Kleipieper - You could always grow Japanese onions on your plot to cover the gap between old season's onions finishing and the new crop coming in.
Lovely post Dove. Well said.
How many of you have Japanese or Korean cars, cheap clothes made in Bangladesh or Pakistan by poorly paid women in appalling conditions, fake branded goods made in China and so on? Shops can only sell what people are prepared to buy so it's up to you to decide whether air miles only count on food and whether British and European jobs are more valuable to us than exporting profits to Asia or anywhere else.
Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
"The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
The correct answer is to eat what is in season and not expect to have (say) french beans on your plate all the year round. Most home grown produce can be frozen and although this takes electricity, it is far more efficient than flying in french beans from Kenya.
A trowel in the hand is worth a thousand lost under a bush.
Gosh, all your posts made very interesting reading!
I'm definitely not one of those people who make a habit of buying stuff which is totally out of season.
I love eating different things at different times of the year, and growing my own as much as possible.
That may perhaps have been the reason for my, probably somewhat naïve, astonishment at the fact that even onions are imported from countries so far away.
I just had a quick look at the websites of two of the largest chains of supermarkets here in The Netherlands and they both seem to have Dutch onions for sale. They are indeed more expensive than the ones I saw at Aldi though.
They also have Dutch potatoes, but some of those are cheaper than the ones I saw at Aldi.
I'll definitely be looking even closer at the country of origine when I buy items in the shops, because I try to keep my carbon footprint as small as possible.
I've just finished my dinner of dwarf French beans from the garden, potatoes from the garden and strawberries from the garden.
And tomorrow I'm off on my bike ( I don't drive) to get eggs from the local farm where I alsways buy them.
Thanks everyone for your posts with your opinions about a problem which unfortunately we'll never be able to solve, no matter how strongly some of us feel about it.
They taste good but don't store as well as the summer grown ones so just plant enough to get you across the gap until your usual summer grown ones are ready to harvest.
Welshonion - Fench beans freeze very well. They're the only kind I eat as we don't have them often but there's always a bag in the freezer. I'd rather grow fruit and veggies which are hard to find in the shops here in Belgium - broad beans, cavolo nero, PSB, forced rhubarb - or else very expensive - soft fruits, fennel, cos letuce..........;
Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
"The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
Totally agree with everything Dove says ( as usual )
My only "issue" is that for years, decades even, we've been telling the developing countries that they should " trade their way out of poverty and not rely on hand-outs " now places like Kenya and many others have invested in training and infrastructure, we're now bleating on about " food miles"
Do we really want developing countries to be reduced once more to the begging bowl?
Obelixx, each to their own!! Vive la difference! We prefer to pig out on certain things when they are seasonal and anticipate their arrival for the rest of the time!
Asparagus, french beans, runners, purple sprouting, sprouts, English apples,new potatoes, etc. At this precise moment it is strawberries, redcurrants and gooseberries.
Posts
Kleipieper - You could always grow Japanese onions on your plot to cover the gap between old season's onions finishing and the new crop coming in.
Lovely post Dove. Well said.
How many of you have Japanese or Korean cars, cheap clothes made in Bangladesh or Pakistan by poorly paid women in appalling conditions, fake branded goods made in China and so on? Shops can only sell what people are prepared to buy so it's up to you to decide whether air miles only count on food and whether British and European jobs are more valuable to us than exporting profits to Asia or anywhere else.
The correct answer is to eat what is in season and not expect to have (say) french beans on your plate all the year round. Most home grown produce can be frozen and although this takes electricity, it is far more efficient than flying in french beans from Kenya.
And, besides, they taste better.
French beans don't take to freezing very well, anyway.
I try to eat seasonally. No more asparagus until next year. The only major exception I make is frozen peas!
Ironically the best thing we can do for Greece and Tunisia is buy their produce. The fresh stuff arrives by air.
Gosh, all your posts made very interesting reading!
I'm definitely not one of those people who make a habit of buying stuff which is totally out of season.
I love eating different things at different times of the year, and growing my own as much as possible.
That may perhaps have been the reason for my, probably somewhat naïve, astonishment at the fact that even onions are imported from countries so far away.
I just had a quick look at the websites of two of the largest chains of supermarkets here in The Netherlands and they both seem to have Dutch onions for sale. They are indeed more expensive than the ones I saw at Aldi though.
They also have Dutch potatoes, but some of those are cheaper than the ones I saw at Aldi.
I'll definitely be looking even closer at the country of origine when I buy items in the shops, because I try to keep my carbon footprint as small as possible.
I've just finished my dinner of dwarf French beans from the garden, potatoes from the garden and strawberries from the garden.
And tomorrow I'm off on my bike ( I don't drive) to get eggs from the local farm where I alsways buy them.
Thanks everyone for your posts with your opinions about a problem which unfortunately we'll never be able to solve, no matter how strongly some of us feel about it.
Obelixx, thanks for the suggestion of growing Japanese onions next year!
I had thought about that a few years ago, but completely forgotten about it since.
I've now made a note of it in my gardening diary!
They taste good but don't store as well as the summer grown ones so just plant enough to get you across the gap until your usual summer grown ones are ready to harvest.
Welshonion - Fench beans freeze very well. They're the only kind I eat as we don't have them often but there's always a bag in the freezer. I'd rather grow fruit and veggies which are hard to find in the shops here in Belgium - broad beans, cavolo nero, PSB, forced rhubarb - or else very expensive - soft fruits, fennel, cos letuce..........;
Totally agree with everything Dove says ( as usual )
My only "issue" is that for years, decades even, we've been telling the developing countries that they should " trade their way out of poverty and not rely on hand-outs " now places like Kenya and many others have invested in training and infrastructure, we're now bleating on about " food miles"
Do we really want developing countries to be reduced once more to the begging bowl?
Asparagus, french beans, runners, purple sprouting, sprouts, English apples,new potatoes, etc. At this precise moment it is strawberries, redcurrants and gooseberries.