Ethical shopping

[nobrotson]

You reduce the opportunities for unethical practice the more folks you remove from the supply chain. Buy from local farmers markets or direct from suppliers etc. This is also better for the environment.

All of the above. I do not believe in veganism above all other approaches to sustainable eating. Buying locally from farmers who care about the wellbeing of their animals is far better in my opinion than buying quinoa from Peru, where growing it has trashed forest, or buying vegan spread which contains loads of palm oil. I will happily eat roadkill meat. When I was in Albania, we ate pork most nights, but the pigs were all very healthy, well cared for animals. They often ran around the garden during the day. The self subsistence approach to food in Albania resulted in sustainable food which was some of the tastiest I have ever had.

 

[tony from suffolk]

Me, I'm a big fan of Lidl and Aldi - they keep the riff-raff out of Waitrose.

The way perectly good food is thrown out is a real scandal, but I think things are gradually improving on that front. Certainly, our local Solar (the local name for Co-Op) sell wonky vegetables and donate certain types of ?Best before? outdated products to the local food banks.

 

[droid]

A lot of people don't seem to know the difference between 'Best by' and 'Use by'

 

[kay]

Random comments

Save money by dumping credit card and getting debit card from bank if you dont need the credit.

If you don't need, and are therefore not using, the credit, how do you save money by switching to a debit card?

 

[Simon Wilson]

Most people seem to have a sensible approach to this; yes support your local shops and markets, buy local fresh produce and buy directly from producers as much as possible etc.

However, what I really can't understand is why people will buy the cheapest stuff regardless of the effects it has. If you buy the cheapest you are helping push prices down which pushes down working conditions for the workers involved at all levels and it pushes down prices paid to producers which ultimately results in terrible damage to the environment, poor animal welfare and damage to rural comunities.

Buy on quality not price. I would be very surprised if there was anybody on this forum who could not afford to pay more for food. It's just outrageous how cheap food has become and that all the harmful effects of it are being allowed to happen.

There is a fiece price war going on at the moment created by Lidl and Aldi and you are responsible for all the bad effects of it if you shop there.

https://www.managementtoday.co.uk/why-aldi-lidl-will-keep-growing/article/1386497

 

[droid]

And there was me thinking there was a price war between ASDA, Morrisons and Tesco.....

 

[royfellows]

While you all on

Unethical shopping, I have an email scammer on now, yes at this time, trying to con ?10K out of me. I am playing him like a fish. Hope he doesn't use UKC

 

[tony from suffolk]

While you all on

Unethical shopping, I have an email scammer on now, yes at this time, trying to con ?10K out of me. I am playing him like a fish. Hope he doesn't use UKC

You mean...you don't believe I'm a Nigerian prince who will richly reward you if you will only pass on your bank details so I may transfer my family fortune to the UK?

 

[Simon Wilson]

Before this present price war there was a quality war. The supermarkets were trying to outdo each other by providing better service, higher quality goods and better ethics. The high quality stores were expanding such as Waitrose and Booths. The low quality stores were bought up by the better stores. Remember Kwiksave, Safeway and Gateway/Somerfield - all gone. Then Lidl and Aldi arrived, started a price war and put an end to rising quality.

 

[royfellows]

Hes got our details off the CMT website and is impersonating another director and attempting me to pay an urgent invoice. Half of it was fishing and he believed I had took the bait.
Its interesting actually, dialog started with "Are you in the office?

 

[droid]

Before this present price war there was a quality war. The supermarkets were trying to outdo each other by providing better service, higher quality goods and better ethics. The high quality stores were expanding such as Waitrose and Booths. The low quality stores were bought up by the better stores. Remember Kwiksave, Safeway and Gateway/Somerfield - all gone. Then Lidl and Aldi arrived, started a price war and put an end to rising quality.

Really?

Quality war?

Must have missed that one.....

 

[paul]

The problem is that given a choice, the majority of shoppers will go for the cheapest option and to hell with ethics. And supermarkets know that.

 

[mikem]

There is a fiece price war going on at the moment created by Lidl and Aldi and you are responsible for all the bad effects of it if you shop there.

https://www.managementtoday.co.uk/why-aldi-lidl-will-keep-growing/article/1386497

But they have a better advertising campaign...

Mike

 

[royfellows]

Off topic, but I have often wondered how much people are influenced by advertising.

I have just bought a torch after seeing it advertised, the infamous Imalent DX 80. But supermarkets, no. I shop where its most convenient and the food turns out OK. Only detour is Asda as I like their thin sliced bacon.

 

[alastairgott]

Really?

Quality war?

Must have missed that one.....

I think safeway put parmesan in a little shakey pot, Quality!

Now aldi just give you a block and make you do all the hard work.

 

[crickleymal]

Before this present price war there was a quality war. The supermarkets were trying to outdo each other by providing better service, higher quality goods and better ethics. The high quality stores were expanding such as Waitrose and Booths. The low quality stores were bought up by the better stores. Remember Kwiksave, Safeway and Gateway/Somerfield - all gone. Then Lidl and Aldi arrived, started a price war and put an end to rising quality.

Really?

Quality war?

Must have missed that one.....

Passed me by too. Now Lidl and Aldi do sell reasonable stuff. Certainly better than other stuff for the same price.  If you want cheap crap try Home Bargains or B&M who really do treat staff badly.
I know Lidl do this thing if you go for a job where you have to work a shift without pay. But then so do Asda.

 

[tony from suffolk]

The problem is that given a choice, the majority of shoppers will go for the cheapest option and to hell with ethics. And supermarkets know that.

Bear in mind there are an awful lot of pretty poor folk in the UK who don't have the luxury of being able to shop ethically. For many it's buy the cheapest and hope you can get by.

 

[droid]

Spot on Tony.

 

[Kenilworth]

Attempts to appear ethical or high-quality by supermarkets are marketing schemes to attract the ignorant and impressionable among middle or higher economic classes. The higher the quality and purer the ethics, the higher the price and bigger the con.

Most of the people blathering about ethical shopping won't begin to consider truly ethical behaviour in connection with their food (often using the pitiful excuse that it is unrealistic to be elementally involved in production and preparation of their own sustenance). Instead they complain about the counterfeit products they are too lazy to decline or pretend self-righteousness by shopping at the very slightly better of a group of despicable retailers.

The most ethical thing I can figure to do is to buy as little as you can from any store, drawing whatever lines can be easily or realistically drawn. Then, when necessary to buy from supermarkets, don't waste time nitpicking over their ethics, which are universally poor enough to render them all essentially equal.

 

[ttxela2]

ASDA are of course owned by Wal-Mart (USA) - king of the no frills companies...

Aww, come on guys, Wal-Mart have just decided to stop selling guns to kids (under 21). You dom't get much more ethical than that.

A bit off topic but my sister moved to Texas some years ago, I visited her a while back and was invited to go to a shooting range with one of my nephews friends who would bring his rifle if we supplied our own ammunition (I used to help run a range in the UK in my youth). We went to the local sporting goods store but were a bit unsure of the purchasing rules, a helpful assistant said that to buy rifle ammunition you had to be over 21 and a resident of the state. We explained that although my nephew was a resident he was only 18 and whilst I was over 21 I was not a resident. We expected refusal but were told that it was no problem as between us we had it covered.....