Unbelieveable

gmc · Post by **gmc** » Sat Feb 04, 2017 3:38 pm

I know the daily mail is a rag read by idiots but really?

Supermarkets ban online sales as rationing buying spreads | Daily Mail Online

Oh the temerity of those spanish people eating their own vegetables instead of going without and sending it to us. Trust the daily mail to blame the eu for the bad harvest. Time we had a british food (when in season )for british people campaign who needs lettuce in february anyway stick with the deep fried mars bar.

AnneBoleyn · Post by **AnneBoleyn** » Sat Feb 04, 2017 4:18 pm

Sounds like something The New York Post, or Faux News (one & the same btw) would opine.

Snowfire · Post by **Snowfire** » Sat Feb 04, 2017 4:19 pm

Who panic buys lettuce ffs

Bruv · Post by **Bruv** » Sat Feb 04, 2017 4:50 pm

Snowfire;1506318 wrote: Who panic buys lettuce ffs

Tesco was limiting 3 per customer.....................I think to boost sales........psychology at work.

gmc · Post by **gmc** » Sat Feb 04, 2017 5:16 pm

Wait till we come out the single market and prices really start to rocket no doubt the daily mail will blame the eu for being vindictive.

Snooz · Post by **Snooz** » Sat Feb 04, 2017 7:53 pm

Even worse, if we have a tax on Mexican imports, where will I buy my off-season raspberries? So thoughtless.

Post by **spot** » Sun Feb 05, 2017 4:28 am

Snowfire;1506318 wrote: Who panic buys lettuce ffsMy immediate reaction was to buy a cauliflower. I expect it's a hard-wired response honed over geological time.

Post by **LarsMac** » Sun Feb 05, 2017 12:53 pm

Snooz;1506333 wrote: Even worse, if we have a tax on Mexican imports, where will I buy my off-season raspberries? So thoughtless.

Probably Chile

G#Gill · Post by **G#Gill** » Sun Feb 05, 2017 2:16 pm

What the hell are we doing buying foreign veg. anyway ????? Do we not have enough veg. of our own growing to feed the masses ? As somebody said, who the heck wants to buy loads of lettuces FFS - not sure how you could keep them fresh very long, and don't know if they are freezable either !!!!! What a load of tosh, and it's probably correct that growers and supermarkets are conning the gullible public.

I always try to buy home produce with regard to veg. and fruit. I only eat organic British potatoes when I have jacket potatoes, because we eat the skins and I don't trust imported spuds not to be swamped with insecticides.

I also understand that some countries use human waste to 'water' their veg !!!!!! Not a nice thought that ! Well, thinking about it, what else would you use if water was in short supply !

Post by **Bryn Mawr** » Sun Feb 05, 2017 3:00 pm

G#Gill;1506367 wrote: What the hell are we doing buying foreign veg. anyway ????? Do we not have enough veg. of our own growing to feed the masses ? As somebody said, who the heck wants to buy loads of lettuces FFS - not sure how you could keep them fresh very long, and don't know if they are freezable either !!!!! What a load of tosh, and it's probably correct that growers and supermarkets are conning the gullible public.

I always try to buy home produce with regard to veg. and fruit. I only eat organic British potatoes when I have jacket potatoes, because we eat the skins and I don't trust imported spuds not to be swamped with insecticides.

I also understand that some countries use human waste to 'water' their veg !!!!!! Not a nice thought that ! Well, thinking about it, what else would you use if water was in short supply !

Sad to say we also do that in the UK, you can smell it when they've been spraying the fields :-

Human manure: Closing the nutrient loop - Sustainable Food Trust - Sustainable Food Trust

Bruv · Post by **Bruv** » Sun Feb 05, 2017 3:52 pm

It is called fertiliser, you put horse manure on your rhubarb........don't you Gilly ?

( I can be your straight man today)

G#Gill · Post by **G#Gill** » Sun Feb 05, 2017 4:03 pm

Bryn Mawr;1506369 wrote: Sad to say we also do that in the UK, you can smell it when they've been spraying the fields :-

Human manure: Closing the nutrient loop - Sustainable Food Trust - Sustainable Food Trust

Oh well, thanks for the info, Bryn, I didn't know that this was done in the UK too. I read the report and perhaps, if the treatment is as effective as they say, then using human waste, particularly urine, is probably a sensible idea ! Revolting as it sounds, it is after all only processed food innit ! Mind you I would prefer to have UK human waste watering my veg. rather than less 'policed' foreign human waste !

