Use your LOAF at the shops (Local, Organic, Animal-Friendly and Fair Trade)
When food shopping, try to adopt the LOAF principle – that’s local, organic, animal-friendly, fair-traded. For more information, go to www.Christian-ecology.org.uk/loaf
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taunton, GB , 30 Aug 2005
this is one of my pet topics so will hold back on doing huge comment, but i would encourage everyone here to give this one some serious thought.
I love: Traidcraft and Goodness Direct (for gifts and dry foods) and i order from both of these once a month.
I love: farm shop, local food delivery service, local craft fairs, etc.
Not going to supermarkets on the whole, tho probably pop into Co-op a handful of times a year, to get a few things.
Milton Keynes, GB , 01 Oct 2005
This is somthing I really need to work on – have stated buying our veg from a box scheme which is organic – but they didn’t answer my question about whether their bananas were fairly traded – and we’ve just had a shock when tallying up how much we spend in tescos per month – for a family of five – really want to address this and find a better shop than tescos to buy the basics!!
Godalming, GB , 02 Oct 2005
I have been buying as many Fairtrade products as I could over the last few years, and also tended to buy Free Range eggs and chickens, but being part of the YoLG project has encouraged me to think more about the merits of buying local and organic produce.
In recent months I’ve started to visit the local farm shop and the monthly Farmers’ Market much more regularly than I did. We’ve now started to get a weekly organic box of fruit and veg deilivered. They only deliver what is in season, so nothing should have travelled unreasonable numbers of air miles, and if it comes from Britain or Europe it shouldn’t have been unfairly traded.
04 Oct 2005
We use a local box scheme. The good thing is that it makes sure we eat more fruit & veg. The cost for us is £6:00 each for the boxes, and £1:50 delivery. £13:50 in all. Another good thing is that we get fruit and veg which we wouldn’t normally buy (Black Kale, corn on the cob, that sort of thing). So, our tastes are being widened, and our cooking better & more varied. Thanks to the net for being a treasure trove for recipes.
06 Oct 2005
We’ve been working on this one for a while trying to get away from supermarkets using Traidcraft, a farmers market and the local greengrocer but dairy products are a problem.
Any ideas about sourcing “industrial” quantities of organic milk for our hollow legged teenagers?
The local milkman could help us out, but at a price. 64p per pint would make bankruptcy a distinct possibility. :-)
07 Oct 2005
B No longer go to supermarkets, pretty well always shop locally – can do this because we can afford it and Mill Road is 50 yards away, packed with international shops.
07 Oct 2005
We buy organic vegetables, order and pay online, from www.riverford.co.uk – seem much better value than the supermarket and the food is really fresh – picked in Devon on a Wednesday and delivered to us on a Thursday.
Alas, there is nowhere round here locally that does organics.
Meat and fish are also a problem – we can buy frozen organic meat online, but I am not a fan of anything prefrozen. Does anyone know if there’s anywhere you can order fresh meat and fish online? Or in the Dorking area of Surrey? If so, do let me know!
Our first priority is to shop Fair Trade and second is organic/ecofriendly. We do quite a lot of our shopping at Waitrose who have the best range of organics, Fair Trade and Ecover products.
Godalming, GB , 07 Oct 2005
Check out Abel & Cole. They deliver meat and fish to this part of Surrey and you can order online. If you type in your postcode their website will soon tell you if they will deliver to you.
Chester, GB , 14 Oct 2005
am about to join up to the organicfair to get fruit and veg boxes. Will have to see how it goes as my kids are quite fussy and I am often away due to work and stuff
Maidenhead, GB , 14 Oct 2005
We just purchased a meat box from Sheepdrove Organic Farm – http://www.sheepdroveshop.com – they deliver country-wide and the meat arrived well packed and cool and is absolutely delicious. They seem to do all of the different cuts as well which is briliant as it is often difficult to get specific things for a recipe.
