A survey of 843 members of the American Dietetic Association has revealed a strong preference for US-sourced over imported food. Two-thirds would choose the US-produced option over an imported option, when presented with a choice.
An even larger majority of 81% think that it is important to know a food’s origin, and about 70% read a product’s label to find out.
71% of the polled members rated US food as excellent or good. Only 3% felt that US food was bad or terrible.
Most interestingly, perhaps, the poll notes that the preference for American food “appears to stem from the belief that US-produced food is more highly regulated than other countries.”
The survey was commissioned by the California Olive Association, which said it finds the results “gratifying.”
While food produced in California and eaten in Massachusetts (over 3,000 miles away) can hardly be considered local, it is encouraging to see that some are looking to their own country’s resources, as long as they are viable. But these ideas need to filter down through the community, as not everyone is convinced.
There are problems in the UK that stem from those trying too hard to source local product when the conditions are not right, and perhaps causing more (environmental) harm than good. Take for example, greenhouse or poly tunnel-grown tomatoes in winter, or, more recently, farmers artificially heating green pumpkins in the UK rather than sourcing them from, say, France. There is also the issue of producers in other countries that are dependent on their crop sales for their livelihood.
And is US food is more highly regulated than other countries? A definition of “regulated” is warranted. For example, genetically-modified foods are permitted in the US, while other countries ban them. Any thoughts?
Showing posts with label local food. Show all posts
Showing posts with label local food. Show all posts
Wednesday, 17 October 2007
News & comment: Home-grown food in the US
A survey of 843 members of the American Dietetic Association has revealed a strong preference for US-sourced over imported food. Two-thirds would choose the US-produced option over an imported option, when presented with a choice.
An even larger majority of 81% think that it is important to know a food’s origin, and about 70% read a product’s label to find out.
71% of the polled members rated US food as excellent or good. Only 3% felt that US food was bad or terrible.
Most interestingly, perhaps, the poll notes that the preference for American food “appears to stem from the belief that US-produced food is more highly regulated than other countries.”
The survey was commissioned by the California Olive Association, which said it finds the results “gratifying.”
While food produced in California and eaten in Massachusetts (over 3,000 miles away) can hardly be considered local, it is encouraging to see that some are looking to their own country’s resources, as long as they are viable. But these ideas need to filter down through the community, as not everyone is convinced.
There are problems in the UK that stem from those trying too hard to source local product when the conditions are not right, and perhaps causing more (environmental) harm than good. Take for example, greenhouse or poly tunnel-grown tomatoes in winter, or, more recently, farmers artificially heating green pumpkins in the UK rather than sourcing them from, say, France. There is also the issue of producers in other countries that are dependent on their crop sales for their livelihood.
And is US food is more highly regulated than other countries? A definition of “regulated” is warranted. For example, genetically-modified foods are permitted in the US, while other countries ban them. Any thoughts?
An even larger majority of 81% think that it is important to know a food’s origin, and about 70% read a product’s label to find out.
71% of the polled members rated US food as excellent or good. Only 3% felt that US food was bad or terrible.
Most interestingly, perhaps, the poll notes that the preference for American food “appears to stem from the belief that US-produced food is more highly regulated than other countries.”
The survey was commissioned by the California Olive Association, which said it finds the results “gratifying.”
While food produced in California and eaten in Massachusetts (over 3,000 miles away) can hardly be considered local, it is encouraging to see that some are looking to their own country’s resources, as long as they are viable. But these ideas need to filter down through the community, as not everyone is convinced.
There are problems in the UK that stem from those trying too hard to source local product when the conditions are not right, and perhaps causing more (environmental) harm than good. Take for example, greenhouse or poly tunnel-grown tomatoes in winter, or, more recently, farmers artificially heating green pumpkins in the UK rather than sourcing them from, say, France. There is also the issue of producers in other countries that are dependent on their crop sales for their livelihood.
And is US food is more highly regulated than other countries? A definition of “regulated” is warranted. For example, genetically-modified foods are permitted in the US, while other countries ban them. Any thoughts?
Monday, 15 October 2007
Supermarkets improving but still have a way to go as more customers try to go green
A new report out today shows that consumers in all income brackets are looking to buy green, but while food retailers are getting better with regards to sustainability, there is still room to be done.
The National Consumer Council’s report finds that all retailers are improving, not just Sainsbury’s, M&S and Waitrose, traditionally seen as serving a higher-income bracket. Sainsbury’s got the best rating of all supermarkets in question, receiving a B, as did M&S and Waitrose.
Asda and Tesco improved their rankings from a D to a C. And in what the council calls “perhaps the most significant of all in terms of long-term trends,” Morrisons and Somerfield both gained higher marks this year, each earning a D rather than an E.
Some highlights:
-an Asda product, ‘Smart Price’ value fish fingers, which are sourced from a sustainable supply of pollack and display the Marine Stewardship Council certification. Pollack is recommended by the National Trust.
-another own-brand Asda product, toilet paper, dispaying the Forest Stewardship Council’s approval marking.
-Asda, Co-op and Somerfield selling more in-season, UK-sourced vegetables.
Despite these improvements from the bottom of the pile, the Council still voices some concerns, as not one retailer earned the A mark of a “truly green business.”
A few low points:
-No supermarket gained the top mark for UK-sourced, in-season produce.
-“Wildly varying” performance with regards to packaging and plastic bags was registered.
