So, the wonky vegetable debacle continues. Recently I wrote a post applauding supermarket giant Asda for selling a wonky veg box, however (as to be expected from any huge food corporation) all is not what it seems!
It transpires Asda aren't using their usual growers and suppliers but using a separate company, (who specifically have this produce available on site and far from being surplus or waste it is destined for other outlets.) Consequently, Asda's main suppliers are still working on their normal specifications with resultant out grading and wastage, Asda has done nothing to improve their levels of waste in their existing supply chain, but hey, it's a great marketing ploy raising misled customers like myself to pat them on the back.
Given that around a third of the planet's food goes to waste, often because of its looks (that's enough to feed over 2 billion people) marketing ploys such as this really infuriate me and should infuriate you.
Sometimes I wonder if I would be better off taking a leaf out of my auntie Betty's book? Auntie Betty was a simple soul (although not unintelligent) she was married to a concert pianist, widowed in her 50s, couldn't drive, rarely ventured further than the local shops and didn't own a TV or read newspapers. Her pleasures in life were her rose garden (the like of which I've never seen since) afternoon tea (which invariably included fresh cream cakes) served on her mother's fine bone china, and listening to classical music on her wireless. Betty didn't have a political bone in her body which by the time I was in my opinionated 20s, irritated me somewhat. I remember saying to my mother: 'how can she have lived for 80 years without having a strong opinion about anything?' But Betty was never ill (she died in her sleep aged 98) and was perpetually happy, she didn't carry the weight of the world on her shoulders, her world was 'Betty's world' and as long as she could prune her roses and the baker didn't run out of cream horns, she was at peace with the world.
I guess you could say Betty was fluffy, (something I've long aspired to be but unfortunately realised it's not my calling.) Initially, when I started writing a food blog, I thought it would be a nice, fluffy hobby, all pretty pictures of fairy cakes and jolly anecdotes, but I'm no Nigella Lawson unfortunately. The more research I do into the food chain, the angrier I get (not conducive to fluffiness.) The appalling welfare of the animals we eat....
The 15m tonnes of edible food thrown away in the UK each year, often as a result of misleading use by dates and the food corporations reliance on our ignorance......
I do wonder if people live in their own 'auntie Betty' worlds? I know that prior to writing this blog, like a lot of working mum's living a hectic pace of family life, I would buy certain things with impunity, but a little bit of knowledge is a dangerous thing, and knowing what I know, I can't unknow it.
They say ignorance is bliss but surely if that were true people would be happier? I think that for many of us our need for illusion is deep, we don't want to acknowledge the fact that the pig we're eating never saw the light of day, or that supermarkets are throwing away 200,000 tonnes of waste whilst putting famers livelihoods at risk for not coming up to their (our) cosmetic standards. As John Lennon said: 'living is easy with your eyes closed.' Unfortunately, facts do not cease to exist because we choose to ignore them. I shan't be buying Asda's wonky veg box now because I don't like being duped!
What I will be doing is buying a selection of seasonal veg from my local grocer and making delicious stir frys such as this next recipe.
Veggie stir fry
Recipe
Seasonal vegetables such as carrots, kale, spinach, shredded red cabbage, mangetout
Sesame oil
1 piece of root ginger
2 cloves of garlic
1 tablespoon of soy sauce
1 teaspoon of fish sauce
Blend garlic, chopped ginger, soy sauce, fish sauce and a glug of sesame oil
Heat in a large frying pan
Add vegetables and over a high heat stir for 3-4 minutes
Serve immediately with some homemade chilli garlic bread (see previous post)
'Nothing in the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity.'
- Martin Luther King Jr
Love Donna xxxxxxxxx
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