Haverfordwest, GB , 18 Oct 2005
This is something we are trying to do, and we are learning more about what to buy and where. The trouble is, the shopping bill is so much more expensive. I try to get to the fortnightly Farmers’ Market, and buy as much of our meat, fruit & veg, and dairy products, but we have discovered that is doubles our budget for these things, and also that some of the products go off very quickly! We still tend to shop a lot at Tescos, or Morrisons, as it is difficult to do our main weekly shop anywhere else in this area, but we do try to by organic fairtrade products as much as we can, and we are now consciously making the effort to look at the country of origin and buy British if at all possible. Have discovered the local health and organic shop, and use that quite a bit. Would like to find more places to by local, organic food though.
Godalming, GB , 18 Oct 2005
A lot of fresh products don’t stay fresh for more than a few days, but milk and some vegetables can be frozen. The Abel and Cole website gives advice on storage. We’ve started getting an organic veg box delivered by them as they tend to stick to local seasonal produce with a few exceptions such as bananas (these are shipped, not sent by air frieght) and they swap fruit and veg in the box that you really don’t like for things you do like.
As far as the extra cost of organic,local produce is concerned, I’ve found this is at least partly offset by visiting supermarkets less and so not being tempted to buy all sorts of things we don’t really need, although I do make sure we have treats from time to time even if they aren’t ethical, so the family doesn’t feel too deprived. We eat less meat, as I try to buy more organic meat, but I’m flexible about it.
I also have learnt to think of certain things as undesirable because of unethical practices so again, I’m tempted less and so I could be spending less than before and don’t seem to be spending more overall.
25 Oct 2005
We try to go to the local farmers’ market on a Saturday for meat & cheeses. We have an organic box of fruit & veg. from Abel & Cole every week.We have a very good organic meat shop in Bath, & at least two shops that sell Ecover products & refills for them.
29 Oct 2005
Did you know Dairy Crest Milkmen will deliver organic veg boxes ?
Sheffield, GB , 30 Oct 2005
we shop locally ( we live in the town centre) we have an organic fruit and vig box delivered and we have a great organic shop in town. we buy from traid craft, people tree, lush and oxfam.
31 Oct 2005
Finding it easy (but expensive) to do the organic and fair-trade bit. Shopping locally is not something that we have explored yet. Tried an organic fruit box from a local supplier but couldn’t get what we wanted.
Bath, GB , 04 Nov 2005
We have an organic veg. box from a local supplier (JP Organics) and buy either organic or free range meat from local shops and Saturday farmers’ market. Also buy game packs from the market (venison, pheasant, rabbit & pigeon) which is very reasonable and makes excellent casseroles. Doing main grocery shop at the Co-op, including fairly traded tea, Divine chocolate, bananas etc., also buy Traidcraft foods. We’ve been using Ecover products, but for some items are now trying BioD which have been recommended and are made in UK (www.biodegradable.biz).
25 Nov 2005
Still working on this, with increased urgency since reading Joanna Blythman’s book “Shopped”. Also found an organic delivery service, Sesame Organics, who deliver in Norfolk, Suffolk and Lincolnshire.
29 Nov 2005
I’ve been buying organic fruit and veg from everybodyorganic.com once a fortnight, have yet to source local organic meat. I have decided to reduce the meat I eat – not ready to go veggie yet but who knows…
I am also rediscovering my cookbooks with good veggie recipes so that I can have a box each week, not waste stuff and eat less meat!
It has also just dawned on me that I can make homemade delicious soup and use a flask instead of buying cuppa soups!
29 Nov 2005
we’ve just started to order once a week from abel & cole – organic fruit and veg plus dairy products and even other stuff like cleaning products. easy to use website and free delivery.
very impressed. anyone else tried them?
darren
29 Nov 2005
we’ve just started to order once a week from abel & cole – organic fruit and veg plus dairy products and even other stuff like cleaning products. easy to use website and free delivery.
very impressed. anyone else tried them?
darren
29 Nov 2005
we’ve just started to order once a week from abel & cole – organic fruit and veg plus dairy products and even other stuff like cleaning products. easy to use website and free delivery.
very impressed. anyone else tried them?
darren
06 Dec 2005
We tried Abel & cole but found that we had better value for money from Riverford at riverford.co.uk. The box is bigger and you get more variety. However you do get the problem that the boxes are ready chosen and you don’t get to exclude things you may not like – such as cabbage UGH!!!!
