NationStates Jolt Archive

well this is an issue thats rarely touched on round here... what do y'all think of local food (food bought straight from the farm via farm shop or farmers' market), seasonal food (what this food is), organic food (not necissarily what local food is) and all that? do you eat ethically at all, or do you just not care as long as its cheap? does local food or organic produce taste better? (i can tell you the former definatley does) do you go to your local farmers' market/farm shop, or would you go if you knew of one? basically, whats your stance on the whole lot?

how can it not be good? I am not sure what you are asking.

I have heard recently that some people (esp. women) are becoming allergic to the added hormones in chicken. Makes one wonder...

Local food usually tastes better because it hasn't been frozen/preserved before transportation...

I am not sure what you are asking.
a very open ended question with many parts...

There's a farmer's market at Union Square over here, it's open almost every workday. Ironic how neo-yuppies now purchase organic produce where once hippies staged protests.

That aside, organic tends to cost too much to be done regularly and sometimes I have the fleeting suspicion that the farmers do use pesticides. As for ethinc food, technicaly I eat not nothing but ethnic food :p

pretty much all of my fruits and veggies are purchased at our local farmers market. i try to buy local meats when possible, too. seafood -- well, i'm about a five hour drive to the shore, so it' s not terribly local. it's both an economic thing as well as a better tasting/organically grown thing. not only is the farmers market cheaper, but the money is going directly to local farmers, rather than to some big corporate conglomerate on the other side of the country.

they are building a large wal-mart with a grocery in it near my house -- i'm sure it will be filled with all kinds of cheap stuff, but i'll keep shopping at my new york state owned grocery store, instead.

Well, I don't buy any fruit labelled as coming from Israel, but then again I don't see much of it around.

In any case, 'Local' food has often been trucked to a distribution centre in another county anyway, before making its way back.

Farmers' markets, LOL, the vast majority of people live in urban centres, and those who live in the countryside, like me, would have to drive for miles to get to one. Which defeats the point.

So I doubt that eating ethically is possible in the UK, on account of the way the country is built.

Well, besides the fact that organic food is horribly inefficient (studies have shown that were all the worlds farmers to switch over to organic growing, then starvation and hunger worldwide would make current problems seem like a trifle) it's alright. I eat what tastes good. In a bizarre little back corner of my mind, a little voice tells me that organic foodstuffs are little more than a rich country luxury, but it does sell.

For years the only beef we had at home was raised by my grandfather on his small farm, but since his death we've been relying on the grocery store. And often times local farmers markets aroud me tend to have a better selection than the store, so that's awesome, and oftentimes it's fresher.

I buy local vegetables. There's a small shop close to where I work who are selling local produce, and amazingly, they keep it cheaper or at least as cheap as the supermarkets...

I buy local vegetables. There's a small shop close to where I work who are selling local produce, and amazingly, they keep it cheaper or at least as cheap as the supermarkets...
Because refrigeration, handling, transport and time on shelf are greatly reduced, as such they are obviously cheaper. Booyah!

I only eat genetically altered crossbred crops. :)

*coughs up a lung*

Honestly, I eat whatever I can get my hands on as long as its new and interesting. I'd got to a farmer's market if one was nearby, but only because it would be cheaper. Though we do have a cheap ghetto store I could buy produce from... ^_~

I tend to buy/eat whatevers nice. I don't have many food ethics. I'm all for genetic modification... I won't buy battery hen eggs if at all possible. But then I do eat KFC. so I'm contradictory.

I really want to eat that bird... it's banned everywhere in Europe except France... it's a wee tiny bird they drown in brandy, then fry. Bitesize. mmmmmm....

I try to buy local when I can...I try to support my state economy. I usually buy organic produce because I noticed that my son (who is turning 4 years old in a couple of weeks) eats way more organic veggies than non-organic. Also, I think it tastes better.

-snip-

I always shop at my local farmers market/butcher/fishmonger. I think its better than the crap you can get at the grocery store, or the "organic" market and I'm helping my local economy!

