Supermarket Organic Fruit & Veg

[Multiveg]

It's not just organic veg that travels a long way which are in season here - french beans, mangetout, the prepared veg!!!

I tell other half off for buying veg that is seasonal here, that is sourced from far away. I even tut slightly at seasonal stuff from Holland and Spain...

[Multiveg]

[Delilah]

I work in the community and visit many different homes and can therefore observe many different ways of life, for instance I was with a patient this morning who buys chocolate frostie cereal bars for her daughters morning break because,
"its healthier than her going to the tuck shop", on the kitchen work top were the remains of last nights chinese takeaway
"sorry about the mess" she said "I haven't had time to tidy up yet, we save the leftovers for tonights meal cos on Tuesdays and Thursdays you can buy 4 main meals for a fiver so that means we can eat for four days on a tenner"

This example is not unique, and I believe very strongly that most of the conditions I treat could be cured by sensible eating and exercise, but generally most patients are happy to blame any thing else except their way of life.

Sorry to generalise but just got in from a particularly rough day at work and using this board as a sounding block!!

Wardy - I'm nosey too and always looking at others shopping baskets, junk always outweighs the fresh fruit and veg.

[terrace max]

I believe very strongly that most of the conditions I treat could be cured by sensible eating and exercise, but generally most patients are happy to blame any thing else except their way of life.

I'm sure this is right. Trouble is, both the government and the retail industry require unquestioning dullards to prop them up...

(BTW I'm not saying I'm better than anyone else...I spent a large proportion of my life thinking supermarkets sold real fruit and vegetables!! So embarassing  ::))

[BAGGY]

That's because the art of cooking has been lost.  I don't mean following recipes from the telly (although that is a trail for some), I mean looking at what is seaonal (if such a thing now exists in the shops) and chucking it together with what's in the fridge to create a meal.  I am not that old but my grandma was one of 12 .  She was a single mum with 8 kids so would cook fantastic meals with little or nothing making the best of what was cheap and nutritious.  I think that rubbed off on mum and in turn, me.  I wouldn't dream of 'pinging' lasagne for 2 when I can make twice as much for the same price.  Maybe I'm just tight  ;D

[Juliet]

Sorry guys, I'm afraid we do most of our shopping in supermarkets - not well enough to grow my own & there isn't much in the way of farm shops around here - there are a couple but they're very tiny & never have anything we want to buy  :(.  We often shop in farm shops when we're on holiday, though, & really wish we had a good one here.

We do buy as much organic stuff as we can afford though (mostly eggs, milk, yoghurts, fish, & carrots, which are some of the things worst effected by chemicals).  And we don't buy prepackaged fruit & veg if we can possibly help it (I like a good squeeze too  ;)) - most supermarkets do sell loose stuff though.  We also have a fab shop which sells lots of organic & fair trade goods - mostly dried fruit, nuts, cereals etc - they buy in enormous bulk & pack their own so you just pay for the goods, not for the packaging (anyone else in Cambridge or Northampton, it's http://www.dailybread.co.uk/).

I can't eat ready meals (too many allergies) but R gets a few - it's quite difficult to get organic ones for one person though (also difficult to get organic joints of meat for one person so he's stuck either way).  Duchy originals have started to do organic ready meals which are pretty good & other than that, he's found that Waitrose own brand ones, & Tescos "Finest" range are the best.  Most of the others seem to be salty mush.

I'd recommend joining the Soil Association (http://www.soilassociation.org/) to anyone who cares about organic &/or local food - they are great campaigners for both of these.  They do a supermarket survey every year to find out which ones are the best for stocking local organic produce - Waitrose always seems to come out on top, though M&S and Sainsbury's do quite well.  Tesco, Co-op, & Asda are improving :);  Somerfield & Morissons aren't :(.

[Obelixx]

I saw on Beeb news this morning that the Cornwall section of the WI is calling for a boycott of supermarkets in a bid to save the high street shops and local producers.  they are calling for the WI to put this move on the agenda for discussion and voting at their AGM.  Not qute as sexy as Calendar Girls but an interesting development.

