British food a thing of the past???

Loadsabob

competitionscafe wrote:

maybe there should be a FairTrade campaign for British farmers too?

I have started to think this! We treat our own farmers appawlingly.

competitionscafe wrote:

However the fault must lie not only with 'greedy' supermarkets but also with consumers who demand cheap food without considering the real cost. Why do people happily fork out £2 /£2.50 for 1 pint in the pub and then expect to pay the same amount of money for the main part of their Sunday roast dinner for the family

I agree 100%. It's frustrating that we have over time developed the idea that food should be cheap. WHY should it be cheap? It's the most important thing to our wellbeing! Cars and holidays aren't cheap, new clothes and mobile phones aren't cheap, and people shell out a fortune on those...and as you say, drinks in pubs, take-away coffee etc... yet they expect to spend next to nothing on food. It just doesn't make sense! I think that in other parts of Europe, people accept that good food is worth paying for, they won't eat cheap rubbish like we do (well, not US lot, of course!..).

raeble

We should pay a little more for our meat and eat far less for it. Chicken for instance used to be a once a week treat. Now we eat it everyday - it is no longer quite as healthy as it was. The chickens are bred for weight quickly - have you ever noticed how much fat there is on a chicken these days?

VickyA_2

Curry_Queen wrote:

Funny you mention about Portugese workers as I live in an agricultural area producing a lot of the country's fruit and veg etc and guess who does most of the work for the companies here, especially in picking/packing ... yup, the Portugese LOL!

I also live in quite an agricultural area, CQ! Not only have we got Portugese workers, but also Polish, Lithuanians and Bulgarians - well, this is the company that OH works for, that I'm talking about.

I know that some of the locals in my village complain about the number of these people that are working here, but when the company advertised for local labour, hardly anyone came forward and so the company were forced to look elsewhere for labour.

In fact, the company were on the "Politics Show" for employing foreign labour - a camera crew follow (secretly) a mini-bus of workers to a farm. The camera crew were highly embarrassed when they found out that they were LEGAL workers.

The company have just found that "locals" just don't want to do the work that people from other countries are more than willing to do!

Curry_Queen

VickyA wrote:

The company have just found that "locals" just don't want to do the work that people from other countries are more than willing to do!

Yup, you're right and it's not as though they're paying low wages either! I've talked to some of the Portugese here and they're more than happy to do the work because the wages they earn means they can afford to live here as well as send enough money back home to support their families who earn a pittance over there!

I just don't understand why the locals don't want the work, especially as some of them are unemployed! although I do know a fair few that do work in a couple of the companies here and they do alright out of it

Loadsabob

Let's be fair though, let's not forget that a lot of picking and packing work is even more seasonal (and shorter seasons) than tourism, and that a lot of people trying to raise families cannot afford the insecurity of taking such work. Let's not forget the ridiculous hoops that people have to jump through if they can't secure permanent work and take a short term seasonal job, then find they're out of work for a while at the end of it. The benefits system in this country doesn't encourage people to take anything short term to get themselves off benefits, because they get penalised if they do so, by having to be re-assessed again at the end of the temporary job, and be without money for weeks and weeks on end if there's no other job to go straight into. I can't say I envy people such a seasonal existence. Workers from poorer parts of Europe often move around, following the season, which isn't the kind of thing local, settled, families are likely to do.

And as for locals not wanting to work in St Merryn Meat, when I was growing up here, a LOT of people had horror stories about working there, long-term, short-term, or Summer jobs, and while I understand that it's now quite a professional place, I doubt meat-packing is anyone's ideal job, so I wouldn't criticise anyone who didn't want to do that for a living, knowing that I wouldn't haul dead flesh around and work surrounded by blood and sawdust for any money.

N9eav

Loadsabob wrote:

And as for locals not wanting to work in St Merryn Meat, when I was growing up here, a LOT of people had horror stories about working there, long-term, short-term, or Summer jobs, .

You are quite right. Most locals except for the highly paid speed boners or management would not work there.

I guess the lazy people I refered to are the ones I see day in and day out dossing about and even though they are 17-early 20's have been unemployed all their short working lives.

se999

Just spotted this report on BBC website about increasing interest in food & drink in British Tourism, and also the growing interest in 'food miles' in the greener living debates.

I wish I could eat more local food too, but like lots of MSE'ers, cost is an issue. So a being able to grow most of our own is top of the shopping list for the next house.

Anyway, here's the link:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/4245534.stm

competitionscafe

Interesting article, thanks for sharing.

Couple of interesting stats and quotes from it:

"Britain produces 700 regional cheeses - more than France
Britain has 600 varieties of apple "

(How come Tesco only sells 1 (or 2 if you are lucky!) British varieties, the rest from New Zealand, South Africa, etc) ?)

"Food also holds a key place in the "think globally, act locally" debate. Some buyers are keen to support local businesses, or protect the environment by avoiding foods which have been transported long distances."

If you have Freeview there is quite an interesting programme (bit long though at an hour an a half per episode!) on BBC4 on Thursday nights:

A Very English Village: Storyville
1/5. Going for the Kill

Filmed over ten years, Luke Holland explores different aspects of village life in Ditchling on the East Sussex Downs.

The first episode features Luke's neighbours, Gary Lee and his brother Mark, who runs a Downland farm close to Ditchling. Gary is also master of the local South Down and Eridge hunt. Luke's account shows one family's struggle to cope with the current farming crisis, economic forces they can't control, and the unravelling of a way of life.

Access to the wary hunting fraternity gives an unusually frank account of the traditional sport of fox hunting, both before and after the February 2005 ban.

Contains some strong language and some scenes which some viewers may find upsetting.

It's been on already but shown again on Tuesday 20 Sep, at 22:30

You can watch the trailer at:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcfour/documentaries/storyville/very-english-village.shtml

Prog also has it's own website with details of each episode:
http://www.averyenglishvillage.com/

N9eav

competitionscafe wrote:

Interesting article, thanks for sharing.

Couple of interesting stats and quotes from it:


Britain has 600 varieties of apple " (most are cider apples)

(How come Tesco only sells 1 (or 2 if you are lucky!) British varieties, the rest from New Zealand, South Africa, etc) ?)

/

Yes, and why is it that a British apple costs 20p a kilo more than a south African apple. I fancied a nice Britsih worcester, but they were stupid price.