Not enough local food shopping

@Biologist - the problem with GM food is not the harm it might do to you - but the harm it might do to other species of plants!

Because...

1. Plants cross fertilise each other using the air and/or insects as a vector.

2. Genes are therefore spread between plant species (many of which are very important to us).

3. We don't know what effect these genes will have in other plants and/or the bits of the foodchain that touch them.

4. Genetic variability is important for species to deal successfully with things like changes in climate.

5. GM crops are usually "stronger" and herefore out-compete existing species, which die out reducing variability.

Family/High Street grocers continually moan about supermarkets putting them under pressure. I can remember that before the advent of supermarkets these "small" grocers held the working class to ransom. These people were the ones who had cars and went abroad for their holidays in the fifties. Now the shoe is beginning pinch and they moan like hell.

Biologist......
I largely agree with your comments but would have to say that I do have a few reservations about GM goods. I have no objection to the artificial removal of potentially harmful bi-products/infections etc. I am however concerned about what replaces them. I don't want to be in the position a few years from now when the media is revealing the cases of disease caused by the chemicals etc. used in treating food.
At the moment I buy a mixture of ordinary and organic products (mostly organic). I am happy to add GM products to the list provided that they have been proven to be safe. I don't really want to consume any chemicals but ultimately accept that 'organic' does not always guarantee that I am avoiding them. I've got my own veggie patch now where I can control a lot of what I eat. It is not only stopping me buying treated food. It is also much cheaper and provides good exercise.
I recommend this for all!

Where can I find on the Internet a really cheap supplier of bulk genetically modifed fruit and vegetables? I don't care if my food is GM. The promised revolution in the food industry has been passed over in favour of the fanatics and organics in our society. They, the organic farmers, have spread a completely unwarranted scare story about "Frankenstein Foods!, largely because they simply want to protect their highly lucrative business. The public has been completely duped into believing them. I am all in favour of GM, especially if a way is found to limit the damage produced by bugs and viruses. When digested all food is the same.

People have the right to shop for there goods,any where they choose to.Supermarkets started because there was a gap in the market,like everything else.If no one shopped in them,they wouldnt exist.I shop where I want to, when I want to.I buy from supermarkets and local shops,im quite lucky as I have a wide choice of supermarkets and shops to choose from.Some other people I know are not so lucky,they live in remote places and have to travel quite far to buy all there needed goods.Consumers are more than aware of there options on where to shop,it doesnt take someone like the main griper of this issue to point out the pros and cons etc.Just shop where you want to and do what you want,dont worry what everyone else is doing?????

Snob-cleanser,
I take great offence at your assumption that I think I am better than you. I am not better than anyone (and probablly a lot worse than some). If your only experience of organic produce is some 'East-Ender' (sorry East-Enders - I am but quoting!) trying to make a fast buck, then I'm afraid that you are the one who has been had!
My organic box is predominantly from local farmers and I don't get mis-shapen, sub-standard veggies. I am not of the opinion that the veg I eat is any more nutritious than market or supermarket veg, but it certainly contains less pesticide residue. So that suits me and my family. I don't eat exclusively organic food - my butcher is not organic and I buy from him, but the meat is locally raised and slaughtered in a small abbatoir behind the shop.
I try my best to support local farmers and tradespeople as much as I can. I'm not perfect but I do my best.
I'm sorry if you feel that by virtue of the fact that I do not not buy inhumanely reared and slaughtered meat and out of season fruit and veg (which has probably travelled thousands of miles and is probably months old by the time it hits the shops) you think that I am a snob and I have been had - then that's your choice. I live my life by my choices, I do my best and I support local businesses ( and this means avoiding the supermarkets when possible.)

Snob cleanser


I'll back you up on what you say.

People these days are brainwashed, espeicially about ORGANIC foods. If they didn't use fertilizer, or pesticides, there wouldn't be ANY food to sell.

You might want to read this,

http://altnature.com/library/what_is_organic.htm

Para 3,

The word organic does not mean pesticide-free.

Jod, you've been had!

Your box of veggies is the latest marketing gimmick. Believe you me some East-Ender has seen a way to make a very fast buck. They are appealing to your apparent sense of wanting to buy "Organic". The so-called Organic Revolution in this country is nothing more than one huge, gigantic rip-off. There's NO real nutritional difference between so-called "Organic" foods and "Inorganic" ones. Put a few mis-shapen veggies into your box, add a bit of dirt and you are completely taken in.