-Some stores contradicting their own green messages: for example, a Waitrose store advertised the plum season across the world, conflicting with its advertised policy of sourcing locally wherever possible.
The Council is calling on all major supermarkets to source more local produce, to stock more energy-saving lightbulbs, to implement carrier-bag incentive schemes, to sell more sustainable fish, and to use more recycled materials, and to set stricter targets for increasing organic ranges.
The Culinary Digest reckons that the National Consumer Council has pretty well hit the mark. Local, sustainable initiatives have filtered through society quite dramatically, with all consumers wanting to make a difference, so long as they can afford to. It is critical that these retailers look to change many of their policies as soon as possible.
One issue with packaging that The Culinary Digest has noticed, particularly in the case of Sainsbury’s, is the ‘Sorry, not yet recyclable’ mark on many plastic packages and cartons. Firstly, why are these not recyclable, when so many types of plastic are? Secondly, instead of spending money or time on printing fancy packaging, why are they not spending resources in this area? And finally, why are these types of packaging so common in the up-market ‘Taste the Difference’ range, when consumers are already paying a decided amount more for a top-quality product? Should not sustainability be an important part of this?
The NCC report Green Grocers is available here
The NCC report Greening Supermarkets: how supermarkets can make greening shpping easier (2006) can be found here
The National Consumer Council’s report finds that all retailers are improving, not just Sainsbury’s, M&S and Waitrose, traditionally seen as serving a higher-income bracket. Sainsbury’s got the best rating of all supermarkets in question, receiving a B, as did M&S and Waitrose.
Asda and Tesco improved their rankings from a D to a C. And in what the council calls “perhaps the most significant of all in terms of long-term trends,” Morrisons and Somerfield both gained higher marks this year, each earning a D rather than an E.
Some highlights:
-an Asda product, ‘Smart Price’ value fish fingers, which are sourced from a sustainable supply of pollack and display the Marine Stewardship Council certification. Pollack is recommended by the National Trust.
-another own-brand Asda product, toilet paper, dispaying the Forest Stewardship Council’s approval marking.
-Asda, Co-op and Somerfield selling more in-season, UK-sourced vegetables.
Despite these improvements from the bottom of the pile, the Council still voices some concerns, as not one retailer earned the A mark of a “truly green business.”
A few low points:
-No supermarket gained the top mark for UK-sourced, in-season produce.
-“Wildly varying” performance with regards to packaging and plastic bags was registered.
-Some stores contradicting their own green messages: for example, a Waitrose store advertised the plum season across the world, conflicting with its advertised policy of sourcing locally wherever possible.
The Council is calling on all major supermarkets to source more local produce, to stock more energy-saving lightbulbs, to implement carrier-bag incentive schemes, to sell more sustainable fish, and to use more recycled materials, and to set stricter targets for increasing organic ranges.
The Culinary Digest reckons that the National Consumer Council has pretty well hit the mark. Local, sustainable initiatives have filtered through society quite dramatically, with all consumers wanting to make a difference, so long as they can afford to. It is critical that these retailers look to change many of their policies as soon as possible.
One issue with packaging that The Culinary Digest has noticed, particularly in the case of Sainsbury’s, is the ‘Sorry, not yet recyclable’ mark on many plastic packages and cartons. Firstly, why are these not recyclable, when so many types of plastic are? Secondly, instead of spending money or time on printing fancy packaging, why are they not spending resources in this area? And finally, why are these types of packaging so common in the up-market ‘Taste the Difference’ range, when consumers are already paying a decided amount more for a top-quality product? Should not sustainability be an important part of this?
The NCC report Green Grocers is available here
The NCC report Greening Supermarkets: how supermarkets can make greening shpping easier (2006) can be found here
Supermarkets improving but still have a way to go as more customers try to go green
A new report out today shows that consumers in all income brackets are looking to buy green, but while food retailers are getting better with regards to sustainability, there is still room to be done.
The National Consumer Council’s report finds that all retailers are improving, not just Sainsbury’s, M&S and Waitrose, traditionally seen as serving a higher-income bracket. Sainsbury’s got the best rating of all supermarkets in question, receiving a B, as did M&S and Waitrose.
Asda and Tesco improved their rankings from a D to a C. And in what the council calls “perhaps the most significant of all in terms of long-term trends,” Morrisons and Somerfield both gained higher marks this year, each earning a D rather than an E.
Some highlights:
-an Asda product, ‘Smart Price’ value fish fingers, which are sourced from a sustainable supply of pollack and display the Marine Stewardship Council certification. Pollack is recommended by the National Trust.
-another own-brand Asda product, toilet paper, dispaying the Forest Stewardship Council’s approval marking.
-Asda, Co-op and Somerfield selling more in-season, UK-sourced vegetables.
Despite these improvements from the bottom of the pile, the Council still voices some concerns, as not one retailer earned the A mark of a “truly green business.”
A few low points:
-No supermarket gained the top mark for UK-sourced, in-season produce.
-“Wildly varying” performance with regards to packaging and plastic bags was registered.
-Some stores contradicting their own green messages: for example, a Waitrose store advertised the plum season across the world, conflicting with its advertised policy of sourcing locally wherever possible.
The Council is calling on all major supermarkets to source more local produce, to stock more energy-saving lightbulbs, to implement carrier-bag incentive schemes, to sell more sustainable fish, and to use more recycled materials, and to set stricter targets for increasing organic ranges.
