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What would you do?

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I am trying to go as organic as possible , I grow a lot of what we eat but there are some things I have to buy sometimes. I bought some veg which said it was organic but to my horror it had travelled half way round the world :shock: and that's not all - only one of the three items had compostable packaging , the other two were totally non-recyclable :evil:

 

So I'm wondering - should I just buy the non-organic veg from my local market , as I know this hasn't travelled and it comes unpacked. It's sooooooooooo confusing :( all I want to do is be good!

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It is a real dilemma isn't it?

 

Personally I find the idea of stuff travelling from Kenya to sit on my plate unacceptable and buy non organic but locally grown as it sits easier with my conscience.

 

If you can get organic and locally grown...even better!

 

Why not grow your own Bokbok? :lol::lol:

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I just wanted to say that I am in exactly the same boat as you! We "went green" at New year and it has been SO much harder than I thought (and more expensive!) I've ended up opting for organic over local as I really want to avoid all those chemicals and organic or fairtrade stuff from abroad allegedly ensures a fairer deal for traders in developing countries. It's VERY hard though, when I needed some ingredients for a particular meal and couldn't get them organic, do I thn change the menu (people coming for dinner) or go non-organic, then I feel like I'm cheating myself :roll: Noone else in my family gives a monkeys really but I do, I have to make some compromises that I'd rather not but until someone tells me where I can get organic coco pops and frosties and organic wafer thin ham (which I KNOW isn't even really ham but my kids adore it and hate "real" ham) then I will make some compromises.

Don't even GO down the "organic" shampoo / conditioner route, or polishes, that's a nightmare all of it's own. I can see why people gave up washing their hair :shock:

 

Mrs Bertie

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:lol: It's not easy being green, is it!

 

There just isn't an easy answer to this, and I think you have to formulate your own policy - and there are times when there isn't an organic or local alternative.

 

To me, local is most important - and I get a local organic veg box (I rejected Riverford specifically because the produce would have been transported all the way from Devon to Essex). My Waitrose has a section with local (East Anglian) veg, although it's not organic, and I often choose from here.

 

With meat, free-range is my priority, and then organic if it's available and affordable. I don't eat much meat though.

 

I can't eat apples, pears or most fruit grown in this country due to an allergy, so I buy bananas and citrus fruit - Fairtrade bananas, but in honesty I've never thought abot the oranges and satsumas :oops: .

 

I only have myself to please though - if you have kids/partners it must be much harder. And I don't buy organic catfood (too expensive) and as Mrs Bertie says, just don't go there with shampoos etc - :shock: I did buy an organic shampoo last time and it was eye-wateringly expensive!

 

I still think it's worth trying though - little changes can lead to big differences.

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For me, it's been about making small changes, a bit at a time, as and when things need replacing. Milk, bread and orange juice is from the milkman, so locally produced; as much as I can I get from the co-op because of their ethical policies. I can't always afford the organic/free range options so either don't buy it or get it when it's on offer and stock up the freezer. I aim to grow as much as I can to supplement/replace the veg.

Cleaning and skincare products are now being reviewed and replaced when needed with SLS free.

 

But I have the same problems, 3 slightly fussy children and an OH who really can't see what all the fuss is about (it's just another of my hobbies :roll: ) But I refuse to feel guilty if I fall short of the standard. I do what I can and that's that! 8)

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Yup this is a tricky one.

 

We try to buy everything organic as far as we can, and are very happy if it can come locally. I don't mind the veggies coming from Devon as at least its closer than Ecuador and paying a British farmer to keep his livelihood.

 

If I can't get local organic then I go for whatever else is organic. That may mean its come round the world but then we won't be eating chemical residues etc from treated veg. If all else fails I have bought non-organic foodstuffs or just not bought.

 

Snowy, I'm with you. We do what we can and that's all we can do. And to heck to feeling guilty - life's to short :D

 

A

xx

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Snowy, I'm with you. We do what we can and that's all we can do. And to heck to feeling guilty - life's to short :D

 

Ditto from me. I'm never going to be perfectly 'green' I will only buy freerange meat and poultry. I patronise our small local shops as much as I can, and I have pretty much got to the point where I have no nasty chemical cleaning products in the house. I'm not that bothered about organic fruit and veg, but would rather buy apples grown in Kent than ones flown over from France.

