Chicken bald back

[dancing cloud]

Watched the programme last night with increasing disbelief as tons of fruit and veg were rejected by supermarkets because they were not deemed to be an absolutely perfect shape, size or colour, and farmers were having to plough crops back into the ground . Supermarkets apparently claim it's because customers won't buy them but, in an era of food banks, elderly people choosing between food and heat, and farmers going out of business, I found this all quite upsetting - far more so that I expected. Why couldn't they just sell the "ugly" food as a cheaper range?

 

The moral of the story was that we, as customers, should be prepared to embrace the less-than-perfect but perfectly edible food to avoid such waste and I genuinely would be happy to do so, but where do you go to buy it? If the supermarkets won't even put this produce on the shelves, how do you access it? I'm nowhere near any farm shops and the local market stalls are rather more expensive than Aldi, so where do you get cheap(er) ugly food?

[clucker1]

www.riverford.co.uk. They are a vegetable box scheme in Devon but supply definitely up to the Home Counties and further North I think too. I have been a customer for 17 years and love their veg. It is very fresh and you get all sorts of veg, which I just love. They have come a long way over the years , you used to not know what was turning up each week,but now with websites etc, things have progressed. Tbh, I used to love it being a surprise and using what I was given, but having said that with a family of teenagers now, it is better for me to meal plan ahead.

[clucker1]

need to add the veg from Riverford is not ugly, it is all beautiful and very tasty! In the Summer you sometimes get weird looking carrots, similarly with parsnips in the winter. Have yet to watch Hugh's program, busy watching Autumwatch last night.

[The Dogmother]

I either buy from local farmers' markets, or my friends who have an organic smallholding, swap their beautifully ugly fruit and veg for my stinky chicken manure

[Princess Leia]

I either buy from local farmers' markets, or my friends who have an organic smallholding, swap their beautifully ugly fruit and veg for my stinky chicken manure

Sounds like you get the better deal...

[percy049]

Why couldn't they just sell the "ugly" food as a cheaper range?

 

My thoughts exactly! Also, on the programme were all those parsnips just gonna be composted etc and not made into soups or even animal feed?

 

From working on a care farm, I know how much fruit and veg is wasted. All the dodgy looking foods got taken home by the volunteers or if not the animals!

[The Dogmother]

I am scandalised by any sort of waste. I didn't see the programme, but I do know that they're not permitted to feed certain items of foodstuff to animals - daft I know, but it's DEFRA regulations

[bluekarin]

I watched it and was disgusted! All those parsnips going to waste A few years ago you were able to buy b grade fruit and veg from the supermarkets, but they dont seem to be selling it anymore. The parsnips they were having to throw away looked much better than some I have bought from Sainsburys tbh. A lot of those have grey bruises on them. I'll be watching next week to see how it goes. I did feel there was a bit of undue pressure put on the farmers from the supermarket.

[sjp]

at the end of the day it's the supermarkets fault that the consumer won't buy 'ugly' looking fruit and veg because they have told/trained them for the last 30-40 years that fruit and veg has to be perfect and that carrots are orange spuds are red or white and that the only apples worth eating have to come from the other side of the world rant over

p.s. I don't buy fresh fruit and veg if I can't grow it I don't eat it

[clucker1]

Just watched it and am horrified! I also take it back about Riverford, their veg is not "beautiful" as in the eyes of the supermarkets. It is all very beautiful in my eyes. When I get parsnips in the box, I might get a couple of enormous ones and I love the satisfaction of taking one parsnip and peeling it for a roast dinner to serve the whole family. Apart from the parsnip issue which I expect goes across all fruit and veg available in supermarkets, I was HORRIFIED by the amount of food wasted. Yesterday, I had a couple of pints of milk about to go off, so made a rice pudding and made a cheese sauce for our macaroni cheese for dinner.

Re the clothes, a girlfriend of mine has for some years now organised a clothes swap for us girls which we do a couple of times a year. So, any clothes we don't want any longer we take along with us and pick things from other swappers. It doesn't matter how many things you do or don't take, the idea is to get the clothes reused. All unwanted clothes go to charity. It's a great evening, great fun and a good way to try lots of clothes/retailers you wouldn't normally try. Plus the odd glass of wine too

[dancing cloud]

So glad I was not the only one disturbed by this. I would be very happy to buy less than perfect fruit and veg if I could find it - though I would like it to be cheaper too ( I know, want, want ,want ). Stuff like root veg is only going to be chopped up to be roasted, so it really doesn't need to all be the same size or shape, and I really don't mind how red or green the skin on an apple is, or whether the outer cabbage leaves are a bit pale

 

I used to love my Riverford box, but it is a bit on the expensive side now that my income is somewhat reduced. I know their produce is lovely and is probably realistically priced rather than artificially kept at a reduced price, but when they want £2.80 for something that costs 49p in Aldi, I really cannot justify the cost . Maybe someday ...