The Culinary Digest reckons that the National Consumer Council has pretty well hit the mark. Local, sustainable initiatives have filtered through society quite dramatically, with all consumers wanting to make a difference, so long as they can afford to. It is critical that these retailers look to change many of their policies as soon as possible.
One issue with packaging that The Culinary Digest has noticed, particularly in the case of Sainsbury’s, is the ‘Sorry, not yet recyclable’ mark on many plastic packages and cartons. Firstly, why are these not recyclable, when so many types of plastic are? Secondly, instead of spending money or time on printing fancy packaging, why are they not spending resources in this area? And finally, why are these types of packaging so common in the up-market ‘Taste the Difference’ range, when consumers are already paying a decided amount more for a top-quality product? Should not sustainability be an important part of this?
The NCC report Green Grocers is available here
The NCC report Greening Supermarkets: how supermarkets can make greening shpping easier (2006) can be found here
The National Consumer Council’s report finds that all retailers are improving, not just Sainsbury’s, M&S and Waitrose, traditionally seen as serving a higher-income bracket. Sainsbury’s got the best rating of all supermarkets in question, receiving a B, as did M&S and Waitrose.
Asda and Tesco improved their rankings from a D to a C. And in what the council calls “perhaps the most significant of all in terms of long-term trends,” Morrisons and Somerfield both gained higher marks this year, each earning a D rather than an E.
Some highlights:
-an Asda product, ‘Smart Price’ value fish fingers, which are sourced from a sustainable supply of pollack and display the Marine Stewardship Council certification. Pollack is recommended by the National Trust.
-another own-brand Asda product, toilet paper, dispaying the Forest Stewardship Council’s approval marking.
-Asda, Co-op and Somerfield selling more in-season, UK-sourced vegetables.
Despite these improvements from the bottom of the pile, the Council still voices some concerns, as not one retailer earned the A mark of a “truly green business.”
A few low points:
-No supermarket gained the top mark for UK-sourced, in-season produce.
-“Wildly varying” performance with regards to packaging and plastic bags was registered.
-Some stores contradicting their own green messages: for example, a Waitrose store advertised the plum season across the world, conflicting with its advertised policy of sourcing locally wherever possible.
The Council is calling on all major supermarkets to source more local produce, to stock more energy-saving lightbulbs, to implement carrier-bag incentive schemes, to sell more sustainable fish, and to use more recycled materials, and to set stricter targets for increasing organic ranges.
The Culinary Digest reckons that the National Consumer Council has pretty well hit the mark. Local, sustainable initiatives have filtered through society quite dramatically, with all consumers wanting to make a difference, so long as they can afford to. It is critical that these retailers look to change many of their policies as soon as possible.
One issue with packaging that The Culinary Digest has noticed, particularly in the case of Sainsbury’s, is the ‘Sorry, not yet recyclable’ mark on many plastic packages and cartons. Firstly, why are these not recyclable, when so many types of plastic are? Secondly, instead of spending money or time on printing fancy packaging, why are they not spending resources in this area? And finally, why are these types of packaging so common in the up-market ‘Taste the Difference’ range, when consumers are already paying a decided amount more for a top-quality product? Should not sustainability be an important part of this?
The NCC report Green Grocers is available here
The NCC report Greening Supermarkets: how supermarkets can make greening shpping easier (2006) can be found here
Sunday, 30 September 2007
British Cheese Festival attracts 460 varieties - and 12,000 people
Yesterday, Gloucesters both single and double, Leicesters red, Stiltons blue and Lancashires warning “not for the faint hearted” were assembled in Oxfordshire for all to sample at the Great British Cheese Festival.
From across the UK and Ireland, 12,000 people descended upon the county to taste the very best of British and Irish cheese. According to Juliet Harbutt, chairman of the festival, this number is growing every year.
The festival, situated on a field next to Millets Farm Centre, featured 460 different cheeses from four different sources – cow, sheep, goat, and more unusually, buffalo. These cheeses were displayed on 175 different stalls and were complimented by the best of English ciders, perries, beers and wines. Other vendors, selling chutneys, jams, sausages, breads, and curries, filled out the festival.
For ₤8.50 for an adult (concessions ₤6.50), entry to a virtually unlimited sampling of cheeses was gained. For a bit extra, tickets to masterclasses were available, such as Horizontal Cheddar tasting, teaching the secrets of judging a good Cheddar; Washed, Wild and Welsh, offering the best of Wales’ wares; and a cheesemaking demonstration by Delamere Dairies.
One highlight of the day included the public unveiling of the new cheese Little Wallop, fronted by Alex James, former bassist for indie band Blur and cheesemaking entrepreneur. The podcast of this debut will appear on the Guardian website on Wednesday. James told The Culinary Digest that his new cheese will go on sale soon in Harrods and Selfridges Food Hall and will likely retail for around ₤6 a package. Click here to view Little Wallop.
The cheesemakers, particularly proud of their produce, featured prominently. A distinct local feel was apparent: Bath Soft Cheese, run by simply Graham and his wife (no surnames required) distributed flyers of Graham with the true cheese producer, his cow Daisy, one of 160 on his farm of 300 acres. Chris makes the cheese, Matt wraps it and Alex spreads the news. Bath Soft Cheeses produces five creamy cheeses, including a blue and a brie variety.
Selected producers from the festival, most with details of local stockists (click on the links to go to their individual websites):
Leicestershire Handmade Cheese Co. (Winner of best British raw milk cheese 2007)
Bath Soft Cheese
Lincolnshire Poacher Cheese
Godsells Cheese
Degustibus bread
Cley pickles (hand-prepared pickles, chutneys, mustards, jams jellies and markets). For more information, email Ann Westrop.
