is.

This is only part of the story. Without knowing the percentage reinvestment and indeed what the reinvestment is for, it is impossible to judge. Basically you need a fuller picture. Net zero is a very expensive ask for such companies. 

It's also a very expensive ask for us too! Impossible in some cases.

We'll have to keep nuclear and some fossil fuel capacity for the foreseeable future or the lights will go out, but it's not PC to say that. What we do is pretty small beer anyway compared with China and India.

I'm not arguing against the need to protect our environment, but there will have to be some hard choices to reach goals still not universally agreed.

Personally, I think  those choices have been made, just not made clear. Turkeys don't vote for Christmas.

We may be small beer in comparison now but we (the UK) have been emitting for far longer than most. I'm in R&D so have some exposure to decarbonisation projects in manufacturing settings and, the direction of travel.

Woolsery

tooldle said:

Woolsery said:

tooldle said:

Rosa_Damascena said:

Shell is creaming it off with a 43% jump in profits to £7.2 billion. If that's not the worked definition of profiteering at the expense of those with little, I don't know what is.

This is only part of the story. Without knowing the percentage reinvestment and indeed what the reinvestment is for, it is impossible to judge. Basically you need a fuller picture. Net zero is a very expensive ask for such companies. 

It's also a very expensive ask for us too! Impossible in some cases.

We'll have to keep nuclear and some fossil fuel capacity for the foreseeable future or the lights will go out, but it's not PC to say that. What we do is pretty small beer anyway compared with China and India.

I'm not arguing against the need to protect our environment, but there will have to be some hard choices to reach goals still not universally agreed.

Personally, I think  those choices have been made, just not made clear. Turkeys don't vote for Christmas.

We may be small beer in comparison now but we (the UK) have been emitting for far longer than most.

Yes, I know, but does that mean we should be given extra hardship now to atone for past profligacy? Or what?

I notice one method of getting people's support for something is to lay a guilt trip on them. Classic gaslighting, as practiced by certain leaders, who haven't always done as they preached.

QueenJess

London_1 said:

I love sweet potatoes plus the fact they seem to last a whole lot longer than ordinary ones. I know a couple of sweet potatoes seem to be in the veg rack and are still in good condition for far longer than the supermarket ones that start to sprout within a week

Years ago when you would buy your spuds (usually King Edwards on a market stall complete with bits of mud on them) I seem to remember they too lasted a lot longer.

Perhaps its our obcession with having them minus the earthy bits that gives them a shorter shelf life.

I think it's a number of things.  If you get your veg from a market then they haven't moved around the system for as long and therefore you've got them earlier so they last longer.  Potatoes in plastic also won't last as long as ones put in the dark somehwere.  You are also at the mercy of how good the supermarket stock control system is; if things have hung around on the shelves for a while then they won't last as long.  I used to live near a big supermarket years ago and their stock control was particularly awful because any veg or fruit I got from there only lasted 1-2 days.  Also, I suspect if you get unseasonable fruit/veg they may not last as long as they've had to travel quite a while to get here (although there are notable exceptions like bananas which last quite a while).  I get a veg box delivered from a farm instead and their veg/fruit lasts 2 weeks.

tooldle

Woolsery said:

tooldle said:

Woolsery said:

tooldle said:

Rosa_Damascena said:

Shell is creaming it off with a 43% jump in profits to £7.2 billion. If that's not the worked definition of profiteering at the expense of those with little, I don't know what is.

This is only part of the story. Without knowing the percentage reinvestment and indeed what the reinvestment is for, it is impossible to judge. Basically you need a fuller picture. Net zero is a very expensive ask for such companies. 

It's also a very expensive ask for us too! Impossible in some cases.

We'll have to keep nuclear and some fossil fuel capacity for the foreseeable future or the lights will go out, but it's not PC to say that. What we do is pretty small beer anyway compared with China and India.

I'm not arguing against the need to protect our environment, but there will have to be some hard choices to reach goals still not universally agreed.

Personally, I think  those choices have been made, just not made clear. Turkeys don't vote for Christmas.

We may be small beer in comparison now but we (the UK) have been emitting for far longer than most.

