Is the Rising Cost of Food Our Fault?
Prime Minister Gordon Brown say’s it is…
As Britain’s Prime Minister (by default) arrived in Tokyo for the G8 summit he has seemingly done the imposssible and distanced himself even further from the British public by criticising the food waste of individual households.
According to a survey made on behalf of the government each household wastes on average £8 per week on food. Not sure how they managed to collate this evidence, maybe it’s via the world record breaking amount of CCTV cameras we have aimed at us 
Either way Gordon wants us to reduce food wastage. Now I don’t dispute his reasoning, I don’t believe it is the principle cause but better household ‘management’ does make sense. There is plenty to be said for reducing our food waste, less impact on our credit card bills for one but that aside how does an average household manage on smaller shopping loads? If we are to buy less would that equate to more frequent trips to the shops for fresh food? That wouldn’t bode well for our carbon footprint and would the money saved on food be spent on extra fuel?
There would then, I suppose, be a reasoned argument to spend more on ‘ready meals’ as they tend to be pre-portioned and take the guess work out of portion control leading to reduced wastage. Now I am certainly no advocate of freezer to table cookery but we have to take a realistic look at society in general, the pressures of modern day life with its poor work/time off ratio in order to find a worthwhile solution to the problem.
There is no doubt in my mind that we have lost our way when it comes to providing food for our table. Regular readers of this blog will recall my mentioning ‘food thrift’ on a number of occasions. In decades past the use of left-overs in our nations daily meal plan was standard. Look through any cookbooks from the early 1900’s through to the 60’s and 70’s and there would almost certainly be a section on ‘rechaufffe’ dishes. I remember learning this at catering college in the mid eighties and there were some great dishes. What’s happened to them?
Using up left-over food requires some skill if it is to be made interesting and appealing to an otherwise unappreciative audience. It would be foolish to think the whole country is going to suddenly turn into modern day Mrs Beeton’s cooking breadcrumbed lamb cutlets with bubble and squeek but the Government is going to have to back up its call with worthwhile help and advice.
Learning basic cookery skills has to be a fundamental part of growing up in my opinion, it goes back to our most primitive beginings when man had to find food for the woman to cook for the family to live. As the global ‘credit crunch’ hits our pockets with ever increasing intensity surely now is the best time to start?
Oh, no. I’ve just agreed with Gordon Brown!
Miles
when I saw this I ground my teeth. !
It’s another political own goal. Insulting to the people who are seeing prices going through the roof and being told it’s their fault.
You could make the same argument about fat people. Somebody worked out the amount on average that overweight people eat and it amounts to enough food to eradicate world starvation !
I believe there is a lot of waste though and people could save a lot of money managing things better, or indeed just buying more wisely at the time.
My opinion on waste:
Too much choice and picky eating at home, stuff gets left because kids ‘don’t fancy it’.
I wonder how many packets of crisps or chocolate bars go out of date ?
Special offers.
Buy one get one free etc. People see the bargain and end up with more than they need or can use.
Not planning a menu.
Plan a menu for the week and simply buy the stuff required for each day.
Regards
Rod
July 8, 2008 @ 7:34 am
Packaging is a problem - unless your are going to a butcher / fish monger, you are stuck trying to find the right size portion for what you need. People often joke about how hot dogs are sold in packages of 10, but the buns come in packs of 8 - but scenarios like this are very common. I was in Minnesota last week and took some of my in-laws to the farmer’s market in St Paul and they were amazed at the freshness of the produce and the quality. Locally raised Berkshire hogs, and free run chickens and eggs - very similar in price to the local super market - And, they could specify portion size. In NYC, it is almost impossible to shop for 2 people at a market without coming home with way more than you need.
also, our “betters” continue to prove their uselessness:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/bristol/somerset/7474722.stm
Miles,
I agree about basic cooking skills - you would not believe how few people can even manage more than heating up a can of soup - god forbid using a pan for something.
July 8, 2008 @ 11:52 am
Rod,
I listened to a radio interview and the person bemoaned the amount of buy one get one free’s, it is a good point but much of this is wishful thinking. We are, mostly, a nation of overeaters, ill disciplined with a penchant for junk food. I think you are either the sort to make the effort or you’re not, sadly.
Miles
July 8, 2008 @ 3:24 pm
Dave,
A great comment, the link you submit beggars belief doesn’t it? We are constantly bombarded with people telling us to eat fresh food, in season and all the rest but we still have those idiots in the European Union on fat salaries telling us how long or round a fruit or vegetable should be. Who cares? If it’s fresh and in good condition then buy it!
As for your last point I really don’t think home cookery is taken seriously enough at all, it’s a real shame.
Nice to hear from you again, Dave.
Regards
Miles
July 8, 2008 @ 3:29 pm
It sure as hell isn’t my fault!
I buy only what I need. I budget rigidly over a period of 18 months. I don’t smoke, drink, go out, or have a life. I eat every bit of edible food I buy. I have cut all my outgoings back as far as they can go, short of cutting myself off from electricity, water and the phone.
And still after bills my weekly income for everything else, including food is now only £8.73.
I am also unable to get a job as the job market is completely oversaturated where I live. Employers like me from feedback, but have dozens more applicants with more experience, skills and qualifications than me that they always choose.
What I live on now is value brand porridge, beans, vitamin pills and cod, liver oil pills, which barely adds up to 1200 calories (for a healthy BMI for me I need to consume around 2800 calories).
If prices of food and fuel continue to go up I will be priced out of existance.
And I don’t live in Africa, I’m an Englishman in the UK!
July 23, 2008 @ 7:50 pm
Darren,
Welcome to the site and thanks for taking the time to comment. Your situation shows the state of affairs in Britain today. When a basic commodity like rice has gone up by 40% what chance do you have with the rest of it? Now we have the supermarkets engrossed in a price war over the slight derease in petrol prices. They’ll get the difference back of us somehow,
I wish you well Darren and hope you return to the blog again.
Kind regards
Miles
July 23, 2008 @ 9:01 pm