One emailer said that with supermarket loaves at 10p and bread shop loaves at 75p there was no wonder peolple use supermarkets.  Here in Belgium, the minimum price of a loaf is fixed and shops are not allowed to sell at less than cost price.  I have 5 different supermarkets within a 10km radius.  There are 2 baker/patisseries in the village, one in the next and untold numbers in the small town 4 kms away.  The local fishmonger has retired and not been replaced though.

[robkb]

the poor are eating ready meals from Farmfoods and the more affluent, young professionals seem to be getting the lotties to grow their own organic stuff. 

Farmfoods - if ever a shop was misnamed! Got a flyer from them the other day, couldn't believe the utter crap they sell >:( :o No fresh produce at all, everything pre-packaged and in some cases pre-eaten by the looks of it! I think what you say is true, it does seem to be the young professionals who are driving the whole organic/grow-your-own thing.

Cheers,
Rob ;)

[Diana]

Supermarket Veg, organically reared and then packaged up to the nines!
I go to our local greengrocer if I need extra fruit and veg, and pick it off the shelves cling film/container free!! ;D  ;D  (plus you can give it a sniff and a squeeze to ensure ripeness, much more fun! :D)

Here, here!

It's just over-packaged so they can tell the difference. How about over-packaging the regular produce, thus pushing that price up, lowering the organic produce price and hopefully evening the 2 out? Before you say it - naive, I know.

and why is it that supermarkets can't let us use paper bags to package the 'loose' produce?

They manage it for the mushrooms.

I've even had to stop check out staff putting a head of brocolli in a small plastic bag because I didn't when I picked it up!

[Derekthefox]

Yes Baggy, that is the way I like to cook - what can I make using the available ingredients ... not up to Ready Steady Cook standard, but I consider it an interesting challenge sometimes. And my efforts are 'mostly' appreciated ... ( the celeriac sauce, and the broad bean soup were not really appreciated ...).

Carrots and pumpkins are current challenges ...

And my stuff really is natural, with no packaging ...

Derekthefox :D

[terrace max]

I've even had to stop check out staff putting a head of brocolli in a small plastic bag because I didn't when I picked it up!

...and they call it broccoli when it's really calabrese! >:( :)

And my stuff really is natural, with no packaging ...

...and it hasn't burnt a lot of fossil fuel to get it to your table. Which is still a problem with the local greengrocers or farmers market.

If they didn't know better, we might be onto something really big with this allotment lark.... 8)

[Diana]

I've even had to stop check out staff putting a head of brocolli in a small plastic bag because I didn't when I picked it up!

...and they call it broccoli when it's really calabrese! >:( :)

I was going to say that

[Diana]

Can't really blame the staff when their bosses and even the whole company don't know these things

How can you sell something when you don't know what it's called?

"Fresh thingies 50p a kilo. Don't forget your wosnames"...

[terrace max]

...maybe the supermarket bosses thought calabrese was too hard for us simpletons to pronounce?? Although I seem to remember my mum bringing some home from the supermarket for the first time (in the seventies) and she called it calabrese...

[Derekthefox]

Don't worry, all these vegetables will be 'discovered' by some television chef, and then they will set a new culinary fashion ..., whereas we 'normal' people will be rolling in our compost heaps with laughter  ;D

Derekthefox :D

[robkb]

Is it the case, or am I mistaken, that supermarkets don't sell celeriac as it's tood fiddly to be processed before sale ?  I have checked various places and never seen it, not in the local greengrocers either

Can get it in our local Tesco's but nobody ever seems to buy it so no doubt it'll vanish soon due to lack of demand.

Cheers,
Rob ;)

[BAGGY]

You can sometimes get it in Morrisons but it is shhrink wrapped in plastic.  Is that in case the icky mud gets on you fingers ?  I wouldn't mind but they probably don't grow it in real mud anyway.  On a plus point I (sorry had to) bought spud from them today.  They do 10kg selected seconds pack for 2 quid ish.  Packed in brown paper sack.  Only me that bought them and they are fine even if they are not symetrical and egg shaped. And uk grown.  Not bad I thought.  Didn't feel too guilted up.