Food waste programme on BBC1

I agree - it's ridiculous that the supermarkets will only stock 'goodlooking' fruit and veg. The problem with only stocking these is that they sacrifice taste for looks. It's terrible. I always doubly enjoy my tomatoes when I go to spain as they're so sweet and flavourful despite being odd shapes and sizes. Luckily I have a corner shop which stocks odd looking local tomatoes and they are so delicious in all their mishapen glory :D.
 
It's less to do with the EU and more to do with the supermarkets I'm afraid.

Consumers don't want wonky veg with the odd beastie still in it. My friend who eats a very natural veggie diet was horrified to find a caterpillar in her boxed salad. She took it back to the shop and was disgusted when the guy told her "at least you know its organic". Personally I'd have dug out the beastie and gave it a rinse. I know we say we want wonky veg, truth is here, next to the perfect specimens, people are squeamish and dont want them. A lot of that is to do with the lack of skill we, as a nation, have in preparing foods. We've de-skilled ourselves with ready meals and prepared veggies, that we've let the supermarkets paint us into a corner. I'm not saying theres anything wrong with prepared foods or meals once in a while, but for some people they are the exception not the rule. The "time poor cash rich" are most likely to be using these foods, and thats who the supermarkets want.

Farmers are fined if thier veg gets returned to the supermarket i.e. this potato is bashed and this cabbage has a beastie hole in it.

They get fined by McDonalds if more than a certain weight of insects float to the top of the tank when the veggies are getting washed, so to get around this they spray with pesticides.

Farmers are continually hammered by the BIG supermarkets into meeting the prices set by the supermarkets, the supermarkets don't meet them/ thier price/market price.

I recommend you read "shopped", it's a very insightful book into the practices developed by the supermarkets that shape our shopping habits, shopping psychology and the effect it has then on our farmers, fruit and veg.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Shopped-Sho...=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1283236413&sr=8-1
 
And i meant to say, even if you dont but the book or get it from your library, have a look at the reviews to give you an idea of just how much we do squeeze from our producers.
 
Lexie dog, thanks for that I was appalled before and am twice as appalled now.

I have copied and pasted this rexue of the book, It is a bit long but worth reading.

No wonder a sheep farmer friend of ours in Wales refuses to sell to supermarkets and has his own licensed outlet. His lamb has the best taste in the world. The local butcher in the nearest town to them(Denbigh) only sells local meat and it is wonderful.........................

extract........................

Like I've done, if you ever wondered who paid for those 'buy one, get one free' offers in your local supermarket, this book is ideal. I'm not going to spoil it, it's worth buying the book, but here's a taster:

It explodes the myth that supermarkets offer the customer real 'choice' in the products they offer and that they are being more environmentally friendly, as they waste vasts amounts of fuel with their transportation policies, both at home and abroad. They also throw away perfectly edible fruit and vegetables because they don't meet 'their' standards and 'fine' suppliers £25 for each product returned to them by customers, even if the bag (such as on potatoes) splits by accident.

Stories of apples that are stored for up to a year in special bunkers, which diminish their nutritional value. Fruit and veg farmers paid virtually nothing for their labours and having the prices agreed for their produce cut by the supermarkets even after a price is agreed and they've gone ahead and planted them. Appears to be for no reason at all other than the bottom line....profit and sheer naked greed, although the supermarkets claim this is 'necessary' because of 'competitiors' forcing them to lower their prices, which (of course) they must pass on.

Ever thought about the effect of those tiny trays of mangetout imported from Kenya and other distant places have on the enviromnent? The packaging is transported by air from the UK. Packing sheds of poorly paid local labour tie beans into neat little bundles, seal them in trays and which are then flown back to the UK. That's 2,000 miles for the vegetables and 4,000 miles for the packaging! All that travel can be claimed as a 'business expense'.

