Week 5 - My attempt

Not to sound like an old woman, but does anyone else think that apples and pears don't taste as good as they used to?

I lived in France for a while about a year ago and the difference in the quality of their fruit and vegetables compared to ours is amazing. What is more amazing is that they are only just across the channel.

Perhaps farm subsidies have something to do with this but I also think that they take their food more seriously and, whilst supermarkets are growing in popularity, there are still markets in most towns and villages that sell food which has been produced locally.

I know that since I've come back to the UK I have been eating less fruit and veg and throwing away more. I think that this is because it is not enticing.

I don't really have a great excuse as to why I'm eating tasteless food. There are a number of green grocers near me and, as I'm in north London, a choice of farmers' markets. This week I am leaving Tescos and venturing into the little shops along the high street. (There is an easier option and that is the fruit and veg boxes. I thought I'd cover that another week though. This week I want to see how easy it is for me to do this myself.)

One unappetising thing about the local greengrocers is that they have their produce outside the shop. When the shop faces onto a main road it makes you wonder whether the benefits of the locally produced food may not be outweighed by the coating of petrol fumes? Also, how can you be sure that your local grocer does provide fruit and veg produced in the UK? There's no reason that the stuff can't have been flown in from the Caribbean and it may not be fair trade.

Time to turn to my recently purchased Friends of the Earth book - Save cash and save the planet (I may well not have started this blog if I'd bought this book earlier).

The main points are to buy seasonal, buy local, buy pesticide free food, buy fair and don't buy GM.

With these criteria in mind, I am off to the shops or farmers' market.

Well, in my local shops there is either no labelling or most of the fruit and veg comes from abroad, with the odd "British" label. Much like the supermarkets then.

At the farmers' market it's a different story. For the most part the stalls are run by the actual producers and the fruit and vegetables look and taste delicious. It's not cheap but what a lovely change to eat tomatoes that taste as good as the look and smell.

However, for everyday purchase of my fruit and vegetables it is a bit of a faff (sp?) and the idea was to make changes to my purchasing that didn't hugely inconvenience me. Realistically I'll be more likely to carry on if things are easy. Not particularly self-sacrificing of me but I do know what I'm like. Something about good intentions and the underworld?

So, next week I'm investigating the organic delivery box scheme.

Click here for further information about the criteria and other interesting stuff.