From across the UK and Ireland, 12,000 people descended upon the county to taste the very best of British and Irish cheese. According to Juliet Harbutt, chairman of the festival, this number is growing every year.
The festival, situated on a field next to Millets Farm Centre, featured 460 different cheeses from four different sources – cow, sheep, goat, and more unusually, buffalo. These cheeses were displayed on 175 different stalls and were complimented by the best of English ciders, perries, beers and wines. Other vendors, selling chutneys, jams, sausages, breads, and curries, filled out the festival.
For ₤8.50 for an adult (concessions ₤6.50), entry to a virtually unlimited sampling of cheeses was gained. For a bit extra, tickets to masterclasses were available, such as Horizontal Cheddar tasting, teaching the secrets of judging a good Cheddar; Washed, Wild and Welsh, offering the best of Wales’ wares; and a cheesemaking demonstration by Delamere Dairies.
One highlight of the day included the public unveiling of the new cheese Little Wallop, fronted by Alex James, former bassist for indie band Blur and cheesemaking entrepreneur. The podcast of this debut will appear on the Guardian website on Wednesday. James told The Culinary Digest that his new cheese will go on sale soon in Harrods and Selfridges Food Hall and will likely retail for around ₤6 a package. Click here to view Little Wallop.
The cheesemakers, particularly proud of their produce, featured prominently. A distinct local feel was apparent: Bath Soft Cheese, run by simply Graham and his wife (no surnames required) distributed flyers of Graham with the true cheese producer, his cow Daisy, one of 160 on his farm of 300 acres. Chris makes the cheese, Matt wraps it and Alex spreads the news. Bath Soft Cheeses produces five creamy cheeses, including a blue and a brie variety.
Selected producers from the festival, most with details of local stockists (click on the links to go to their individual websites):
Leicestershire Handmade Cheese Co. (Winner of best British raw milk cheese 2007)
Bath Soft Cheese
Lincolnshire Poacher Cheese
Godsells Cheese
Degustibus bread
Cley pickles (hand-prepared pickles, chutneys, mustards, jams jellies and markets). For more information, email Ann Westrop.
British Cheese Festival attracts 460 varieties - and 12,000 people
Yesterday, Gloucesters both single and double, Leicesters red, Stiltons blue and Lancashires warning “not for the faint hearted” were assembled in Oxfordshire for all to sample at the Great British Cheese Festival.
From across the UK and Ireland, 12,000 people descended upon the county to taste the very best of British and Irish cheese. According to Juliet Harbutt, chairman of the festival, this number is growing every year.
The festival, situated on a field next to Millets Farm Centre, featured 460 different cheeses from four different sources – cow, sheep, goat, and more unusually, buffalo. These cheeses were displayed on 175 different stalls and were complimented by the best of English ciders, perries, beers and wines. Other vendors, selling chutneys, jams, sausages, breads, and curries, filled out the festival.
For ₤8.50 for an adult (concessions ₤6.50), entry to a virtually unlimited sampling of cheeses was gained. For a bit extra, tickets to masterclasses were available, such as Horizontal Cheddar tasting, teaching the secrets of judging a good Cheddar; Washed, Wild and Welsh, offering the best of Wales’ wares; and a cheesemaking demonstration by Delamere Dairies.
One highlight of the day included the public unveiling of the new cheese Little Wallop, fronted by Alex James, former bassist for indie band Blur and cheesemaking entrepreneur. The podcast of this debut will appear on the Guardian website on Wednesday. James told The Culinary Digest that his new cheese will go on sale soon in Harrods and Selfridges Food Hall and will likely retail for around ₤6 a package. Click here to view Little Wallop.
The cheesemakers, particularly proud of their produce, featured prominently. A distinct local feel was apparent: Bath Soft Cheese, run by simply Graham and his wife (no surnames required) distributed flyers of Graham with the true cheese producer, his cow Daisy, one of 160 on his farm of 300 acres. Chris makes the cheese, Matt wraps it and Alex spreads the news. Bath Soft Cheeses produces five creamy cheeses, including a blue and a brie variety.
Selected producers from the festival, most with details of local stockists (click on the links to go to their individual websites):
Leicestershire Handmade Cheese Co. (Winner of best British raw milk cheese 2007)
Bath Soft Cheese
Lincolnshire Poacher Cheese
Godsells Cheese
Degustibus bread
Cley pickles (hand-prepared pickles, chutneys, mustards, jams jellies and markets). For more information, email Ann Westrop.
From across the UK and Ireland, 12,000 people descended upon the county to taste the very best of British and Irish cheese. According to Juliet Harbutt, chairman of the festival, this number is growing every year.
The festival, situated on a field next to Millets Farm Centre, featured 460 different cheeses from four different sources – cow, sheep, goat, and more unusually, buffalo. These cheeses were displayed on 175 different stalls and were complimented by the best of English ciders, perries, beers and wines. Other vendors, selling chutneys, jams, sausages, breads, and curries, filled out the festival.
For ₤8.50 for an adult (concessions ₤6.50), entry to a virtually unlimited sampling of cheeses was gained. For a bit extra, tickets to masterclasses were available, such as Horizontal Cheddar tasting, teaching the secrets of judging a good Cheddar; Washed, Wild and Welsh, offering the best of Wales’ wares; and a cheesemaking demonstration by Delamere Dairies.
