How do you know which food is in season?

thriftlady_2

artichoke wrote: »

stop the madness - think global eat local

Thanks for that Art My gut feeling is to eat local but should I still be buying local greenhouse grown tomatoes in April?

westcoastscot

Hi thriftlady, I guess the best option is not to eat them when they are out of season here but the kids do love them!
I buy locally produced ones if I buy at all - supporting our local farmers. I do appreciate the point made earlier in the thread about how more environmentally friendly spanish ones may be though.

Shopping ethically and cost-effectively whilst allowing personal choice is difficult, but we can only do the best we can. None of us are perfect. Enjoy those tomatoes! you've put me in mind to have salad for tea
WCS

ceridwen

I've been thinking further on where do I buy my food from?

I seem to recall that if countries like Africa are selling us goods like fine beans etc (ie luxury stuff) that its at the expense of growing basic essential foodstuffs for themselves?

Cant recall the details I read about this...but just my basic conclusion of "In this case - I would rather they grew their own basic foodstuffs for themselves - than growing flowers and luxury foodstuffs for us".

Very emotive stuff all this airfreighted food obviously - air travel as a whole in fact. I'm still wincing visibly from an article in todays Independent newspaper by a totally blind/selfish columnist arguing that air travel is good for us all/broadens our horizons/etc - totally ignoring the downside for all those people blighted by plane noise just to give selfish b******s like him their vaunted free choice:cool::mad:

Sorrees....rant over at this journalists huge level of selfishness........

artichoke

hi

here is a quote from

Vandana Shiva, explaining how in India farmers are going hungry whilst they produce food for the west not for themselves

"The oil-based farming model is, she said, inherently unsustainable. India is home to one quarter of the world’s farmers, yet in spite of growing food, 50% of those in hunger in India are farmers. Why? Because they cannot consume what they grow, they are saddled with huge repayments, and when they buy back the food they have to pay 4 times what they were paid for it. The great economic ‘miracle’ that India has experienced has left over a quarter of Indians hungry."

quote taken from her speech at the Future of Food Conference 2009

stop the madness - think global eat local
art

ps Ceridwen - have you read rob H's blog today re volvanic ash and air travel...

Emm-in-a-pickle

Bought English asparagus today (grown in Hereford) and purple sprouting broccoli at local `farm shop` (they also do stuff from elsewhere, of course) and a couple of pounds of GORGEOUS baby tomatoes (£1/lb, hydroponic grown not very far away from here) Spring cabbage is wonderful just now, too, make the most of it.

ceridwen

artichoke wrote: »

hi

here is a quote from

Vandana Shiva, explaining how in India farmers are going hungry whilst they produce food for the west not for themselves

"The oil-based farming model is, she said, inherently unsustainable. India is home to one quarter of the world’s farmers, yet in spite of growing food, 50% of those in hunger in India are farmers. Why? Because they cannot consume what they grow, they are saddled with huge repayments, and when they buy back the food they have to pay 4 times what they were paid for it. The great economic ‘miracle’ that India has experienced has left over a quarter of Indians hungry."

quote taken from her speech at the Future of Food Conference 2009

stop the madness - think global eat local
art

ps Ceridwen - have you read rob H's blog today re volvanic ash and air travel...

Thanks for that comment - thats precisely what I meant - ie they need to grow food for themselves (not us).

No - I hadnt seen that post on Rob's blog - I dip in and out intermittently - will go and have a read. Thanks.:)

EDIT: Just read it - and agreed with every word. I liked that link to the tale set in 2050 (when there arent planes any more).

Penelope_Penguin

ceridwen wrote: »

Thanks for that comment - thats precisely what I meant - ie they need to grow food for themselves (not us).

Trade not Aid

[Deleted User]

Hi all,

Bit of a silly question for most probably.....

I'm sure I saw a thread with information on what fruits and veg were in season and at what time of year somewhere, but I can't for the life of me find it.

It seems like a fairly basic question - but unfortunately I am clueless, as everything always seems to be available in the supermarket.

Can anyone direct me to the thread?

A title or a link - not even sure which board it would be on.

Thanks in advance

Gigervamp

I vaguely remember a thread like that, but don't know what it was called. However, sites like River Cottage and the BBC have what's in season.

Penelope_Penguin

Domino9 wrote: »

Can anyone direct me to the thread?

How do you know what food is in season? I'll add this thread to that one later