06 Dec 2005
Another Abel & Cole vote from someone who hasn’t tried riverford. If you have kids at school, or are connected to a school some other way, take a look at “The Farmers Choice” from Abel & Cole (http://tinyurl.com/84w63) as it raises money for the school too.
AF , 12 Dec 2005
Try to by organic vegrtables every week with the local box scheme and also shop at the local farmers market,bought my christmas pudding there this year
12 Dec 2005
committed to buyinglocal organic meat- just found turkeys! Costs more but worth it since our children are definatly carnivores!
21 Dec 2005
We use a local organic fruit and veg scheme from Woodlands Farm .. we made a commitment 4 years ago now that we would only buy fairtrade tea & coffee, which is how it all started for us really, from there we began to question more and more of the contents of our shopping trolley .. and we keep questioning and trying to make sure we use as much fairtrade products as possible including clothing and that we continue to talk to our children about these issues and encourage them from an early age.
22 Dec 2005
Whilst we have increased our purchases of organic meat from a local farm and had consideration for Fair Trade during a year in which the emphasis has been on making poverty history, it is only in the past few days, following some hard-hitting television re Christmas Lunch that we have decided that we should aim for ALL our meat to come from our local source. In addition, over the past few months, we have benefitted from the freshness, taste, seasonality and variety of the contents of a fortnightly veg. box from nearby Cambs.
02 Jan 2006
Have begun to think more about air miles- won’t buy grapes this winter- to the dismay of my family! We have a weekly farmer’s market, but we have not car so it is a 20 minute walk there and back. The return trip causes a lot of excertion on my part with everything on my back. (Good for the body, I guess).
Our community makes a trip every 14 days or so to Tesco- 3 families + to a mini-van.
I wish that one could buy the staples (flour etc) in larger quantities here in this country. In Canada we can buy flour in 10 Kilo bags.
Daughters are now staunch vegetarians, so spouse and I are eating mostly veggie too. I have decided to buy organic meat when we do eat meat.
03 Jan 2006
I’ve slipped a little over the past few months in buying fair trade: time to resolve to do better! Especially with meat – pay more, eat less, eat less rubbish in the process. Happier belly!
09 Jan 2006
I have stopped shopping in the local supermarket (Tesco) except for the few things I can’t buy elsewhere, like soda stream refills. We are fortunate to have a delicatessen in St David’s which supplies a delicious range of foods including hoummus, brown basmati rice, fair trade tea & coffee, Pataks curry pastes, local free range organic eggs etc etc. It is expensive, which helps to stop me shopping carelessly.
I recently read a very helpful book by Rob Parsons entitled “The Money Secret”. Primarily aimed at people who are in debt, it is quick, easy to follow and a good read. I thoroughly recommend it to everyone. For the first time in my life someone has told me what th average family spends per year on clothes, food etc. Vey helpful, and very sobering for someone like me who has always struggled with budgeting.
15 Jan 2006
Menno, why don’t you buy a shopping trolley, like old ladies often pull. I’ve got one (I was 27 when I brought it). It makes shopping in the market so much easier, and carrying it the 20 minutes walk to your home would be a doddle.
16 Jan 2006
Just signed up to get an organic vegetable box (and fruit, eggs, and wholemeal bread) delivered once a fortnight. This is with www.helensbayorganicgardens.com A good cantact for any Belfast-ish located people.
04 Feb 2006
http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/news/farmingtoday/index.shtml
Check out this site. There is a focus on eating in season food this year. 2 families are being followed. Farming Today and the Food Programme ( both radio 4) are working on this together. Some interesting debate going on.
14 Feb 2006
After Greenbelt 2005 was inspired to finally sort the veg box thing, did it in September. Was a bit concerned about fussy kids(!) and waste of stuff as the local one I found had a set box and no choice. It has worked out O.K – the kids soon got over the shock of dirty carrots and have even become a little more adventurous, 2 out of 3 now eat cabbage! Waste has ocassionally been an issue though, try as I might even we can’t consume a whole large cabbage every week! So I’m about to switch to a local delivery scheme where I can order via email what I want but not all of their stuff is local, they focus on the organic and so some produce comes from Spain, etc. Is it always a trade off? Am still working on completely ditching the supermarket, any tips?
