I heard on the radio the other day the stat that 90% of the fruit we eat in this country is imported , and 50% of the veg we consume is imported as well.
Are we too reliant on other countries to do things for us, and is this a good thing as a country, or are we just pampered, lazy and spoilt spoilt for choice as 'consumers'
Is buying British a thing of the past, (has it always been like this) or will it make a comeback , not just in the food industry.
( I really didn't want this to become a political discussion, more a comment on whether it is possible to buy british , or whether it even matters).
I understand its a free market , and supermarlets can buy from where ever they like ( and maybe we just haven't got the climate or willing workforce to produce stuff).
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People also have no idea about food seasons anymore, so when they pick up a punnet of strawberries, they have no idea that at that time of the year there is absolutely no way those strawberries could be British, they do not even bother looking at the label. The rise of supermarkets, online delivery and convenience stores have replaced the greengrocer, who would ordinarily attempt to stock local produce, or at least British and seasonal veg, so even if you did not know about food seasons, you could buy off someone who steered you towards the ideal produce.
Furthermore, again economic theory - comparative advantage. Brits are better at other things than growing fruit and veg, therefore we generally export those services in order to buy the fruit and veg we want.
Not sure buying British will ever come back, at least in a meaningful way, as opposed to gimmicky. It is not necessarily a bad thing, apart from the carbon footprint of importing all these goods, as well as leaving us incredibly vulnerable in the event of a trade crisis or a war or blockade that cuts us off our supply lines. But from a cooking standpoint, better food education would be a plus, as seasonal dishes definitely taste better when the ingredients are fresh and in season.
We've imported fruit at least since Roman times, though usually as a luxury item (oranges in the Restoration for example). We've also lost the taste for (and skill) our historic forms of preservation like jams, pickles and chutneys.
My dad always insisted on buying British-made cars - Morris Marina, 3 Austin/Rover Montegos and a Jag, a Land Rover and a Rover 800 as company cars - no problems with any in terms of reliability or performance, but nobody else's dad seemed to adopt the same policy.
Don't really understand the thing with fruit and veg. Obviously some stuff can only come from abroad due to the climate, but occasionally I'll pick up something as basic as a bag of spuds and find that they're imported. Why is that?
We do seem to do a lot less in this country than other nations do to protect and support our own businesses. Was pleased to read that the Crossrail Trains are being manufactured in the UK though.
There are British winter vegetables in the shops, but people also want items that couldn't be grown in the UK at this time of year, Broccoli, salad crops etc
Similarly, if we ate only British fruit, our diet in winter would be pretty boring. No citrus fruit, bananas, grapes, berries etc All we'd have would be autumn fruit from cold storage, such as apples and pears
I had an avocado for dinner last night and it was bloody brilliant. Obviously I'm in the states, so it's a bit different, but it certainly wasn't grown here (probably Chile or Mexico).
But of course what were the carbon costs, the economic costs to my country's economy (probably positive as importing does still create jobs, and if I didn't eat that avocado I wouldn't have eaten something American grown), and the cost to the country where it was exported (farm workers in many "lesser-developed" nations are often treated terribly)? Plus, there is the carbon cost of them growing avocados instead of something more natural to grow/deforestation, etc.
I've not answered your question at all here. I'm just spit balling. As an aside, I do think food production is different from manufacturing, but I grew up and live very near to California which can grow just about anything I eat ~9months/year, so that is probably just my bias because a country like the UK is not capable of growing all the foods it consumes ~9 months out of the year.
Globalization is hard.
I'm not sure the last time that the origin ever influenced a purchase of mine though. Which is weird, because for drinks it definitely does.
We're going through a phase in the States right now of "buying American" and increasing American manufacturing, and potentially punishing imports/importing countries.
Putting some of Trump's more extreme rhetoric (particularly around trade) aside, and just dealing with manufacturing, this is an interesting and difficult question. We have manufacturing jobs that are gone. In some cases gone overseas, in many cases gone to automation.
Both options provide a FAR cheaper alternative to products being made in the U.S. There are a lot of reasons for this, from the costs of space to the cost of labor to the need for natural resources not found here (and many more).
So what are we to do? For many things, there is not an American option to buy. But even if we do increase manufacturing and bring those jobs and factories back (and let's pretend that's entirely viable), the cost of goods will skyrocket. The jobs that would be restored should help improve the overall economy (and tax intake for governments). But would they offset the cost to the consumer? And would there be a willingness to pay the price increase for buying American if there is competition for items that are produced overseas far more cheaply? And what would the reaction be if there was no option provided and we HAD to buy American?
Given that wages are only JUST starting to recover and grow after the Recession in 2008, would the improvement in the economy we'd see be enough to boost wages to offset these costs?
Globalization is hard.
I'm using the States as an example because it's the economy I know best, but I imagine you could pretty much ask the same questions of a post-EU Britain.
I like to buy British produce whenever I can but not everyone is can afford to do the same and probably most couldn't give toss where a lemon came from.
As for cars, is made in the UK that counts or ownership of the company that means buying British?
If its made that counts I'd have and Indian car made in Halewood over any BMW or a car made in Woking by a Bahrain controlled company over any sports car made Volkswagen or any of their subsidiaries.
We make some really good stuff in this country, some of it a bit niche but people are quite quick to think we cant make quality, we can and do.
We don't actually manufacture that much here anymore anyway. There's hardly anything that can't be produced cheaper or better elsewhere on the planet.
It is difficult, even where you want to, to identify "local" produce, except where clearly out of season - because, even where food labelling is clear, the country of origin is not always obvious (often, the last country in a production and packaging chain will be flagged on the front of the packet in a supermarket) - as far as I can make out, all the Asda cooked chicken products come from animals farmed and processed in Thailand.
For fruit and vegetables, although more expensive, independent greengrocers are generally a better bet, if for no other reason than you will see the boxes containing them (emblazoned with country of origin) when picking your selection.
For people to buy local, we have to return to notions of seasonal and limited availability (though, possibly thankfully, not pickling and salting, because of refrigeration). But we'd also have to learn to cook for ourselves again, avoiding ready meals, prepared foods, etc.
Even things as basic as the type of potato you eat would have to be reassessed. We'd probably never be able to shop for food in M&S again, for reasons other than (in my case) being too cheap.
As for @SDAddick's California, I'm not sure that agriculture is doing so well there these days. Water is getting scarcer and far too many of the cash crops require abundant supplies.
They were shit though!
Anyway this thread has reminded me to kick those muppets at Creek, manufacturer of two buggy pieces of my hi-fi set up. Supposedly a British icon name, their customer service is a joke. Their local authorised dealer here has given up on them and was trying to persuade me to do the same and buy some American amp.
On the other hand, if you are interested in English sparkling wines, here is a small business that does understand the meaning of customer service. Highly recommended. Even if the odd bottle will cost less at Waitrose.
(Who'd have guessed that there were 300,000+ jobs in both furniture manufacturing and textiles for example?)
Edited to add: As an amateur investor I've a fondnes for shares in UK manufacturing companies and in the main they have served me well. Whether that's shares in Ricardo - a superb business most will never have heard of - but barely a F1 team or a Le Mans 24hr car would get to the grid without them - or businesses like IMI and Melrose.
Seriously though. I doubt the list is overly long.
Quality shoes
Quality clothing
Other countries currency
Rolls Royce engines
Weapons
Aero & space products
Movies
Tv programmes
Music
Sandwiches
Cups of tea
Cheddar cheese