After reading this, I stopped buying fruit and veg from suprmarkets and use my local high street grocers more. Better quality, lower prices and they haven't travelled so far. I'm sure you'll think about doing the same.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you?
btn-yes-sec-md._V192192904_.gif
btn-no-sec-md._V192192932_.gif
&nbsp


Report this Report this| Permalink
Comment






82 of 84 people found the following review helpful:
stars-5-0._V192197110_.gif
IGNORE THIS BOOK AT YOUR PERIL, 12 Jun 2004
By Diana Cairns (Edinburgh) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Shopped: The Shocking Power of British Supermarkets (Paperback)
Everyone who shops in supermarkets should read this book. You will end up wondering how we sleepwalked into a situation where the control of 80% of the food retail market is in the hands of a tiny group of greedy retailers who now want to move in on the non-food retail market and have total domination of all retail everywhere.
Joanna Blythman carefully dissects the entrails of the world of supermarkets with the sang-froid of a pathologist in a mortuary, from the way staff are induced into the mindless mantras of Asda Wal-Mart to the way suppliers are mercilessly screwed to the wall and dropped from favour on a whim as in some royal court of the past.
The picture portrayed of the abuse of power employed by the supermarkets conjures up a feeling of complete horror, yet it is done in a completely non-hysterical way, allowing the facts speak for themselves. For example, far from creating jobs, every time a large superstore opens, there is a net loss of 276 jobs; two thirds of butchers have gone out of business in the last twenty-five years; during 2001 one small newsagent closed very day and researchers predict that by 2050 there will be no independent food stores left in the UK - what's that supermarkets are always saying about "choice"?
Whilst researching her book, the author toured around the UK looking at what she calls "the neutron-bomb effect" superstores have on small businesses and how they have contributed to the decline of communities, where all you see are boarded up shops, charity shops, video rental shops and fast food outlets. This all conjures up a depressing vision of the UK where there seems to be very little political will to try and stop the supermarket juggernaut. However, there are some useful tips at the end of the book on how we as individuals can take action against this unhealthy state of affairs, for example, by using your local shops; by questioning the whole supermarket paradigm; by cutting up your loyalty card; by writing to your MP, to name but a few.
This is an intelligently written, riveting and very readable book which systematically explodes all the myths we have been fed by the supermarket marketing machine. It is not a ranting, political polemic but a strongly-reasoned argument by someone who knows the world of food inside out and who cares passionately that we have allowed this disaster to happen. If you ever wondered why all ready meals taste the same, why supermarket fruit and veg looks great and tastes of nothing, if you ever wondered about the real cost of "cheap" food then read this book. Get angry. Then DO something about



This has made me determined to get the book because even though I am lucky enough to live in a country where I can still buy from the roadside or direct from the grower, We are hoping to return to the u.k. APART from that it just sounds such a fascinating book.
 
I'm afraid I am not totally taken in by all this about supermarkets. They bring stuff to the poorer part of the communities that otherwise would not have the benefit of buying bananas for example. I deplore their ways of manipulating the markets so that farmers get next to nothing for their produce - but - have you ever met a POOR farmer, methinks not.
The EU is the entity that put down the ruling of cucumbers must be this long and must be this straight! Don't put your faith in one persons write up - they have their own agenda.
There have been numerous orchards that have been done away with, losing us our heritage of beautiful apples that are only grown in Britain. Many varieties that most people have never heard of, and why? Because the world wide distribution of produce is more important than the end product.
The old saying continues ad neauseum, "the rich get richer whilst the poor get poorer" and like I said before - no amount of stamping your feet and shouting is likely to change matters to any great degree!!
 
I deplore their ways of manipulating the markets so that farmers get next to nothing for their produce - but - have you ever met a POOR farmer, methinks not.

so sorry to disagree but yes, I do know several very poor farmers. You only have to look to the hill farmers of the U.K. to find situations of poverty, and all because they now have little or no market to sell to.Hill and moorland sheep farmers for example are generally some of the poorest members of the farming community living a hand to mouth existence. Did you not see the BBC programme about the Yorkshire farmer who had had to take a job as a toilet attendant to be able to exist on his moorland farm. It showed him heartbroken as he had to sell his stock as he could no longer afford to maintain them without a decent market to sell too.My opinion on the poorer farmers is based on fact, on what see and experience when I visit my farming friends in the U.K.




The old saying continues ad neauseum, "the rich get richer whilst the poor get poorer" and like I said before - no amount of stamping your feet and shouting is likely to change matters to any great degree!!

If no one stamped there feet or protested about anything we would live in a pretty poor society. One were we would be nothing more than robots or puppets. We should and do have freedom of speech and freedom of choice.