 

Tessa

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Often "local" food has still travelled a horrendous number of miles, especially if you are buying it from one of the supermarket chains. Veggies are collected from the farmer, driven to a centrl depot, then driven on again, and then delivered to stores. It is not uncommon for stuff grown a few miles away to have travelled several hundred miles to get to the shop.

 

In terms of being green, it's also important to consider the overall carbon footprint of what you are buying. A lot of stuff grown in this country is actually grown in conditions which are much more polluting than the same product grown overseas and shipped here - even taking into account the travel*.

 

For example, apples grown in New Zealand and shipped here often have a lower overall carbon footprint than apples grown in this country.

 

Another example would include very poor countries where the inhabitants have almost a zero carbon footprint anyway. The (carbon) cost of shipping (not air freighing) their products to us is a tiny tiny proportion of the (carbon) cost of producing that food in the UK. And, whilst I agree it's good to support our British farmers, consider the consequences for these farmers too. Many already have a hand to mouth existence, and refusing to buy their goods on the mis-assumption that it's bad for the planet, will mean they have less than nothing.

 

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE don't just swallow this "local is best for the planet" mantra without understanding the bigger picture Make sure the foods you stop buying are the ones that are really doing the damage!

 

*except where stuff has been air freighted, this is always bad. [/b]

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Totally agree with whats been said. :D

 

I would go for locally produced over organic from far flung places - I remember seeing organic beef from Argentina and putting it down in disgust. :shock:

 

I'm pretty lucky in that I have farm shops galore around us - and the home grown meat is noticably tastier although not always organic, and price wise is competitive.

 

I try and support local shops and buy British produce, recycle wherever possible - I don't think I will ever be completely eco- friendly but I am making a great effort and at the end of the day for me its about making compromises.

 

Helen

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And, whilst I agree it's good to support our British farmers, consider the consequences for these farmers too. Many already have a hand to mouth existence, [/b]

 

I was talking to a young lad who farms near our house.

Ironically, he was putting some fencing up for an industrial unit on the trading estate we have a unit in as he odd jobs to make ends meet.

 

He was telling me how they haven't had any lambs this year as there is absolutely no money in it.

Potatoes are the main crop around us, and for that he was telling me it cost them more to put them in the fields and take them out than they got for them. (They probably came out the wrong shape for our supermarkets to accept :roll: )

Farmers in the Uk are considered rich because of the land they own and its value, but as he said to me - as a country we are so reliant now on food from overseas that when the day comes that its not so readily available from such sources, british farming will have by then been killed off and we will be in a mess.

 

Helen

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Asda have organic coco pops, their own make I think. I haven't tried them yet though as the normal ones were on a really good offer when I spotted them last week. Also I think I just saw organic wafer-thin ham in Tesco but didn't look that closely as wasn't buying it.

 

I'm in the same boat, thanks for starting the thread, hopefully we'll all pick up some tips from each other. :)

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See there's another dilemma, I won't use Tescos any more due to there "stuff what the public think" attitude re free range and organic food. I've just got back from a 20 mile or thereabouts round trip to pick up our organic beef and pork, it's local and organic and I didn't think 20 miles was too bad. But there's a local farm shop for veg but that's not organic or I can use Abel and Cole which I do now and it comes miles. You're damned if you do and damned if you don't.

But hey, whats life without guilt! :lol:

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I have an organic veg box, only buy free range eggs (til i get my own :D )

and chicken and try and buy mainly organic meat but its hard here as only available locally from supermarkets same as the veg. Occasionly we have non organic veg especially when hubby shops!! I have swapped some of my ceaning products after reading on here but still atm bleach my sink occasionly. Anyone have a good idea to get tea stains off a white sink?

 

What i wanted to ask does everyone only feed organic to their chickens?

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Anyone have a good idea to get tea stains off a white sink?