Reading, GB , 19 Feb 2006
Anyone in the Reading area this might be a good one: www.truefood.coop/truefood.html A friend recommended it to me so am going to give it a try. Since I started reading where all my organic veg @ Tescos comes from have realised that it’s all travelling miles, as highlighted by someone else on here. So as three of them are wihtin walking distance of my home no excuse not to try!!
02 Mar 2006
I tried the organic veg box scheme from a local farm but to tell the truth, the family and I really arent big veg eaters. So I am going to grow my own veg (veg that we all like and will eat!) once I have got my new garden turned over into a veg patch! Does anyone else find it difficult trying to do local organic and fairtrade in the middle of a city? Farmers markets are robably the way forward for me. As well as goodness-direct!
06 Mar 2006
Recently moved to smaller, rural town & am now within walking distance of Farmers market, butchers, bakers & local organic/fairtrade/wholefood shop – there’s no excuse not to give this one a try! Hardest thing seems to be breaking the long established habit of a weekly supermarket shop.
17 Mar 2006
We shop the weekly farmers markets during the season. Some of our markets run into December! We don our backpacks and purposely park at least a mile away from our favorite market. this gives us a chance to walk and we avoid any crowds. We frequent the co-op in our neighborhood often. It’s about a 20 walk from our place. We love chocolate and now only buy organic fair trade varieties. Costs more but then we eat less and appreciate it more. We also buy only organic, fair trade, shade grown coffee. We are also lucky to have access to manufacturer and store coupons in our area for some of our favorite natural products. We utilize the bulk section of most stores. Grains, beans, lentils, peanut butter, soy sauce, herbs and spices, even vinegars, oils, honey and shampoo can be bottled up in containers we bring from home.
Menu planning has been a big help to our shopping list and to our budget. We roughly sketch out the meals we would like that week based on what we already have in stock. We have started the custom of setting aside one day to cook ahead meals for dinners and lunches. With two of us chopping and mixing, etc. it goes fast and we fill our freezer with home cooking – not processed junk.
If we go out to eat we never think of choosing e a chain franchise. In Seattle, there is no need. We are surrounded by delicious food from all over the world.
In reagard to non-food purchases, we also avoid the big chain hardware stores and have given up on Wal-Mart years ago and just recently quit Target cold turkey.
22 Mar 2006
My mother buys as much organic food as she can, mainly veg canned stuff, pasta, yogurts. We still need to improve on buying food from local shops, we do get local eggs though. I’ve got my parents to only but FT coffee and tea we get the FT bananas and I buy as much FT as poss, so there is a good excuse for eating choclate.
27 Mar 2006
I’ve just read ‘Not on the Label’ by Felicity Lawrence, and the even better ‘Shopped’ by Joanna Blythman, so cutting down on/ avoiding Tesco is very much on my mind. I’ve had an organic veg box for a few months – chose one direct from a farm only a few miles away to cut down on food miles and to cut out a middle man. We enjoy the variety, and it’s good for making baby food for my son too, but my two-year-old is none too keen on any of the contents. I’ve started buying non-food items such as toiletries at our local shops, e.g. pharmacy, hardware store. The Tesco is very local to us, and they have also now taken over the local convenience store, so it’s not easy to come up with food alternatives. We have no other food shop locally, and the butchers closed down a number of months ago. Still, I am going to experiment with alternatives over the next couple of months.
27 Mar 2006
I sell fair trade goods,& will try to buy more organic food .I plan to go to a local farm to buy potatoes & carrots. Actually, organic produce tastes so much better but doesn’t keep as long. My husband says if veg still have wild-life on them when you come to prepare them for cooking its a good sign as they have obviously not been sprayed with lots of nasty chemicals.
27 Mar 2006
I’m another recent sign-up to abel and cole and a fan so far. Tastes better and saves money as it means I need to go to the supermarket less often. It is good for getting children to try new things they sometimes find they love. But if they don’t you can exclude them from future boxes.
04 Apr 2006
Have a veg box delivered each week from River Nene and can’t praise it highly enough. So much so that I was chatting to 2 builders who did some work for me and they saw my box and have taken a leaflet back to their wives! Try to buy from local shops but have been caught out with out of date food once or twice which is a bit upsetting.