One highlight of the day included the public unveiling of the new cheese Little Wallop, fronted by Alex James, former bassist for indie band Blur and cheesemaking entrepreneur. The podcast of this debut will appear on the Guardian website on Wednesday. James told The Culinary Digest that his new cheese will go on sale soon in Harrods and Selfridges Food Hall and will likely retail for around ₤6 a package. Click here to view Little Wallop.
The cheesemakers, particularly proud of their produce, featured prominently. A distinct local feel was apparent: Bath Soft Cheese, run by simply Graham and his wife (no surnames required) distributed flyers of Graham with the true cheese producer, his cow Daisy, one of 160 on his farm of 300 acres. Chris makes the cheese, Matt wraps it and Alex spreads the news. Bath Soft Cheeses produces five creamy cheeses, including a blue and a brie variety.
Selected producers from the festival, most with details of local stockists (click on the links to go to their individual websites):
Leicestershire Handmade Cheese Co. (Winner of best British raw milk cheese 2007)
Bath Soft Cheese
Lincolnshire Poacher Cheese
Godsells Cheese
Degustibus bread
Cley pickles (hand-prepared pickles, chutneys, mustards, jams jellies and markets). For more information, email Ann Westrop.
Sunday, 2 September 2007
Judging food by its cover
“Paper or plastic?” In the US, this is the three-word grunt of the teenager bagging groceries at the supermarket. If only it was that simple: these days, the question of food packaging surrounds everything we eat.
Is it better to eat canned, fresh or frozen food? There are several angles to mull over within this one question. One one side, consider the health implications surrounding nutritional content. On the other, contemplate the energy implications, such as food miles, local food, seasonal food, carbon emissions and recycling.
I’ll attempt to get to the bottom of these issues, though admittedly not quite as fast as I can get to the bottom of a bowl of crab linguine. But that’s another story.
Seasonal considerations
Fresh is generally regarded to be best when it comes to food – and the fresher, the better. In many consumer’s minds, fresh foods are healthy, natural foods, those unspoiled by the rigours of a freezer and kept free from the evils of sodium. To a point, this is true.
However, eating fresh, refrigerated foods all year long isn’t always possible – or practical – or the tastiest. For example, tomatoes on the vine in the summertime provide a rich, flavourful product. Six months later, in the cold dark month of February, tomatoes are watery, uninteresting and even tasteless. During the winter months, eating canned chopped tomatoes is the smartest choice: the tomatoes inside the tin were likely grown in the sunshine of June but just did not make it to the market.
Seasonal food often implies local food, but not always: and if it’s local, it may not need all the bells and whistles that come with the packaging. Local markets are often as plastic-free as you get.
Frozen facts
Frozen product manufacturer Bird’s Eye run regular commercials about how frozen food carries the highest nutritional content. For example, their peas and carrots are immediately placed in a deep freezer, preserving from the start the vitamins and minerals so valuable to the system. The carrot in the ice cube is convincing, but it is still a marketing campaign, so I remain cynical.
After all, how much energy does it take to keep those peas frozen? According to a study by the Scientific Certification Systems (SCS) of Oakland, California, the average amount of energy consumed from farm to table for a frozen product is about 23 MJ per kilogram of food (APEALnews 29, May 2007). The life cycle includes food production, food processing, packaging, transportation, storage and meal preparation. As a comparison, SCS estimates that refrigerated food uses about 14 MJ/kg and canned food slightly less at 13 MJ/kg.
The proof is in the packaging
The canned food industry wants to highlight the “from farm to table” aspect of food, however, because its product uses the most amount of energy in the packaging. The energy cost for the steel can is about 5 MJ/kg, more than one-third of the energy consumption. The cardboard and plastic packaging of frozen and refrigerated foods are 4 MJ/kg and 2 MJ/kg (APEALnews 29, as above).
When it comes to the question of recycling, though, the steel can comes out a winner. Steel and glass can be recycled endlessly, whereas paper and plastic can generally only be recycled a few times. The process of sorting and recycling is an easier one as well, which is perhaps why the recycling rate is so high: according to APEAL, the association of European producers of steel for packaging, in 2005, the metal packaging recycling rate was 92% in Belgium, and 12 European countries had recycling rates over 60%.
How far is too far? Green beans from Kenya, bananas from the Caribbean
The can has its merits, but how do we know how far it has come to sit on our pantry shelf? We as consumers have been conditioned to like variety in our food, which has led us to buying food from Africa or Australia, thousands of miles away. A backlash has been brewing, with many of us turning inwards, trying to source our produce as locally as possible. “Food miles” is another buzzward.
Here, a holistic approach is necessary too, in my opinion. Those green beans may have come from Kenya, but would it be better to grow them in a glasshouse, using kilowatt after kilowatt of electricity? And do we want the workers in the Caribbean dependant on bananas for their livelihood to go out of business? The question just keeps getting bigger and bigger.
The Guardian ran an excellent article on this topic. Here, academics from the University of Wales Institute at Cardiff argue for a system that “considers all environmental impacts from farm to dinner plate,” measuring food in “global hectares.” They offer the ‘eco-friendliest’ diet possible:
A typical day on the diet
Breakfast: Cereal and milk, tea/coffee (from weekly allowance half as large as normal diet)
or
Toast and jam (or marmalade)
Lunch: Avocado and poached egg with toast
or
Black-eye bean, rocket and pinenut salad
Dinner: Spinach, leek and pinenut risotto with yoghurt.