I'm not in a position to buy food but when I am, I probably will buy local food because it tastes nicer. And I'll buy organic if it's not too expensive.

An organic, healthy eating, fairtrade/local food vending machine opened in our school recently and some of the stuff is great.

I always shop at my local farmers market/butcher/fishmonger. I think its better than the crap you can get at the grocery store, or the "organic" market and I'm helping my local economy!
yay now there's a good attitude for you :) :)


An organic, healthy eating, fairtrade/local food vending machine opened in our school recently and some of the stuff is great.
wow :eek: i'm impressed



personally, we happen to have the largest farmers' market in the country taking place every fortnight about 20 miles from our door, so we shop there often, as well as going to our local farm shop every now and then (which happens to be organic). not only is it good to support the local economy (rather than just giving away your cash to profiteering multinationals), it really benefits local farmers who are have been having a hard time for the last couple of decades, but also local foods just taste better because they're fresher. that, plus you get more choice (for certain things) than you do at a supermarket, and we kinda know some people in the industry (so apart from anything else its nice to see friends at the market :))
however in uni i never could buy local cos there were no facilities for me to get to easy enough :(

wow :eek: i'm impressed
I would be too. But it's only so that the school can boast about being healthy, boast about caring for their students and generally boost their image which hides their real nature.

I just love my school.... :p

On a less cynical note, it is pretty good. And it's only slightly more expensive.

personally, we happen to have the largest farmers' market in the country taking place every fortnight about 20 miles from our door, so we shop there often, as well as going to our local farm shop every now and then (which happens to be organic). not only is it good to support the local economy (rather than just giving away your cash to profiteering multinationals), it really benefits local farmers who are have been having a hard time for the last couple of decades, but also local foods just taste better because they're fresher. that, plus you get more choice (for certain things) than you do at a supermarket, and we kinda know some people in the industry (so apart from anything else its nice to see friends at the market :))
however in uni i never could buy local cos there were no facilities for me to get to easy enough :(
You have me convinced! It really depends on, like you said, whether there are the facilities for it and how convenient it is. It can be on my list of things to look for in a Uni... heh.

Because refrigeration, handling, transport and time on shelf are greatly reduced, as such they are obviously cheaper. Booyah!

Depends really. Back home in Germany, it was the other way round. It was cheaper to get veggies refrigerated, handled and transported from Poland, Spain and the Netherlands

well this is an issue thats rarely touched on round here... what do y'all think of local food (food bought straight from the farm via farm shop or farmers' market), seasonal food (what this food is), organic food (not necissarily what local food is) and all that? do you eat ethically at all, or do you just not care as long as its cheap? does local food or organic produce taste better? (i can tell you the former definatley does) do you go to your local farmers' market/farm shop, or would you go if you knew of one? basically, whats your stance on the whole lot?
:eek: what.. the.. hell.. are you saying? like.. what?

what i think you mean, ill reply to.. i think..
i trust my local producers more than the national brands, dont know why.. just do..

my god dont you ever confuse me again. :headbang:

I try to buy locally grown fresh vegetables and fruits whenever the option is available, or frozen when not.

I have a child who has a reaction to Red40 artificial food coloring and after reading about that and everything involved with artificial food colorings and artificial flavors, I ended up deciding to remove all of the foods with that stuff from the whole household.

Now I have to cook my ass off all the time (can't use the box of Hamburger Helper anymore but have to do it from scratch etc.,), it takes longer but I noticed that everyone in the house seems healthier now...

I don't know if ‘organic’ is required, per-se, but a good eye on washing off the farmer's stuff never hurt anyone. Avoid the artificial stuff that is required for long term packaging etc., and you'll be doing pretty good I think.

I think in all of this, fair trade is something that is often overlooked. Large food corporations don't actually grow any food. They just own the distribution channels, so they can gouge the producers and consumers alike. Supporting local produce eliminates that aspect and value is created in the exchange.