07 Apr 2006
Always like to shop local but it’s not always possible so I’ve gone one step further and am growing my own – fingers crossed for a good harvest that I can also share with friends and neighbours.
Marlborough, GB , 10 Apr 2006
Going to supermarkets far less also has additional benefit of reducing packaging waste. Our district is soon to introduce fortnightly collection of waste so we are already practising reducing the amount we put out.
15 Apr 2006
We’ve been trying to do this for the past few years. Last year we started going to our local farmers market. The organic produce there is still expensive, but the local free range eggs are cheaper than those in the store. We buy our eggs there now. We also get organic, ethically raised meat at the farmers market. It’s still costing us quite a bit, so we plan to cut back on the amount of meat in our diet. The organic vegetable share is too pricey for us, so we’re working on growing at least some of our own this year.
Recently, we joined a cow share so we now get affordable organic milk from a local farmer.
29 Apr 2006
At home we buy fruit, veg and breads from the local farm shop, meat from our butchers are have our milk delivered from the milk man. But it is really difficult to get buy without doing a supermarket shop as well!
I love the sound of a cow share :D
30 Apr 2006
we signed up for an organic veg box scheme after greenbelt and have discovered all kinds of weird things that grow locally. the kids now think cabbage is a relief compared to some of the other stuff! its really made us think about our meals and also helped us to learn what is in season. Am also trying to increase the amount of fairtrade, ecover products and local food too.
New Malden, GB , 03 May 2006
I’ve just signed up for an organic fruit and veg box (http://www.abel-cole.co.uk) and try to use ecover products wherever possible.
Amersham, GB , 08 May 2006
I have been vegan for fourteen years, and my 9 year old son is a life-long vegan. Our nearest shop is a whopping Tesco, but we our household is currently trying to re-organise our shopping routine so we buy as much as we can from the farmshop a few miles away in the village where we go to church. It’s been quite hard to resist the temptation to nip into Tesco for a top-up and not to make unnecessary journeys just to shop, but we’re getting there. It’s well worth the extra effort.
14 May 2006
We have just joined a box scheme – something we have been meaning to do for ages! We have done a one-off order first of all to see what we get with the medium box and whether we’ll need smaller or larger. We’re in Hove and the box scheme is a local one: http://www.realfood-direct.com/index.html It has loads of other stuff too like cleaning products and ‘feminine hygiene products’ etc. so you could realistically do your whole shop from them. We’ll see what it’s like on Tuesday! I want to carry on buying bits and pieces from our corner shop though as they have just set up an organic section and I want to support them. I am really anti-Tesco (they have practically destroyed the town where I grew up by opening on the bypass when we already had 3 supermarkets in the town itself) and try to put others off buying there too! In London, Tesco was our only biggish food shop nearby (though I still avoided it as much as possible!) but now we have Co-op just down the road – yey!
22 May 2006
Wendy (my missus) recently signed up to riverford (www.riverford.co.uk) – they’re based in Buckfastleigh in Devon.
They deliver organic, seasonal veg to your door. In our case, once a fortnight. Apparently, they deliver to a large part of the UK. It tastes so much better than the local Sainsbury’s!
Has anyone else tried them?
taunton, GB , 23 May 2006
I have several friends who use Riverford, and seem to get on with them OK. They are always a bit jealous of the one i use tho (somerset Local Food Direct) as with this you can order exactly what you want, rather than just get a box of random veg! They also do meat and dairy too, and more! I order from them once a wk, and visit local farm shop once a wk (aswell as also buying from Traidcraft and Goodness Direct)... and therefore haven’t been to Tescos in over a year! i do pop to Co-op on odd occasion, but not much.
24 May 2006
Made the decision in September not to shop in large supermarkets. Haven’t stuck to it completely, but now get organic box scheme, fruit from local market, dried food from local food co-op, dairy from the dairy etc..
Still need to sort out getting meat and fish from alternative supplier and wean my husband off processed food!!