Fruit salad
or
Pork cassoulet with mustard, honey and cinnamon, served with green salad. Sweet pancakes with jam, honey, tahini, chocolate sauce or yoghurt
Drinks/Treats: Two glasses of beer, pack of fruit pastilles, two Jaffa Cakes
or
One can cola and nine boiled sweets
(The Guardian, 4 June 2007)
Overall, I am happy with this diet. But when it comes to the snacks section, I am not quite so pleased. I do not encourage any diet that calls for beer, cola, boiled sweets or gummi-bears. Where’s the nutritional content?
If I’m not mistaken, that brings us back to the “fresh is best” question. Well, is it?
My verdict: Eat seasonally all-year round. If you want a certain product out of season, source it in a canned or frozen variety. Eat locally as much as possible. (For example, grow your own herbs in a windowbox.)
Don’t eat garbage – whether it is frozen peas, canned tomatoes or fresh celery, make your own food.
(Oh, and I didn’t even get into organic food. We’ll talk about that another day.)
Is it better to eat canned, fresh or frozen food? There are several angles to mull over within this one question. One one side, consider the health implications surrounding nutritional content. On the other, contemplate the energy implications, such as food miles, local food, seasonal food, carbon emissions and recycling.
I’ll attempt to get to the bottom of these issues, though admittedly not quite as fast as I can get to the bottom of a bowl of crab linguine. But that’s another story.
Seasonal considerations
Fresh is generally regarded to be best when it comes to food – and the fresher, the better. In many consumer’s minds, fresh foods are healthy, natural foods, those unspoiled by the rigours of a freezer and kept free from the evils of sodium. To a point, this is true.
However, eating fresh, refrigerated foods all year long isn’t always possible – or practical – or the tastiest. For example, tomatoes on the vine in the summertime provide a rich, flavourful product. Six months later, in the cold dark month of February, tomatoes are watery, uninteresting and even tasteless. During the winter months, eating canned chopped tomatoes is the smartest choice: the tomatoes inside the tin were likely grown in the sunshine of June but just did not make it to the market.
Seasonal food often implies local food, but not always: and if it’s local, it may not need all the bells and whistles that come with the packaging. Local markets are often as plastic-free as you get.
Frozen facts
Frozen product manufacturer Bird’s Eye run regular commercials about how frozen food carries the highest nutritional content. For example, their peas and carrots are immediately placed in a deep freezer, preserving from the start the vitamins and minerals so valuable to the system. The carrot in the ice cube is convincing, but it is still a marketing campaign, so I remain cynical.
After all, how much energy does it take to keep those peas frozen? According to a study by the Scientific Certification Systems (SCS) of Oakland, California, the average amount of energy consumed from farm to table for a frozen product is about 23 MJ per kilogram of food (APEALnews 29, May 2007). The life cycle includes food production, food processing, packaging, transportation, storage and meal preparation. As a comparison, SCS estimates that refrigerated food uses about 14 MJ/kg and canned food slightly less at 13 MJ/kg.
The proof is in the packaging
The canned food industry wants to highlight the “from farm to table” aspect of food, however, because its product uses the most amount of energy in the packaging. The energy cost for the steel can is about 5 MJ/kg, more than one-third of the energy consumption. The cardboard and plastic packaging of frozen and refrigerated foods are 4 MJ/kg and 2 MJ/kg (APEALnews 29, as above).
When it comes to the question of recycling, though, the steel can comes out a winner. Steel and glass can be recycled endlessly, whereas paper and plastic can generally only be recycled a few times. The process of sorting and recycling is an easier one as well, which is perhaps why the recycling rate is so high: according to APEAL, the association of European producers of steel for packaging, in 2005, the metal packaging recycling rate was 92% in Belgium, and 12 European countries had recycling rates over 60%.
How far is too far? Green beans from Kenya, bananas from the Caribbean
The can has its merits, but how do we know how far it has come to sit on our pantry shelf? We as consumers have been conditioned to like variety in our food, which has led us to buying food from Africa or Australia, thousands of miles away. A backlash has been brewing, with many of us turning inwards, trying to source our produce as locally as possible. “Food miles” is another buzzward.
Here, a holistic approach is necessary too, in my opinion. Those green beans may have come from Kenya, but would it be better to grow them in a glasshouse, using kilowatt after kilowatt of electricity? And do we want the workers in the Caribbean dependant on bananas for their livelihood to go out of business? The question just keeps getting bigger and bigger.
The Guardian ran an excellent article on this topic. Here, academics from the University of Wales Institute at Cardiff argue for a system that “considers all environmental impacts from farm to dinner plate,” measuring food in “global hectares.” They offer the ‘eco-friendliest’ diet possible:
A typical day on the diet
Breakfast: Cereal and milk, tea/coffee (from weekly allowance half as large as normal diet)
or
Toast and jam (or marmalade)
Lunch: Avocado and poached egg with toast
or
Black-eye bean, rocket and pinenut salad
Dinner: Spinach, leek and pinenut risotto with yoghurt.
Fruit salad
or
Pork cassoulet with mustard, honey and cinnamon, served with green salad. Sweet pancakes with jam, honey, tahini, chocolate sauce or yoghurt
Drinks/Treats: Two glasses of beer, pack of fruit pastilles, two Jaffa Cakes
or
One can cola and nine boiled sweets
(The Guardian, 4 June 2007)
Overall, I am happy with this diet. But when it comes to the snacks section, I am not quite so pleased. I do not encourage any diet that calls for beer, cola, boiled sweets or gummi-bears. Where’s the nutritional content?
