tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-280582018791422638.post4565653494096930008..comments2024-03-28T05:56:52.754-07:00Comments on The Weaver of Grass: Food.The Weaver of Grasshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13947971556343746883noreply@blogger.comBlogger20125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-280582018791422638.post-50783257274731919642011-07-27T04:57:36.707-07:002011-07-27T04:57:36.707-07:00I'm saddened reading this - we have the same p...I'm saddened reading this - we have the same problem here - and it's not only with fruits and vegetables, it's just about everything you pick up to purchase!<br /><br />What I want to know is, how does the carton of mango sorbet I picked up in North Carolina yesterday, come all the way from Australia without melting? Is it really possible that it never thawed somewhere along its journey, and is that really safe?<br /><br />Oh my, life has become a crap shoot where our food is concerned!Maryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11915239653283205065noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-280582018791422638.post-518742402853368912011-07-20T07:21:13.785-07:002011-07-20T07:21:13.785-07:00Believe it or not, Long Island used to be known fo...Believe it or not, Long Island used to be known for its potatoes and white Ducks. Now the potatoes in the supermarkets come from everywhere but,and the duck farms have been converted into vineyards. Is this progress? There are new farmer's markets here thankfully. The trend to local food is growing as fuel skyrockets.Lori at Jarvis Househttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11228446681174977809noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-280582018791422638.post-24079462363104935962011-07-20T06:35:35.603-07:002011-07-20T06:35:35.603-07:00I couldn't agree more. We have a local fruit n...I couldn't agree more. We have a local fruit n veg shop and I always buy as local as possible - in brown paper bags - much better than all the plastic packaging from the supermarket - another bug bear!mrsnesbitthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16882736507772457598noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-280582018791422638.post-27259841802872741812011-07-20T06:24:15.483-07:002011-07-20T06:24:15.483-07:00It's a depressing tale you tell, right enough....It's a depressing tale you tell, right enough. I have to say that this is not a problem we have encountered so far, which leaves me wondering how extensive the problem might be. Are we particularly lucky, or you especially unlucky? Would be interesting to hear of other experiences.Dave Kinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08430484174826768488noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-280582018791422638.post-23784048284450379692011-07-20T05:31:30.603-07:002011-07-20T05:31:30.603-07:00Yes, I sympathise with all your concerns here, Pat...Yes, I sympathise with all your concerns here, Pat. At least here we have a fantastic village butchers selling locally sourced meat - and in a most friendly and knowledgeable way, I might add. Priceless.<br /><br />If you can, it's always best to go for 'blemished', misshapen, natural-looking fruit and veg. (Not to be found in the supermarkets, I know!) The taste is always so much better, somehow. One's own garden produce is the best!The Solitary Walkerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11284354541952038339noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-280582018791422638.post-1197280277007625032011-07-20T01:30:15.441-07:002011-07-20T01:30:15.441-07:00I think a lot of the problem is that many people n...I think a lot of the problem is that many people now expect food to be cheap and convenient. it is neither. Real food costs money and takes time. it's up to us consumers to buy local - at farmers' markets (my local one sells local, organic in all but name, meat for much less than the supermarket), at markets and where necessary at selected supermarkets, demanding food from at least the same country if not the same region. and, of course, grow your own! even the busiest city dweller can sprout a few beans or grow mustard and cress. make bread! it's not hard. I can mix a batch in half the time it takes to drive to the supermarket.<br />read Barbara Kingsolver's 'Animal, Vegetable, Miracle'. There's hope, but it requires us to be aware of what we're doing.Mariannehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08338964992539885016noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-280582018791422638.post-72161217327699560582011-07-19T16:43:58.763-07:002011-07-19T16:43:58.763-07:00Well done with this post, Weaver. There is a gree...Well done with this post, Weaver. There is a green band-wagon that many rural suppliers are jumping on for the sake of their own sales, and they - British or not - should be ignored in favour of the supermarkets who genuinely DO support British farmers. OK, so us Brits cannot grow pineapples and lemons in commercial quantities, but there is plenty of stuff they can, and I - like you - would rather pay £12 for a free-range chicken then £3 fo a cooked one from Morrisons which has lead a hell of a 'life' for the 2 weeks it has been on this earth.Tom Stephensonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05979590950587415840noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-280582018791422638.post-65213937523898258622011-07-19T15:55:17.530-07:002011-07-19T15:55:17.530-07:00Yes, hear hear! I don't do so bad for British ...Yes, hear hear! I don't do so bad for British beef and lamb in Tescos, but fruit and veg are far more difficult.<br /><br />On the bright side, we had lunch at Penpont Tea Room on Monday, and the cucumber and tomato salad was locally produced - in the village itself!Titushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16380213493011623153noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-280582018791422638.post-3492786221514258162011-07-19T14:20:32.252-07:002011-07-19T14:20:32.252-07:00Hear Here!