Leicester, GB , 02 Jun 2006
Recently joined an organic veg box scheme. the stuff is nice and there is choice but a lot is imported and buying British is a higher priority. the co-op are doing a good variety of fairly traded fresh fruit and veg – the oranges were the best we’ve had all winter/spring. We’re a Fair Trade Church – the wine box is an interested addition to the Communion table and we’ve had a few problems with leaky taps. We found the bottles more difficult to keep fresh between Sundays – even with a vacuum- seals. The next task is to wean the mid-week study group off take-away pizza and Iceland cakes – they are bought locally, though.
Birmingham, GB , 21 Jun 2006
We’ve started getting a veg box from a local supplier in Birmingham (I was quite surprised to discover a farm only 2 miles away from us – run by an incredibly frienldy couple!) www.organicroots.co.uk
We’ve also been to their farm shop, and bought some organic meat. It is more expensive, but, we now eat less of it, and more vegetables instead. (we’ve also opted for smaller portions – only to be generous to our waistlines!) so I’m not finding that our shopping bill has gone up too much. I have been one to waste food on the past, but am now shoving all the leftover veg into a soup…some interesting tastes, but great fun!
I really do think its worth it – I am now actually enjoying what I eat!
Hull, GB , 21 Jun 2006
Helped by a good local farmers market.
01 Jul 2006
tell me what’s better….buy locally from farmer’s shop (but not organic) or order organic box (which has a 100 mile journey)
Dudley, GB , 05 Jul 2006
I Buy only Fair Trade Coffee, Tea & Bananas. I bank with Smile an Ethical bank.
Oh … and I wear only FAIR TRADE Clothes too!
15 Aug 2006
We’ve decided to buy less fairtrade and spend more time looking for more local stuff.
21 Aug 2006
We try to do all our fresh produce shop at the fortnightly farmer’s market at Barleylands, which we have found excellent value and quality. For the rest of our shopping we try to use the Coop because, as well as having a huge range of fairtrade products many of their own brand items are also very eco-friendly and, as an organisation they are very very ethically minded.
GB , 30 Aug 2006
I’ve recently moved back with my parents (I’m a student) so not really doing the food buying at the mo. I think I’m managing to slowly convince them to stay away from the supermarket, but it’s difficult as my dad does the shopping for my grandparents aswell. The thing is we have a co-op, as well as a good old fashioned butchers, grocers and bakers in our village, not to mention at least two farm shops in the surrounding area! Anyone have any tips on persuasion?
31 Aug 2006
I am definately an advocate of fairtrade and have written to Sainsbury’s and asked to speak to the manager on one occasion.
I occasionally buy organic but buying locally is a real issue because I have to shop more frequently and it costs a lot more.
I’m not sure there is a butcher anywhere near me although there are greengrocers and bakers.
The other problem is that food goes off quicker also and I don’t like wasting food.
I’m not promising too much but I will try and make an effort.
I’m not sure that buying household items is an issue i.e. showergel, toothpaste etc. because they all come from the same source so I don’t have a problem with that.
South London, GB , 06 Sep 2006
Just got my hands on Keith Abel’s (of organic box delivery scheme fame) new cookbook ‘Cooking outside the box’ and it’s lovely and I’m salivating already. Lots of great recipes for your seasonal/local purchases. Delicious.
Newcastle, GB , 14 Sep 2006
I have been doing this with increasing commitment since summer of 2004 (when I read Felicity Lawrence’s book Not on the Label – well worth a read if you haven’t yet).
Used to shop at Tesco for almost everything except Fairtrade items from Oxfam and church stall, now get main shopping through organic veg box delivery (Abel and Cole); my order with them also includes milk, yoghurt, eggs, meat occasionally and some other necessities- tinned tomatoes, Ecover products.
I top up with occasional visits to the Co-op supermarket, have tried Ocado (the web/home delivery service from Waitrose) and also have been buying from local farmer’s market which has suddenly sprung up just in the past year.
The change has been fairly easy to make; the difficult bit comes when I am entertaining and suddenly need extra supplies part way through a week. It’s still too easy to dash off to the open-24 hours Tesco in such circumstances, though I do try to restrict myself to buying the organic and fairtrade products if I have to shop there.
Wokingham, GB , 25 Sep 2006
I have just signed up to get a Riverford organic vegetable box each week – am waiting to see what it is like. I also try to buy fairtraid products when I can.