If I’m not mistaken, that brings us back to the “fresh is best” question. Well, is it?
My verdict: Eat seasonally all-year round. If you want a certain product out of season, source it in a canned or frozen variety. Eat locally as much as possible. (For example, grow your own herbs in a windowbox.)
Don’t eat garbage – whether it is frozen peas, canned tomatoes or fresh celery, make your own food.
(Oh, and I didn’t even get into organic food. We’ll talk about that another day.)
Judging food by its cover
“Paper or plastic?” In the US, this is the three-word grunt of the teenager bagging groceries at the supermarket. If only it was that simple: these days, the question of food packaging surrounds everything we eat.
Is it better to eat canned, fresh or frozen food? There are several angles to mull over within this one question. One one side, consider the health implications surrounding nutritional content. On the other, contemplate the energy implications, such as food miles, local food, seasonal food, carbon emissions and recycling.
I’ll attempt to get to the bottom of these issues, though admittedly not quite as fast as I can get to the bottom of a bowl of crab linguine. But that’s another story.
Seasonal considerations
Fresh is generally regarded to be best when it comes to food – and the fresher, the better. In many consumer’s minds, fresh foods are healthy, natural foods, those unspoiled by the rigours of a freezer and kept free from the evils of sodium. To a point, this is true.
However, eating fresh, refrigerated foods all year long isn’t always possible – or practical – or the tastiest. For example, tomatoes on the vine in the summertime provide a rich, flavourful product. Six months later, in the cold dark month of February, tomatoes are watery, uninteresting and even tasteless. During the winter months, eating canned chopped tomatoes is the smartest choice: the tomatoes inside the tin were likely grown in the sunshine of June but just did not make it to the market.
Seasonal food often implies local food, but not always: and if it’s local, it may not need all the bells and whistles that come with the packaging. Local markets are often as plastic-free as you get.
Frozen facts
Frozen product manufacturer Bird’s Eye run regular commercials about how frozen food carries the highest nutritional content. For example, their peas and carrots are immediately placed in a deep freezer, preserving from the start the vitamins and minerals so valuable to the system. The carrot in the ice cube is convincing, but it is still a marketing campaign, so I remain cynical.
After all, how much energy does it take to keep those peas frozen? According to a study by the Scientific Certification Systems (SCS) of Oakland, California, the average amount of energy consumed from farm to table for a frozen product is about 23 MJ per kilogram of food (APEALnews 29, May 2007). The life cycle includes food production, food processing, packaging, transportation, storage and meal preparation. As a comparison, SCS estimates that refrigerated food uses about 14 MJ/kg and canned food slightly less at 13 MJ/kg.
The proof is in the packaging
The canned food industry wants to highlight the “from farm to table” aspect of food, however, because its product uses the most amount of energy in the packaging. The energy cost for the steel can is about 5 MJ/kg, more than one-third of the energy consumption. The cardboard and plastic packaging of frozen and refrigerated foods are 4 MJ/kg and 2 MJ/kg (APEALnews 29, as above).
When it comes to the question of recycling, though, the steel can comes out a winner. Steel and glass can be recycled endlessly, whereas paper and plastic can generally only be recycled a few times. The process of sorting and recycling is an easier one as well, which is perhaps why the recycling rate is so high: according to APEAL, the association of European producers of steel for packaging, in 2005, the metal packaging recycling rate was 92% in Belgium, and 12 European countries had recycling rates over 60%.
How far is too far? Green beans from Kenya, bananas from the Caribbean
The can has its merits, but how do we know how far it has come to sit on our pantry shelf? We as consumers have been conditioned to like variety in our food, which has led us to buying food from Africa or Australia, thousands of miles away. A backlash has been brewing, with many of us turning inwards, trying to source our produce as locally as possible. “Food miles” is another buzzward.
Here, a holistic approach is necessary too, in my opinion. Those green beans may have come from Kenya, but would it be better to grow them in a glasshouse, using kilowatt after kilowatt of electricity? And do we want the workers in the Caribbean dependant on bananas for their livelihood to go out of business? The question just keeps getting bigger and bigger.
The Guardian ran an excellent article on this topic. Here, academics from the University of Wales Institute at Cardiff argue for a system that “considers all environmental impacts from farm to dinner plate,” measuring food in “global hectares.” They offer the ‘eco-friendliest’ diet possible:
A typical day on the diet
Breakfast: Cereal and milk, tea/coffee (from weekly allowance half as large as normal diet)
or
Toast and jam (or marmalade)
Lunch: Avocado and poached egg with toast
or
Black-eye bean, rocket and pinenut salad
Dinner: Spinach, leek and pinenut risotto with yoghurt.
Fruit salad
or
Pork cassoulet with mustard, honey and cinnamon, served with green salad. Sweet pancakes with jam, honey, tahini, chocolate sauce or yoghurt
Drinks/Treats: Two glasses of beer, pack of fruit pastilles, two Jaffa Cakes
or
One can cola and nine boiled sweets
(The Guardian, 4 June 2007)
Overall, I am happy with this diet. But when it comes to the snacks section, I am not quite so pleased. I do not encourage any diet that calls for beer, cola, boiled sweets or gummi-bears. Where’s the nutritional content?
