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Locally Sourced Food


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HOLA441

What is it all about?

More environmentally friendly? (Forget for a moment that the evidence for global warming has been weakened substantially due to exposed fraudulent science and erm, no global warming.) The emissions involved in lots of individual visits to farmshops tend to be greater per-unit than those from mass production and mass transportation. Add also that local production in this country tends to require energy-intensive greenhouses, etc. The environmental cost has not been shown to be lower if produce is local.

Healthier? Not really. We need a varied diet, and eating only food that can be grown in the UK will leave you with nutritional gaps.

Cheaper? Not at all as it relies on British resident labour. I'd prefer to buy off a near poverty African farmer than someone in this country.

Sounds good on a menu and to the moralising trendies? That's it, I think.

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HOLA442
Guest X-QUORK

That's it, I think.

Not much more for the rest of us to say then, looks like your mind's made up.

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HOLA443
Guest theboltonfury

What is it all about?

More environmentally friendly? (Forget for a moment that the evidence for global warming has been weakened substantially due to exposed fraudulent science and erm, no global warming.) The emissions involved in lots of individual visits to farmshops tend to be greater per-unit than those from mass production and mass transportation. Add also that local production in this country tends to require energy-intensive greenhouses, etc. The environmental cost has not been shown to be lower if produce is local.

Healthier? Not really. We need a varied diet, and eating only food that can be grown in the UK will leave you with nutritional gaps.

Cheaper? Not at all as it relies on British resident labour. I'd prefer to buy off a near poverty African farmer than someone in this country.

Sounds good on a menu and to the moralising trendies? That's it, I think.

Here's an example. We have a local farm shop that sells 'local' asparagus bunches for £4. Or we can get some imnported from Italy for £1.50. Yesterday we bought the imported bunch.

It's an absolute no brainer. I'd buy local if that tag didn't give farmers a license to try and rob us.

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HOLA444

Here's an example. We have a local farm shop that sells 'local' asparagus bunches for £4. Or we can get some imnported from Italy for £1.50. Yesterday we bought the imported bunch.

It's an absolute no brainer. I'd buy local if that tag didn't give farmers a license to try and rob us.

Nah it is just a damning indigment of the cost of living in this country.

but like those youngs longustines it was cheaper to airlift them to Vietnam get them peeled and frozen there and airlift them back than to employ somebody here to do the samejob.

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HOLA445
Guest theboltonfury

Nah it is just a damning indigment of the cost of living in this country.

but like those youngs longustines it was cheaper to airlift them to Vietnam get them peeled and frozen there and airlift them back than to employ somebody here to do the samejob.

I think the fact that I live in a part of pseudo posh Cheshire that's full of halfwits with silly cars has something to do with the prices they were asking.

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HOLA446

I think the fact that I live in a part of pseudo posh Cheshire that's full of halfwits with silly cars has something to do with the prices they were asking.

Oh yeah, footballer teritory. But the countryside areas around Bolton you can get cheap eggs, and milk, as farmers put up signs to beat their quotas. Meat though is v expensive.

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HOLA447
Guest theboltonfury

Oh yeah, footballer teritory. But the countryside areas around Bolton you can get cheap eggs, and milk, as farmers put up signs to beat their quotas. Meat though is v expensive.

I don't live in Bolton - used to.

Live in Hale, Cheshire. Full of ladies who pay £50 for a session with their personal trainer, then head straight off to Costa for a fatty latte and 3 cakes (whilst parking their black Range Rover sports in a disabled bay)

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HOLA448

I don't live in Bolton - used to.

Live in Hale, Cheshire. Full of ladies who pay £50 for a session with their personal trainer, then head straight off to Costa for a fatty latte and 3 cakes (whilst parking their black Range Rover sports in a disabled bay)

I know the place well, it is a death trap for bikers as massive cars with women using the mirrors to do their make up in,

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HOLA449
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HOLA4410
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HOLA4412

I don't want to eat strawberries or asparagus all year round. I would rather eat them when they are in season in this country.