Yes, I know, but does that mean we should be given extra hardship now to atone for past profligacy? Or what?

I notice one method of getting people's support for something is to lay a guilt trip on them. Classic gaslighting, as practiced by certain leaders, who haven't always done as they preached.

Your mission is drifting. I'm simply explaining a fuller picture is needed before a reasonable judgement can be made on whether or not a company is profiteering. I have referenced an example on how a profit may be used to address challenges currently facing the industry concerned. There are lots of ways to compare and contrast emissions data and to draw meaning. 

Woolsery

tooldle said:

Woolsery said:

tooldle said:

Woolsery said:

tooldle said:

Rosa_Damascena said:

Shell is creaming it off with a 43% jump in profits to £7.2 billion. If that's not the worked definition of profiteering at the expense of those with little, I don't know what is.

This is only part of the story. Without knowing the percentage reinvestment and indeed what the reinvestment is for, it is impossible to judge. Basically you need a fuller picture. Net zero is a very expensive ask for such companies. 

It's also a very expensive ask for us too! Impossible in some cases.

We'll have to keep nuclear and some fossil fuel capacity for the foreseeable future or the lights will go out, but it's not PC to say that. What we do is pretty small beer anyway compared with China and India.

I'm not arguing against the need to protect our environment, but there will have to be some hard choices to reach goals still not universally agreed.

Personally, I think  those choices have been made, just not made clear. Turkeys don't vote for Christmas.

We may be small beer in comparison now but we (the UK) have been emitting for far longer than most.

Yes, I know, but does that mean we should be given extra hardship now to atone for past profligacy? Or what?

I notice one method of getting people's support for something is to lay a guilt trip on them. Classic gaslighting, as practiced by certain leaders, who haven't always done as they preached.

Your mission is drifting. I'm simply explaining a fuller picture is needed before a reasonable judgement can be made on whether or not a company is profiteering. I have referenced an example on how a profit may be used to address challenges currently facing the industry concerned. There are lots of ways to compare and contrast emissions data and to draw meaning. 

Please don't think I'm having a go at you. What you say makes sense, and you have specialist knowledge. If the "emitting longer than most" means it's harder to turn things around, I can see that.

Edited to add: In my own sector everyone's agreed that organic or close to it is the best solution for the planet, but it can't be 'best' for some of the people posting here without huge changes, because of the way the bulk of UK farming is now set-up. It would take many years to turn things around and keep us all properly fed.

annieb64

I love a chick pea and spinach curry . When we lived near Manchester we used to go to a lovely vegetarian Indian restaurant in Ashton-under-Lyne.  It was our treat if we had a hospital appointment at Tameside hospital. There was an Asian supermarket next door where I stocked up on spices and things like big tins of mango pulp.

Now we've moved to Kent so I'm  still finding my way around. At least I have my bus pass now so can go exploring by bus.

EssexHebridean

We had a HM indian fakeaway on Friday evening involving a butternut squash & chickpea curry - so broadly similar. I poshed it up a bit by making the sauce based on Rick Stein's korma recipe from his "India" book - always a favourite and just as good without meat! Served up with rice and a garlic flatbread in lieu of naan bread it was extremely tasty!  Annieb64 I really miss living in East London where we had not only a great market but also several really good Asian supermarkets, AND a Chinese wholesaler close by as well. They were a regular feature of our weekly shop! 

Slinky

London_1 said:

I love sweet potatoes plus the fact they seem to last a whole lot longer than ordinary ones. I know a couple of sweet potatoes seem to be in the veg rack and are still in good condition for far longer than the supermarket ones that start to sprout within a week

Years ago when you would buy your spuds (usually King Edwards on a market stall complete with bits of mud on them) I seem to remember they too lasted a lot longer.

Perhaps its our obcession with having them minus the earthy bits that gives them a shorter shelf life.

On Tuesday at coffee morning we were talking about potatoes (we are a weird bunch I know )and were saying how we used to be so pleased years ago when the Cyprus spuds came in season onto the market and when the Jersey Royals came as tiny button sized ones in late spring.
But back then things were eaten in season, now unless its fruit, very little is seasonable.

Jersey Royals are still seasonal. They can only be grown in Jersey.