GB , 26 Sep 2006
We are lucky wiith a good local butchers, who also sells local baked bread. We have a good green grocer with local produce. However they have changed hands recently and seem to have decided Dutch mushrooms are better than the local ones we have had for years! I end up buying organic English mushrooms in Waitrose now! I am not very brave in shops but have asked them about this but no sensible answer as yet.
Egham, GB , 28 Sep 2006
I’ve tried organic veg box schemes but didn’t really like not knowing what I was going to get. Despite not living in the country I’ve managed to find a farm shop near work, myself and a colleague go their every Friday lunchtime and stock up on our fruit and veg.
03 Oct 2006
I see Tesco’s made £1bn in the last six months. Time to sort out my shopping once and for all. Several goals on this one: - Shop less and more thoughtfully so every purchase is considered. - Shop locally rather than at the supermarket and make it a family thing to go down to the local shops together. - Shop fairly using Traidcraft and so on, which I do already but need to expandthe range.
Wokingham, GB , 09 Oct 2006
Further to my comment above. I am really impressed with the Riverford organic box scheme – It suits my busy lifestlye – I would not be able to regularly make it to a farm shop. Getting the box is like Christmas – I love the suprise element and discovering new vegetables – like Romanesco. The veges are fresh and tasty and recipes are included. The week’s predicted box contents are posted on the website the Friday before the delivery the following Wed. You can amend your order on line. I love it and highly recommend the scheme.
10 Oct 2006
RE the comment about buying local versus buying organic or buying fairtrade: I think that local is first in the hierarchy, particularly if you are buying your organic stuff at a supermarket, who have much less flexibility about reducing food miles. Some people would say that if something ‘organic’ has had to be flown in, then it isn’t organic!
I have to say that, despite having campaigned on fairtrade for 20 years, I won’t buy FT apples from S Africa…
Frome, GB , 13 Oct 2006
Out house is Vegan 100% Fairtrade where possible and Organic where possbile more so with any soya based products.
We only use Astonish Cleaners which are 100% vegan unlike Ecover who do use some dairy based by products in some lines, it is PETA approved, it contains no animal products or carries out any animal testing at any stage of production, it is also Environmentally friendly all round and a good fair price and UK produced.
22 Oct 2006
I try to buy organic or local when I can, but the choice round me isn’t great, so I need to make a bit more effort. Hopefully in the new place I’ll be able to get a box delivered once again.
02 Nov 2006
can’t afford to eat organic and fair trade all the time on my student loan but do as much as possible, don’t eat meat coz of over farming and deforestation and only eat fresh fish 2 or 3 times a week from the local fish monger, soo much better when its fresh and not trawler caught!
Reading, GB , 30 Nov 2006
We’ve been Abel and Coleing for at least two years and have found them quite good. My New Year’s resolution would be to try out more of the handy recipes they send with the boxes.
I’ve recently started to buy Ecover products. Interesting to see snaffler’s note above. Ecover does seem to be most widely advertised and available. Any ideas for any other suitable brands/
Manchester, GB , 06 Dec 2006
Shoping is all messed up. Supermarkets … arrgh! Food in general is to cheap, economnies of scale and big business runs on money efficency and not concern for planet, people or even good tasting food! I am fortunate to live in Old Trafford near ‘unicorn grocery’ and new ‘wild at heart’ I couldn’t do this action without these lovely people who I trust with the important business of feeding me. Recomend all interested in this subject to read ‘so shall we reap – What’s gone wrong with the world’s food and how to fix it’ by colin tudge. (Spoke at greenbelt year and 1/2 ago now)
22 Dec 2006
We are both vegan and have bought organic and fairtrade products since they have been available. We now buy our weekly fruit and veg plus wholefood products from sunnyfields.co.uk get gifts from amnestyshop.org.uk and other fair trade, organic and eco friendly products from naturalcollection.com. Try your local Co-op store for vegetarian, vegan and fair trade wine. All their own brand bottles are clearly labelled and delicious!