Too right....two things I have learnt when shopping......compare price by weight, and find out the true origin of a product before you buy, the nearer the better, and the fresher. ;)

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HOLA4413

Munching on a big box of king prawns made in ecuador at the moment. Yummy.

When I go round to a friends and she does me a fry up she always says, do you want farmers market bacon ?

When it's wedged between two slices of fried bread with brown sauce it tastes the same as any other bacon to me. But I always smile politely and say it's really nice. I'm the ideal guest.

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HOLA4414

You don´t have nutritional gaps eating locally. Almost every nutrient you need is in green leafy plants. So you could live on weeds and the odd rabbit , fish or deer and be healthy. Actually, you´d probably be immune to many of the lifestyle degenerative diseases that plague humanity, enrich big pharma and condemn people to a lengthy yet painful and sickly old age.

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HOLA4415

You don´t have nutritional gaps eating locally. Almost every nutrient you need is in green leafy plants. So you could live on weeds and the odd rabbit , fish or deer and be healthy. Actually, you´d probably be immune to many of the lifestyle degenerative diseases that plague humanity, enrich big pharma and condemn people to a lengthy yet painful and sickly old age.

True but you don't only eat for nutrition you also eat for enjoyment....that reminds me to pop to Southend to visit the cockle sheds, I do love to savor a chewy whelk with a touch of vinegar from time to time. ;)

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HOLA4416

What is it all about?

More environmentally friendly? (Forget for a moment that the evidence for global warming has been weakened substantially due to exposed fraudulent science and erm, no global warming.) The emissions involved in lots of individual visits to farmshops tend to be greater per-unit than those from mass production and mass transportation. Add also that local production in this country tends to require energy-intensive greenhouses, etc. The environmental cost has not been shown to be lower if produce is local.

Healthier? Not really. We need a varied diet, and eating only food that can be grown in the UK will leave you with nutritional gaps.

Cheaper? Not at all as it relies on British resident labour. I'd prefer to buy off a near poverty African farmer than someone in this country.

Sounds good on a menu and to the moralising trendies? That's it, I think.

You look pretty decided on this but nevertheless I'll throw my reasons for shopping locally in...

1. I like having small and interesting shops on our high street so I'm happy to buy my fresh meat, dairy, baked goods, veg and fruit here to keep our local suppliers going

2. I like seasonal produce because of the cyclical nature of seasonal menus - strawberries in June, asparagus, berries, soft fruit, roast parsnips after the first good frost, new sprouts by Christmas: not for ethical reasons but for the child-like joy of anticipation and then satisfaction. Strawberries every day are as bland (IMHO) as Christmas every day.

3. I like our local farmers and the interesting diverse produce they provide - unusual breeds of lamb, cheese, Welsh beef, fruit, eggs as yellow as sunshine - and I want them to be able to afford to stay in business

4. I like knowing where our food has come from and who has provided it - I like the banter in the local shops and the strength of our community: I dislike the anonymity of a supermarket order

5. I do like organic and non-GM, but only because I distrust the scientific\political establishment and don't believe we have had sufficient longevity of testing to say for certain that methods and products won't come back to bite us at a later stage - much like Thalidomide and DDT. (See recent reports from China on effects of GM foods on insect populations).

6. I like foods that haven't been refrigerated for long - maybe it's just me but I find they have far less flavour than those kept at a less chilly temperature, esp new potatoes, tomatoes (and sandwiches!)

Having said all that I don't think it needs to be either or, so I buy products from further afield as necessary (bananas, Italian passata and olive oil for example) and I do the anonymous monthly online supermarket shop-for-delivery for household goods.

It is unfortunate that, as with so many other issues in this country, freedom of choice has become embroiled with social attitude and snobbery.

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HOLA4417
Guest theboltonfury

Too right....two things I have learnt when shopping......compare price by weight, and find out the true origin of a product before you buy, the nearer the better, and the fresher. ;)

Not always true. Say you live in Northern Scotlands - If you buy Tesco's fish it could be caught off the Aberdeen coast, stored overnight, then driven down to the midlands, stored again overnight, then distributed back up to Aberdeen, stored again overnight, then put on the 'fresh' counter the next day. It's 4 days old and nearing rancid already.