You and your friends are simply playing one-up-manship. Your whole post was nothing more than one of saying "I am better than you" because you want to shop this way. You're a snob.

If you want to do your family a real favour, and save money, which you say you can ill-afford, shop around. Try a real street market. It may not be glamorous, but the "market" is probably well-established, and there will be real competition in the supply-chain. You've broken the competitive link by the contract you've made.

Well said Gandalfql!
Neither can I see the logic in 'Snob's' point. It seems sad that someone is so full of bitterness!! How awful to be so ill informed and pessimistic with it!
My boxed veg does not travel 200+ miles - 'Snob-cleanser' is using assumption once again without checking out the facts. It is grown within a 50 mile radius of where I live. It is also organically grown. Any goods that are available that aren't grown in this country are marked with their country of origin. You pays your money, you takes your choice!
And by the way 'Snob-cleanser', I am not in the slightest bit wealthy! But I am pepared to pay a little more for quality food, when I know its provenance. Also, I care about the way in which my meat is raised. I would far rather pay £7.50 for a chicken that has had the chance of an outdoor life and lived a longer life thanm the standard £3 supermarket broiler, that has never seen the outdoors and has had a miserable, short existance. I just make my £7.50 chicken go further in terms of meals, and eating meat and poultry less regularly than before.
And with regard to your comments regarding digging up my garden to grow cabbages - We already have a well stocked veg patch and grow herbs, I keep chickens for their eggs as well! That doesn't mean it keeps us going all through the year -I buy to top up my home grown produce.
And by the way, Daisy doesn't have to walk down the road to me- out village shop sells wonderful local milk from an organic herd!
And my veg box is delivered on a round with others in one van. In fact, just like from the supermarkets! However, unlike the supermarkets, the goods have not all been juggernauted in from across the globe to get to the van!!! So that rather knocks your 'green' argument on its head, don't you think?

Sorry I cant see the logic in Snobs point.
All pay market Rents, all pay unified Business rates, except Charity Shops who are Business Rate Exempt.
The local shops have gone because the local community now convenience shop. One trip one shop and all done.
We have a brilliant local butcher, Greengrocer and very good local Farms, where whether or not it is Supermarket rejects, the quality is better than the Hypermarket and the prices are not that much different, unless you buy the own label produce from the supermarket. We will continue to use those, and also use the Supermarket. Our choice our life.

I shop by using a combination of both the local store and supermarkets. If I can buy it locally, and the cost is not ridiculously higher, then I do. I mainly use the supermarkets for things that I cannot buy locally.
I think that we have to move with modern times. Many people that complain about the supermarkets are also those that complain about the expense of living in 'rip-off Britain'. At least the larger stores help to keep cost down for those on a more restricted budget.
My local town (not much larger than a village) has lost many of its stores. I remember when we had a Currys and Woolworths to name only a couple. Now those stores are several miles away on a trading estate. The town largely consists of hairdressers, estate agents and discount shops (you know the ones that open then close within a year only for another to take its place).
History would show us that we are generally 10-15 years behind the trends set in America. The 'malls' started up in the late 70's only to appear here in the early 90's. The trend in the US at the moment is for a return to high street style shopping with many retailers returning to their origins. Lets hope that we are not too far behind this time. We may be able to preserve what is left of local life!

The reason that there are few local bakers, greengrocers, butchers, fruiterers etc. to where you live is not so much because there is a large hypermarket on the outskirts of your town, but because the landlords of the properties which were formerly used by those trades have decided that it is far more profitable to let them to other trades.

Namely
Estate Agents
Ladies Hairdressers
Beauticians
Designer Boutiques
Coffee shops
Gift shops
OXFAM

All these other "trades" make far more money than selling potatoes. And the landlords and local council can make far bigger profits from them.

When you get your box of veg once a week you are not actually buying "locally" at all, the stuff it contains can come from up to 200 miles away. Have you investigated how much petrol has been consumed in delivering it to you? I dare say that you will find that your "greens" are not Green at all.

As for the total food required by the population of this country, this country can only grow about 30% of its total needs, the rest has to be imported.

Why don't you dig up your garden and grow cabbages?
I suppose your window boxes could be full of mini herb gardens.

The next thing you'll want is farmer Joe bringing Daisy up your street twice a week to fill up your personal milk churn.