[Cat tails]

It was apparently EU regulation that crooked cucumbers weren't allowed to be sold in supermarkets...

They changed it now, so you can buy non-pencil straight cucumbers.

[soapdragon]

It is totally criminal to chuck away all this food; its really up to consumers to make their feelings known. I shall be seeking out the managers at Tesco and Lidl tomorrow and making my feelings known

[clucker1]

Ha! I have just done a blind taste test on Waitrose carrots versus Riverford purple carrots and guess the winner.....drumroll.....yes it is Riverford. 100% of our survey panel (all 2 of them!! Me and my daughter) voted Riverford carrots the winner.

 

Dancing Cloud, yes Riverford is expensive on individual items, but I think their boxes are very competitively priced for organic vegetables, which is so much better with none of the pesticides etc on them. I feel the veg is much stronger in texture and of course tastier than the supermarkets.

[The Dogmother]

Perhaps look to see if there's a local supplier of organic veg boxes - that way there's less road/air miles used. My neighbour used to use Riverford until I suggested that they try North Aston Organics; a few miles away, and cheaper too. They are delighted with them.

[Blackrocksrock]

I was dismayed and disgusted - dismayed at the farm that had to close and disgusted because of the waste of their parsnips due to Morrisons not wanting them - the supermarkets seem to be calling the shots on the sizes but I think we as the consumers should now shout out and tell the supermarkets that we want crooked veg and it does not matter how red or not the apples are as long as they are edible and taste good - I think the whole food world has gone mad. I now use Lidl and dont care that all their carrots or potatoes are the same size - If I grow them they wont be the same size either!

[chickencam]

We took half a sack of our own homegrown potatoes to my in laws last weekend, they are both suffering health problems and although my MIL goes to the shops most days she can't carry anything heavy so we thought that we would save them having to carry potatoes for a couple of months. We now get the feeling that FIL in particular doesn't like the solid in them and has complained to OH that there are too many they only use a few each week, we know this that is why we have given them enough to last for a while

[Valkyrie]

I haven't watched the programme - it's nothing new really and been going on for years. I hate the way the farmers are made to provide specific items. What it all boils down to is money making and the farmers lose out all the time. And to a certain extent people are also to blame - they pick the perfect things thinking the other not so perfect (should there be any to pick from) is flawed. The cheapest items aren't cheap - they are costly to the farmer.

When we can I go to the organic shops or farms. I'm lucky to live where I do. Riverford Organics have a depot at the local farm (which isn't organic). And I grow as much as I can myself - the first year I've played with carrots and actually had success - never worked before - and they are huge and juicy and so very yummy. And yes some have forked - I have 3 big carrots growing from one!

North Hampshire - Harroway Organics. Known the owners for years. Other than Mill Farm is organic near Alton, and of course Laverstoke - mainly meat but does veg too (but I'm loyal to Mandy at Harroway that's purely veg but you can order meat for Christmas). Northdown Orchard does box schemes but don't know if he's done more since - we used to get our boxes from him, but we had trouble trying to work out how to use so much greens as it was just hubby and I trying to get through them - the little darlings refused! That was a very long time ago!

[chickencam]

It was also the amount of clothes thrown away that horrified me, I think next week's programme will be looking at this in more detail. All clothing from my family either goes to charity, or into clothing banks, as do shoes etc. I also buy a lot of my clothes from charity shops.

[Valkyrie]

Did see the programme last night - or the end half. That clothing was nigh on perfect!!! All ours goes to the charity shops or Salvation Army bins. Even if they don't think the clothes are good enough they can decide and still get a little something in return for sending off the rubbish they don't want.

 

What I don't understand is why can't the excess food like the parsnips be sent to homeless shelters - or even soup stations for the homeless. It is a tremendous waste. If the farmers don't get paid then why not make use of it for the people who really need it.

[Blackrocksrock]

Would never buy organic meat as the animals receive basically the same vaccines and antibiotics to keep them healthy and some non organic farms are more organic than the actual organic ones.

[chickencam]

I thought that the Morrisons ugly courgette thing was rediculous of course people won't buy as many cosmetically challenged veg if they are the same price as the perfect stuff, it wasn't a fair trial at all. That said they had obviously sold some.

[jess1merlin]

I quite often buy Sainsburys basic range potatoes because they are less than half the price of their standard range but just as good but they vary in size, they also sell carrots and parsnips in the basic range both of which vary in size and shape. Surely the supermarkets could do this with most fruit and veg and save on the waste and stupidity. I guess the supermarkets would not make quite so much profit if they took this approach and at the end of the day that is all they are really interested in, I don't think customer choice comes into I it.