Aloha from Waikiki;
Comfort Spiral...Hear Here!<br /><br /><br /><br />Aloha from Waikiki;<br /><br /><br /><a href="http://comfortspiral.blogspot.com/" rel="nofollow">Comfort Spiral</a><br /><br /> ><}}(°>Cloudiahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05853753108637831069noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-280582018791422638.post-40372560375590426872011-07-19T14:14:47.880-07:002011-07-19T14:14:47.880-07:00I always look at labels and buy local, with the ex...I always look at labels and buy local, with the exception of things that can't be produced here. We're lucky enough to have a community market garden in town, where I can get lots of vegetables and fruit straight off the plant. It's only open from 9-4 on Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, though, so people who work in regular jobs have no access. That said, there is also a local veg box scheme so they can use that. And there's a monthly producers' market where we can get locally grown organic meat. <br /><br />I really do think that locally produced food tastes better and is healthier because it is fresher. Sadly the supermarkets don't care about that, they only want to make a profit. These days I only go to the supermarket very rarely and mostly for non food items like fairy liquid, and I realise I'm very lucky to be able to use alternatives.Erylhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06008344023000459577noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-280582018791422638.post-53673490327018814482011-07-19T12:49:45.373-07:002011-07-19T12:49:45.373-07:00oh I know just what you mean.... We can manage fai...oh I know just what you mean.... We can manage fairly well to source Scottish products in a lot of cases (Edinburgh has a good range of local shops, though the farmers market isn't very veggie friendly), but the supermarkets aren't good at it.Crafty Green Poethttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02486633917197181851noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-280582018791422638.post-6637559313671242022011-07-19T12:48:57.802-07:002011-07-19T12:48:57.802-07:00I think you have really hit a nerve with this one,...I think you have really hit a nerve with this one, Weaver.<br />In the US , needless to say, there is everything you can dream of -- AWFUL processed food included -- but also a LOCAVORE movement.<br />This is eating LOCAL food.<br />We are really lucky to have Union Square Green market with walking distance. They are only allowed to sell things they have grown themselves. Therefore no pineapples for instance.<br />You really can track the year by what is on sale. Needless to say March is pretty slim pickings --nothing new and the apples potatoes etc getting ancient.<br />Morocco was LOCAVORE heaven since almost everything was grown within ten miles.<br /><br />I feel very strongly that buying locally made food and products makes for a healthier economy --and should make sense.<br />Yes, Coxes should be random shaped and crisp and tasty.<br />I cannot see the necessity of importing dairy products into the UK. Except when I was a child I thought Danish butter was extra wonderful.....Elizabethhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03964291132366262298noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-280582018791422638.post-63839530102127293162011-07-19T12:45:22.182-07:002011-07-19T12:45:22.182-07:00Once when travelling back from Italy I sat next to...Once when travelling back from Italy I sat next to an apple buyer on the plane. We chatted during the flight and he told me he bought apples for a leading supermarket and lived abroad all year and followed the apple seasons around the world spending six months in Australia and New Zealand. He bought hardly any apples from UK producers and said that the UK housewife is not interested in where apples come from. I disagreed but he said I was in the minority and price was the most important thing for their customers. And he was such a nice man. Shame.Rachel Phillipshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16053924416805878169noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-280582018791422638.post-66479208634824531742011-07-19T12:44:32.311-07:002011-07-19T12:44:32.311-07:00I couldn't agree with you more Pat. It is ridi...I couldn't agree with you more Pat. It is ridiculous that we have supermarkets full of fresh produce from halfway round the world which grows perfectly well here. I buy bananas, citrus fruit and one or two other items which can't be grown here, but everything else has to be British including meat and bacon. So much of the imported fruit and veg tastes of the packaging it comes in anyway. We should be producing as much of our food as possible, and paying the producers a fair price for it.Heatherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06826501916623305535noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-280582018791422638.post-73812833978570738142011-07-19T12:41:17.309-07:002011-07-19T12:41:17.309-07:00At this time of year we tend to survive on broad b...At this time of year we tend to survive on broad beans, courgettes and the odd early tomato and cucumber. Of course the olive oil is from italy and I'm not sure about the black pepper,I suspect it's Indian, but the salt is Cheshire!!