I think all this buy local stuff is essentially a big con and an attempt to mislead consumers.

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HOLA4418

Not always true. Say you live in Northern Scotlands - If you buy Tesco's fish it could be caught off the Aberdeen coast, stored overnight, then driven down to the midlands, stored again overnight, then distributed back up to Aberdeen, stored again overnight, then put on the 'fresh' counter the next day. It's 4 days old and nearing rancid already.

I think all this buy local stuff is essentially a big con and an attempt to mislead consumers.

Uk is local in my book....buy British. ;)

I agree there is a lot of misleading consumers, especially with pork products...they deceive you by putting union jacks on packaging, the other trick is overseas ingredients and assembled over here....lots of sneaky tricks.

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HOLA4419
Guest theboltonfury

Uk is local in my book....buy British. ;)

I agree there is a lot of misleading consumers, especially with pork products...they deceive you by putting union jacks on packaging, the other trick is overseas ingredients and assembled over here....lots of sneaky tricks.

I know what you mean but I feel no compulsion at all to buy British. Not only have we been subsidising farmers for as long as I can remember but I actually prefer food stuffs from other places.

So much 'British' fruit and veg us just poly-tunnel rubbish anyway.

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HOLA4420

What is it all about?

More environmentally friendly? (Forget for a moment that the evidence for global warming has been weakened substantially due to exposed fraudulent science and erm, no global warming.) The emissions involved in lots of individual visits to farmshops tend to be greater per-unit than those from mass production and mass transportation. Add also that local production in this country tends to require energy-intensive greenhouses, etc. The environmental cost has not been shown to be lower if produce is local.

Healthier? Not really. We need a varied diet, and eating only food that can be grown in the UK will leave you with nutritional gaps.

Cheaper? Not at all as it relies on British resident labour. I'd prefer to buy off a near poverty African farmer than someone in this country.

Sounds good on a menu and to the moralising trendies? That's it, I think.

And as the price of oil continues to go up, you'd still be in favour of strawberries being flown 8,000 miles? :blink::rolleyes:

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HOLA4421
Guest theboltonfury

And as the price of oil continues to go up, you'd still be in favour of strawberries being flown 8,000 miles? :blink::rolleyes:

This does not mean that it becomes cheaper to buy British. British farmers know the price of oil and price accordingly and in comparison to foreign availability - even if they very little oil in getting their stuff on the shelves. Vendors are opportunist and will think nothing of exploiting us further.

There was a big shop in my town that only sold local organic stuff. It shut down lately. Not because there wasn't a market or the quality was poor, but because the prices were absolutely outrageous.

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HOLA4422

This does not mean that it becomes cheaper to buy British. British farmers know the price of oil and price accordingly and in comparison to foreign availability - even if they very little oil in getting their stuff on the shelves. Vendors are opportunist and will think nothing of exploiting us further.

There was a big shop in my town that only sold local organic stuff. It shut down lately. Not because there wasn't a market or the quality was poor, but because the prices were absolutely outrageous.

So when world trade post peak oil begins to dry up, there'll be a need to introduce price controls.

Or is it that you're benefitting from starvation wages in third world countries?

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HOLA4423

I know what you mean but I feel no compulsion at all to buy British. Not only have we been subsidising farmers for as long as I can remember but I actually prefer food stuffs from other places.

So much 'British' fruit and veg us just poly-tunnel rubbish anyway.

Not if you grow your own or swap with neighbours...I love European foods, olive oil, pasta, Spanish sausages and many other foods...you should look in my suitcase when I get home....it will not contain clothes it will be full of food. ;)

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HOLA4424
Guest theboltonfury

Not if you grow your own or swap with neighbours...I love European foods, olive oil, pasta, Spanish sausages and many other foods...you should look in my suitcase when I get home....it will not contain clothes it will be full of food. ;)

You hitting on me?

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