Buy local food

[Chasingmytail]

This phrase is very confusing and perhaps it should be dropped? If a start majority of veg is shipped in - whether it is sold at the supermarket or greengrocers its not local is it. Seen a few eco FB groups banging on about buying from the local greengrocer but the quality isnt that good and its shipped in from around the world. On a recent FB forum someone said Aldi is all British produce - huh??? Obv consumers dont read the labels.

Milk - no dairies around here again buying off the milkman doesnt mean the milk is local either. Glass is of course better than plastic. Supporting a small business is good of course but the milk wont come direct from a farm.

You can buy from farmers markets (usually once a month around here) however you will be limited by the time of year. Yes you could buy veg (little fruit) cheese, bread,some meat. Getting there depends on your work demands and buying so much in advance isnt affordable. Some towns are lucky they have amazing farm shops where the majority sold is from the local farms.

If you want grassfed/organic/GM free or simply plain British it has to be shipped around the UK. Does it matter if its not local?

Its impossible for me to say to people 'buy local' it just doesnt exist.

I like to support the farmers market there are a few top notch veg growers who will deliver to the door too. However, like many I enjoy internet home deliveries incl Riverford, Abel & Co. I'm alway impressed with the quality of the produce and this time of year much is grown in France and Spain. The citrus fruit cant be local, tea, coffee, wine, tinned fish, tinned toms etc all imported. If I went through my pantry there will be very little British at all. Most def not local.

My freezer is full of home raised chickens (hatched in Belgium - boooo), lamb (that is 100% home raised) but the pork which I am so fussy about comes from up North, Beef I bought from Exmoor.

The issue is there isnt enough direct sell producers in every locality and even so it doesnt always mean they are good at what they do. Some people want to tick boxes on environmental standards,some want top notch quality, some want cheap. If the butchery isnt up to scratch, the sausages chewy, priced so high or the seller not likable then its not going to work is it?

Delivering food up and down the road network is the pitfall. But that could be overcome by buying bulk - I like to fill the freezers up (not affordable to many though).

So in reality using word 'local' should be changed to 'British' well unless you live an a very affluent area.

 

[Derrick Hughes]

Local needs a location . Supermarkets dont like doing this . And after the egg scandal in Kent this week they will be wanting to be more secretive. I buy my eggs from a local sho supplied by a local farm who has full name and address on the box
And if what i ac read about this farm in Kent is correct what the fxxck do you pay farm assurance for

 

[Derrick Hughes]

Tesco and Sainsbury's in Kent pull eggs from shelves after shocking footage shows dead hens at

 

[delilah]

There is only one environmentally benign diet.
It isn't a vegetarian diet.
It isn't a vegan diet.
It isn't an omnivore diet.
It is a local diet.
As for what 'local' means, it can only mean 'more local than yesterday'. Everyone will have their own starting point.
1863. The year that man-made emissions of greenhouse gasses overtook natural background emissions.
What has changed since 1863 ? What we eat ? Not really. Where we get it from, that's what.
Yes, you are right, in the context of a united UK message, as discussed on a largely UK forum, 'local' can only mean 'British'. As individuals we may have more extreme messages, which we can push at our own liberty.

 

[averageguy54]

One does need to be careful with how you interpret "local" food. Here it is written into the provincial laws as delivery from farm to store in 24 hours. Now when that was put into law, back in the 1940's I believe or early 1950's transportation was a big issue here so it actually meant it came from nearby, at least within provincial borders. With today's road and transportation networks it means that food legally called local can be from easily 1000 miles away. Farmers from here have been pushing for government to fix it but, so far, to no avail.Obviously supermarkets have been pushing back. "Buy British" would solve most of the issues with sorting out what local means.