If I’m not mistaken, that brings us back to the “fresh is best” question. Well, is it?
My verdict: Eat seasonally all-year round. If you want a certain product out of season, source it in a canned or frozen variety. Eat locally as much as possible. (For example, grow your own herbs in a windowbox.)
Don’t eat garbage – whether it is frozen peas, canned tomatoes or fresh celery, make your own food.
(Oh, and I didn’t even get into organic food. We’ll talk about that another day.)
Is it better to eat canned, fresh or frozen food? There are several angles to mull over within this one question. One one side, consider the health implications surrounding nutritional content. On the other, contemplate the energy implications, such as food miles, local food, seasonal food, carbon emissions and recycling.
I’ll attempt to get to the bottom of these issues, though admittedly not quite as fast as I can get to the bottom of a bowl of crab linguine. But that’s another story.
Seasonal considerations
Fresh is generally regarded to be best when it comes to food – and the fresher, the better. In many consumer’s minds, fresh foods are healthy, natural foods, those unspoiled by the rigours of a freezer and kept free from the evils of sodium. To a point, this is true.
However, eating fresh, refrigerated foods all year long isn’t always possible – or practical – or the tastiest. For example, tomatoes on the vine in the summertime provide a rich, flavourful product. Six months later, in the cold dark month of February, tomatoes are watery, uninteresting and even tasteless. During the winter months, eating canned chopped tomatoes is the smartest choice: the tomatoes inside the tin were likely grown in the sunshine of June but just did not make it to the market.
Seasonal food often implies local food, but not always: and if it’s local, it may not need all the bells and whistles that come with the packaging. Local markets are often as plastic-free as you get.
Frozen facts
Frozen product manufacturer Bird’s Eye run regular commercials about how frozen food carries the highest nutritional content. For example, their peas and carrots are immediately placed in a deep freezer, preserving from the start the vitamins and minerals so valuable to the system. The carrot in the ice cube is convincing, but it is still a marketing campaign, so I remain cynical.
After all, how much energy does it take to keep those peas frozen? According to a study by the Scientific Certification Systems (SCS) of Oakland, California, the average amount of energy consumed from farm to table for a frozen product is about 23 MJ per kilogram of food (APEALnews 29, May 2007). The life cycle includes food production, food processing, packaging, transportation, storage and meal preparation. As a comparison, SCS estimates that refrigerated food uses about 14 MJ/kg and canned food slightly less at 13 MJ/kg.
The proof is in the packaging
The canned food industry wants to highlight the “from farm to table” aspect of food, however, because its product uses the most amount of energy in the packaging. The energy cost for the steel can is about 5 MJ/kg, more than one-third of the energy consumption. The cardboard and plastic packaging of frozen and refrigerated foods are 4 MJ/kg and 2 MJ/kg (APEALnews 29, as above).
When it comes to the question of recycling, though, the steel can comes out a winner. Steel and glass can be recycled endlessly, whereas paper and plastic can generally only be recycled a few times. The process of sorting and recycling is an easier one as well, which is perhaps why the recycling rate is so high: according to APEAL, the association of European producers of steel for packaging, in 2005, the metal packaging recycling rate was 92% in Belgium, and 12 European countries had recycling rates over 60%.
How far is too far? Green beans from Kenya, bananas from the Caribbean
The can has its merits, but how do we know how far it has come to sit on our pantry shelf? We as consumers have been conditioned to like variety in our food, which has led us to buying food from Africa or Australia, thousands of miles away. A backlash has been brewing, with many of us turning inwards, trying to source our produce as locally as possible. “Food miles” is another buzzward.
Here, a holistic approach is necessary too, in my opinion. Those green beans may have come from Kenya, but would it be better to grow them in a glasshouse, using kilowatt after kilowatt of electricity? And do we want the workers in the Caribbean dependant on bananas for their livelihood to go out of business? The question just keeps getting bigger and bigger.
The Guardian ran an excellent article on this topic. Here, academics from the University of Wales Institute at Cardiff argue for a system that “considers all environmental impacts from farm to dinner plate,” measuring food in “global hectares.” They offer the ‘eco-friendliest’ diet possible:
A typical day on the diet
Breakfast: Cereal and milk, tea/coffee (from weekly allowance half as large as normal diet)
or
Toast and jam (or marmalade)
Lunch: Avocado and poached egg with toast
or
Black-eye bean, rocket and pinenut salad
Dinner: Spinach, leek and pinenut risotto with yoghurt.
Fruit salad
or
Pork cassoulet with mustard, honey and cinnamon, served with green salad. Sweet pancakes with jam, honey, tahini, chocolate sauce or yoghurt
Drinks/Treats: Two glasses of beer, pack of fruit pastilles, two Jaffa Cakes
or
One can cola and nine boiled sweets
(The Guardian, 4 June 2007)
Overall, I am happy with this diet. But when it comes to the snacks section, I am not quite so pleased. I do not encourage any diet that calls for beer, cola, boiled sweets or gummi-bears. Where’s the nutritional content?
If I’m not mistaken, that brings us back to the “fresh is best” question. Well, is it?
My verdict: Eat seasonally all-year round. If you want a certain product out of season, source it in a canned or frozen variety. Eat locally as much as possible. (For example, grow your own herbs in a windowbox.)
Don’t eat garbage – whether it is frozen peas, canned tomatoes or fresh celery, make your own food.
(Oh, and I didn’t even get into organic food. We’ll talk about that another day.)
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