To adopt a complacent attitude is rather like the tail wagging the dog. You vote your M.P's in, they represent you, they work for you. It is your right to approach them and to expect them to work on your behalf.

However I do agree with you that supermarkets do have there place in our communities as does the local shop. Supermarkets do bring cheap and abundant food to the masses of which we are a part. It is all a matter of choices. For the producers of our food as well as the consumer.


I think the issue here is more one of the exploitation of producers by the supermarkets than there place in society.

I have enjoyed reading everyone's opinions and views and think that debate is so healthy !!
 
Last edited:
I watched this too and I agree with all of you. My step-dad grows all his own veg and yes, sometimes they do look wonky or perhaps not the "right" colour, but they still taste just as good. I get a weekly veg bag, through the school. You don't know what you are getting, it all depends what is in season. I got some carrots a while back, that I thought were spuds! They were huge and not bright orange, but still tasted just as good!

We're gonna attempt to grow our own veggies next year too. Should be fun!!
 
We're gonna attempt to grow our own veggies next year too. Should be fun!!

I grow most of mine hun and they are fab! Okay, some I'm fed up of courgettes now but there's not long left for them and then that's it really until next year!
After a few years of growing my own I still get a buzz from picking my food just as I want to eat it. Hope you enjoy it next year :D
 
I grow most of mine hun and they are fab! Okay, some I'm fed up of courgettes now but there's not long left for them and then that's it really until next year!
After a few years of growing my own I still get a buzz from picking my food just as I want to eat it. Hope you enjoy it next year :D

Yep, that's what we ate all last week at mum's, but I love em! We grew tomatos last year, and had so many, we didn't know what to do with them, so we gave them away! Thanks to SW, I actually enjoy new recipes now, so I'll find some use for everything.

And thanks, I hope we enjoy it too!:)
 
I stand rebuked Fillymum, and yes that was an unfair remark. However, farmers get allsorts of grants for just leaving their land to go wild for conservation issues, etc. and of course there are always the ones that are the exception.
As for the politicians I think they are all a waste of time!!! Things change because it is a feather in their cap to do it. Look at the amount of people who protested against the opening of a new runway at Stanstead. It's still on the cards and waiting for a convenient time when people are bemoaning some other mishap/problem.
I agree that we should do something to get things changed so I vote tactically and am not alone in doing so.
 
I stand rebuked Fillymum, and yes that was an unfair remark. However, farmers get allsorts of grants for just leaving their land to go wild for conservation issues, etc. and of course there are always the ones that are the exception.
As for the politicians I think they are all a waste of time!!! Things change because it is a feather in their cap to do it. Look at the amount of people who protested against the opening of a new runway at Stanstead. It's still on the cards and waiting for a convenient time when people are bemoaning some other mishap/problem.
I agree that we should do something to get things changed so I vote tactically and am not alone in doing so.


The issue of grants is highly emotive. I agree with you grants are available but not all benefit from them.

You are quite right about politicians, look at the sweeping under the carpet for most of them during the recent expenses scandle. You or I would have been fired or in some cases jailed.

Stanstead is a good example of the people you employ to look after you not listening. The French would have been out on the streets in protest with pitchfork etc ( the burning of cattle trucks is unforgivable ) and the powers that be would have to listen to them. I think we Brits are just a tad too polite.

This is a difficult one and needs to be highlighted in anyway you can highlight it.



By the way, I do so love a good debate, don't you ???
 
Living in Norfolk I am surrounded by farms. Not all farmers receive grants, and suicide among farmers is getting more and more common. Sadly a lot find themselves thousands of pounds in debt and see taking their own lives as the only solution.
 
Living in Norfolk I am surrounded by farms. Not all farmers receive grants, and suicide among farmers is getting more and more common. Sadly a lot find themselves thousands of pounds in debt and see taking their own lives as the only solution.

Isn't it wicked that this can happen. It is so sad.

Most of the farmers we know in the U.K. have to have a second string to their bow to survive.

One drives a truck 8 hours a day and fits is farming in before and after his hours. His farm looks immaculate and so do his animals.

One does B & B to suplement there income.

I could go on but won't as we all have the picture by now.
 
Back
Top