Food miles?

26 Sep 2009

A change of subject - still, I believe, a Current Affair. biggrin

Do you check the food miles on your food?
Would you pay more for local food, or do you do without when the local option isn't available?
Is it important to you?
In my case, I check food miles, I try to minimise the total distance in my shopping basket.
If it's something I need for a recipe, I will get a distant option of there is no sensible alternative. I have a limited budget so I do need to compromise on some things.
What I do find is that processed stuff is often cheaper from further away (bulk manufacture at central processing units?) but raw materials like eggs or raw meat is often cheaper direct from the producer. If I can find a local supplier I win in both ways.
My local egg supplier (Happy Hens) sells a dozen free range eggs at Asda has the same thing at about twice that. And I can meet the hens if I want to at HH. Oh and it's a care-farm, where 'troubled' young adults are taught to be self-reliant, responsible and increase their self-esteem. I'm not a Christian but they are and I applaud their work.

26 Sep 2009

I check when and what I can...at the moment times are hard chez nous at staggers mansions so it's b.o.g.o.f. and bargains for us ...excepting meat which we buy at the local butchers who knows where everything he sells comes from.

26 Sep 2009

how do you know how far the food has come, does it say on the packet ?

26 Sep 2009

main problem..is even if you buy from local supplier don't mean it hasn't traveled. I did some work at Golden Valley in Gloucestershire...and was told that the chickens were flown over to Vietnam to be plucked..and then flown back. I couldn't see this being finacially viable....but they told me even with cost of sending them there and back...still saved on average 50p a chicken.......and seeing as they moved over 10,000 chickens a week.....it was a viable saving !!!!!

26 Sep 2009

I do try to shop "responsibly"- our eggs are very local, free range, and at for 6 are a real bargain- yummy too.
I try to buy things like butter etc from the UK (or at least Ireland) rather than New Zealand. We eat tons of veg, and it's mostly very local.
Most importantly, I try to shop with the seasons. Seasonal fruit & veg is tastier, and better all round.
Eldest is pretty hardcore when it comes to shopping. She boycotts Tescos, and many other "irresponsible" retailers. I have friends who've seen first hand the devastation that coca-cola schweppes have caused to peoples lives first hand- that's one company I'm loathe to use...they really are appalling. But hey, whats the lives of a few people compared to profit, eh?
Oh, and I try to steer clear of stoopidly over packaged stuff, too.

26 Sep 2009

Quote by danne-gary
how do you know how far the food has come, does it say on the packet ?

Often, yes. But some doesn't or it may say "packed in the UK". In which case you know it's come a long way, or from more than one place, but not from the UK.
Some has to tell you - fresh foods I think.

26 Sep 2009

I am usually too busy trying to keep me shopping bill down below the Â£100 mark a week, to notice where the food comes from.

26 Sep 2009

Quote by deancannock
main problem..is even if you buy from local supplier don't mean it hasn't traveled. I did some work at Golden Valley in Gloucestershire...and was told that the chickens were flown over to Vietnam to be plucked..and then flown back. I couldn't see this being finacially viable....but they told me even with cost of sending them there and back...still saved on average 50p a chicken.......and seeing as they moved over 10,000 chickens a week.....it was a viable saving !!!!!

Youngs done the same with their scampi (I think). Caught in Scottish waters but transported to the far east to shell and pack and then brought back to the UK to be sold as "Caught in British waters". Longest travelling scampi I could think of lol

Dave_Notts

27 Sep 2009

altho idealy i would like to buy local foods i wouldnt do it if they were more expensive plus by the time i have checked the labels for how much salt and fat is in them, made sure theres no nuts, uncooked egg or shellfish in them then checked to see how far they have travelled, the food has gone off and the shop is closed lol

27 Sep 2009

Food miles is too simplistic. A recent study showed that buying UK produced produce that had been grown under glass was more environmentally damaging than the same crop grown where it is native and then flown around the world. Buying home grown produce when in season makes more sense.