<br />Oh dear I've been trying to do this since the 70's and I'll go on trying.Good luck everyone!Gerry Snapehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07269492251928362799noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-280582018791422638.post-51005111843785689972011-07-19T11:33:27.323-07:002011-07-19T11:33:27.323-07:00I get very angry about "foreign" food to...I get very angry about "foreign" food too. It's like jobs - British folk first, rest form an orderly queue. British produce on our plates in preference to imported. My gut feeling says that the Government thinks the countryside should be for leisure (or building on!) and what a shame there are a few old farmers getting in the way of their masterplan. <br /><br />And what RUBBISH about apples having to be specially % red all in one place. Who is demanding that? Not Joe Public that's for sure. Give me odd-coloured mis-shapen TASTY fruit and vegetables please. And as for genetically modified, don't get me started on that!Bovey Bellehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13117332471600275100noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-280582018791422638.post-4451266482458534232011-07-19T10:14:45.976-07:002011-07-19T10:14:45.976-07:00It seems to be happening everywhere--fewer small f...It seems to be happening everywhere--fewer small farms --more corporation farms-less nutritious food--it is the future.it's mehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05701940616523413217noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-280582018791422638.post-56145852096095543832011-07-19T10:02:14.207-07:002011-07-19T10:02:14.207-07:00It's even worse when you work for a living. I&...It's even worse when you work for a living. I'd love to be able to shop around to buy local produce - but by the time I get off work it will all be sold out at our local market. (Well - our LOCAL market only happens once a month.) <br /><br />We do head off to a farm shop once a onth to stock the freezer with British bred meat but local fruit and veg are almost impossibe to find.MorningAJhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04719744167307369768noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-280582018791422638.post-55136397240119665552011-07-19T09:44:48.837-07:002011-07-19T09:44:48.837-07:00I agree with your post today.
I read labels. I h...I agree with your post today. <br /><br />I read labels. I have a compromised immune system (autoimmune) so chemical sprays and over processed food are not good for me. <br />I also read the card above the fruits and vegetables that says country of origin. <br />If it is not grown in America I don't buy it and use something different. <br />It bothers me to support farmers in Mexico when I know that there are local farmers that need our support.<br />I am still trying to find a farmers market that I like near where I live.<br />Since seeing how fish and shrimp are grown in disgusting vats in Indonesia I check to see exactly where my fish comes from too.<br /><br />I also don't understand how they can ship food from such long distanced and not from the farmers in the state or region.<br /><br />You are so lucky to live where you do and have wonderful access to local fresh fruit and vegetables.<br /><br />I remember your post about buying what is in season instead of out of season fruits that look pretty but have no taste. <br /><br />Great post today.<br /><br />cheers, parsnipangryparsniphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17236094827257446781noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-280582018791422638.post-17574244906743711562011-07-19T08:41:07.510-07:002011-07-19T08:41:07.510-07:00My bugbear is the sale of onions, just ordinary on...My bugbear is the sale of onions, just ordinary onions, which are grown in China! Ditto, Chinese Garlic when we have a wonderful garlic farm just across the Solent on the Isle of Wight.<br /><br />It takes some label reading, but in the south it is possible to buy most fruit and vegetables from British suppliers. We are in an area of productive market gardening, so salad crops and soft fruit are available from Hampshire, Berkshire, Sussex and Surrey.<br /><br />How sad that the Norfolk fruit farmer had such ridiculous restrictions put onto his Cox`s apples.Dartford Warblerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04352965211143836326noreply@blogger.com