 

What i wanted to ask does everyone only feed organic to their chickens?

 

I have a stainless steel sink but I fiind Ecover cream cleaner gets rid of

tea stains, or you could try lemon juice and bi.carb :shock: I used to feed my chickens organic pellets, but switched to non organic smallholders pellets to try and economise as they were eating me out of house and home :roll:

 

Tessa

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What a brill thread- the thoughts here are precisely what I have going though my mind now everytime I go to buy something...

 

I am trying very hard not to use supermarkets for everything, its taking plannning, and shopping more often in different places, but its actually more enjoyable. I'm cooking nearly everything from scratch and have lists coming out of my ears!

 

As for the question organic or local- well I go for local over organic first if I can, and if its not local then fairtrade.

 

I'm getting meat from a farm shop that has excellent information on food miles for every type of meat they sell. I use health food shops anyway for gluten free bits and pieces (daughter is a coeliac), and this week a new organic co-operative market started in our town which was tremendous! Its coming every week, and and you can buy many loose items like raisins and lentils (cuts down on packaging), as well as fruit and veg, and eco-cleaning products!! I was in heaven on Wednesday!!!

 

For the "oh no I've run out of...." things we go to the local co-op (which is closer than the Sainsbury's. I've also done a couple of Ocado shops too since Christmas, making sure I book the van when its already in the area.

 

I am in the process of moving SLS free- gradually replacing products as and when we use them up, and have been using Eco cleaning products as well for a couple of years. People are shocked when I tell them I don't knowingly own any bleach! :shock: (MIL steeps her dish cloth in bleach daily :roll: )

 

still its my crusade, I enjoy changing my life in this way, and I love having the opportunity to read about how others are shopping and living a more green way of life.

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It is a minefield isn't it? I veer on the horns of a dilemma between organic, cruelty-free, local and FairTrade. Cruelty-free always wins, but the rest vary somewhat.

 

I grow what I can on the allotments, buy from "local" shops when I can and from the Co-op, when I can't. I avoid the multi-nationals whenever possible, and walk/cycle/use public transport as much as I can.

 

You can only do your bit and try to spread the word. My family think I'm obsessive, but we only have one planet, folks!

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I'm so glad I started this thread - with all these answers I can certainly see the bigger picture now.

 

I nearly started an argument with hubby today though :roll: we needed a few bits from the shop but we forgot to take a bag , we only had a small amount so I suggested that instead of taking a :evil: carrier bag , we carry the things between the three of us (DD was there aswell) but no , he had to have a bag :x:roll: I don't know if he was too embarassed or what :?:

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We go for local over organic. I would love to just eat organic stuff though. We are lucky enough to have a fabulous farm shop in the next vellage and everything possible is sourced locally . We don't buy any veg from supermarkets. We also have a market in the local town.

We're trying to grow a lot of our own stuff this year in our allotment, if the weather clears up :lol:

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I'm so glad I started this thread - with all these answers I can certainly see the bigger picture now.

 

I nearly started an argument with hubby today though :roll: we needed a few bits from the shop but we forgot to take a bag , we only had a small amount so I suggested that instead of taking a :evil: carrier bag , we carry the things between the three of us (DD was there aswell) but no , he had to have a bag :x:roll: I don't know if he was too embarassed or what :?:

 

I'm a stickler for not having a new carrier bag! Drives me mad when I see people take one for a couple of items. :x I reuse all mine for ages, then use them as bin bags. I'm moving over to canvas ones as my old "bags for life" wear out, though. The less plastic we pollute the planet with, the better! I heard an item the other week about all the plastic particles in sea, gumming up the works of the filter-feeders, such as corals and molluscs. Horrifying what "we" are doing to our environment! :shock::shock::shock:

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A lot of it for me is changing old habits, you have to become aware of the habits though before you can change them! The other day I bought a few bits from the health food shop. I was halfway back to the car before I realised that I had taken a reusable bag into the shop with me, but was now holding a carrier bag with my purchases in! :evil::roll: I think I'll make a badge to wear saying "I don't need a carrier bag". At least the shop assistants will see it, even if I don't! :lol:

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