Swindon, GB , 03 May 2007
I suggest Abel and Cole, you can order online or over the phone, they deliver weekly, its all organic and some fair trade, mostly locally grown. everything from fruit and veg to meat and dairy products, you can order boxes of fruit and veg, which the contents of vary each week, its quite nice to see what turns up on your doorstep each week.
also we buy Ecover cleaning products (available at many supermarkets) these do a great job and some small local organic shops even refill the bottles
Northamptonshire, GB , 09 May 2007
My priority is supporting British farmers and our economy as opposed to importing fairtrade products. WIll always go for the Fairtrade option when local is not an option t – i.e. we don’t grow bananas in this country!
However, we tend to be very focused on Fairtrade for developing countries when our own farming industry is on it’s knees. Fairtrade for our farmers is what we need. Currently involved in the WI/NFU Milk debate – scary stuff. Support local and OUR farmers unless you want to be importing milk from Poland.
Fruit and veg is a problem where we live. A couple of monthly farmers markets, on market stall on Saturday and that’s it. Would like the opportunity to get more local perishables.
12 May 2007
We have discovered the local WI Market, now known as Country Markets, which are a brilliant source of local produce, including local organic veg and meat.
30 May 2007
I came across a site called http://www.thelocalfoodcompany.co.uk which source locally produced foods and deliver them to your door and they offset their carbon use. They even tell you how many miles your food has travelled and where possible only use minimal packaging (in most cases they use none). I now only shop with them and I feel I am doing my bit for the environment instead of buying from a faceless supermarket who import their foods from half way around the world.
29 Jun 2007
Anyone living in Devon might like to give Own Online (http://ownonline.co.uk) a go – Devon-based delivery service, doing food, drink, and bathroom/kitchen stuff (inc. Bio-D, Ecover, and the very lovely Faith in Nature). They have a definite local, fair-trade and organic interest – lots of west country products – and their packaging is pretty much minimal, with brown paper bags for vegetables when needed etc. Particularly impressed with them because they bring things in large (fox-proof!) boxes, rather than plastic bags, and are happy to leave things wherever you choose (in the garden, for example). Also full marks for their delivery options (cheaper than Tesco/Sainsbury’s) – you can choose a slot when they’re already in your area, thus minimising the carbon footprint of their business and your shopping!
Kingston upon Thames, GB , 01 Aug 2007
We’re working on this one and doing pretty well. Have been receiving Abel & Cole’s weekly box (and other bits from them) for over 5 years now, also we get together with friends and buy in bulk from Infinity Foods (a healthfood wholesaler) and I’ve also recently discovered the fab website Goodness Direct, they are brilliant. We are almost entirely supermarket-free now, which I feel is pretty good going especially as we have a snack-mad 2 year old ;)
stoke-on-trent, GB , 02 Aug 2007
I’m doing pretty well at this with organic veg boxes. Only minimal stuff from the supermarket, but to get wholefood supplies I have to go to Alsager. Anyone got any ideas on getting together with others to buy in bulk from Suma or others, and then split?
Stavanger, NO , 03 Aug 2007
We have just joined a organic veg box scheme and I do buy Fairtrade when I can find it. Norway’s shops don’t have a large variety in their produce so fairtrade products are limited as is organic produce (although its getting much better). I do shop at the Norway Co-op though, luckily for me they are the largest supermarket retailer here.
stoke-on-trent, GB , 04 May 2008
Since my last comment I’ve discovered that Stoke has a wholefood coop! Brilliant. Monthly order direct from Suma at wholesale prices, thanks to a small group of volunteers who aggregate the orders and split the goods. Now the only things I have to hunt out are the ones I really can’t buy in bulk, like dandelion coffee
10 Jun 2008
If anybody wants to review their local farm shop, or find out some new ones, we’ve got a proper directory full of them, along with interviews with farm shops and producers. We’re based in Wiltshire/Somerset are but cover farm shops all over UK. Because food isn’t all packaged, I often find it cheaper to buy only what you need, from a farm shop. http://www.farmshopper.net
10 Jun 2008
If anybody wants to review their local farm shop, or find out some new ones, we’ve got a proper directory full of them, along with interviews with farm shops and producers. We’re based in Wiltshire/Somerset are but cover farm shops all over UK. Because food isn’t all packaged, I often find it cheaper to buy only what you need, from a farm shop. http://www.farmshopper.net