G#Gill · Post by **G#Gill** » Sun Feb 05, 2017 4:16 pm

Bruv;1506370 wrote: It is called fertiliser, you put horse manure on your rhubarb........don't you Gilly ?

( I can be your straight man today)

I never mentioned 'manure' Mr. Bruv, and no I don't put manure on my rhubarb - probably because I don't grow rhubarb ! :wah: :sneaky: BTW I hope you and family are OK ! :yh_wink :yh_smiley

gmc · Post by **gmc** » Sun Feb 05, 2017 5:08 pm

G#Gill;1506367 wrote: What the hell are we doing buying foreign veg. anyway ????? Do we not have enough veg. of our own growing to feed the masses ? As somebody said, who the heck wants to buy loads of lettuces FFS - not sure how you could keep them fresh very long, and don't know if they are freezable either !!!!! What a load of tosh, and it's probably correct that growers and supermarkets are conning the gullible public.

I always try to buy home produce with regard to veg. and fruit. I only eat organic British potatoes when I have jacket potatoes, because we eat the skins and I don't trust imported spuds not to be swamped with insecticides.

I also understand that some countries use human waste to 'water' their veg !!!!!! Not a nice thought that ! Well, thinking about it, what else would you use if water was in short supply !

Well no we don't we can't grow enough to feed our population and how many fields with fields do you think there are at this time of year. It's a seasonal crop in the UK as is every other vegetables. Do you buy british meat or go for the cheaper imports why do we import lamb and mutton all the way from new zealand when we have farmers goping out of business because it's uneconomic to farm.

Post by **spot** » Sun Feb 05, 2017 5:31 pm

gmc;1506376 wrote: why do we import lamb and mutton all the way from new zealandWe do? It's a very marginal volume. One unit of lamb out of 27 bought in the UK comes from New Zealand, that's 3.7%.

figures, if you want them:

In 2014:

the UK's annual per capita lamb consumption of 4.7kg Is the UK unusually fond of lamb and potatoes? - BBC News

The population of the UK was 64.35m

= 302,000 tonnes annual consumption

11,200 tonnes annual lamb export NZ to UK - Red meat export statistics â€“ Beef + Lamb New Zealand

Clodhopper · Post by **Clodhopper** » Mon Feb 06, 2017 4:39 am

Last I heard we have not produced enough food to feed ourselves for over 120 years, and the population (not including immigration) has doubled or tripled in that time. The most efficiently well fed we have ever been as a nation was during the rationing of WW2, and Churchill called the U-Boat war the only thing that really scared him in the war, because it would mean starvation and surrender to the Nazis if we lost.

I expect leaving the EU to mean big increases in food prices, on top of shortages created by climate change which I suspect is a major cause of unseasonal cold and floods in S. Spain where we get a lot of our veg this time of year. Most of the globally hottest years on record have come since the millennium...it's starting to have effects on local weather everyone can notice.

Post by **spot** » Mon Feb 06, 2017 6:04 am

Clodhopper;1506385 wrote: I expect leaving the EU to mean big increases in food pricesI have herd it argued that the European tariffs on food imports from, for example, Africa, have reduced the potential imports and increased their prices. I've not looked to check but it sounds reasonable that we could drop them once we're out and increase those imports in favour of those from, for example, Spain and France.

Bruv · Post by **Bruv** » Mon Feb 06, 2017 6:10 am

G#Gill;1506374 wrote: I never mentioned 'manure' Mr. Bruv, and no I don't put manure on my rhubarb - probably because I don't grow rhubarb ! :wah: :sneaky: BTW I hope you and family are OK ! :yh_wink :yh_smiley

I thought you were going to reply that you prefer custard on your rhubarb.......I fed you the punchline.....I shall get my coat.

All is well at Bruv's place, apart from a few aches and pains thanks Gilly.

Clodhopper · Post by **Clodhopper** » Mon Feb 06, 2017 6:30 am

spot;1506391 wrote: I have herd it argued that the European tariffs on food imports from, for example, Africa, have reduced the potential imports and increased their prices. I've not looked to check but it sounds reasonable that we could drop them once we're out and increase those imports in favour of those from, for example, Spain and France.

Possible. Doubles the air miles and increases the associated pollution/climate change effects though. I doubt it will be any cheaper.

I'd be more in favour of ploughing up every golf course in the country as a first quick fix. A bit over 2.5% of our land is golf. That's at least a few hundred square miles more land for agriculture...(I think...)

Post by **spot** » Mon Feb 06, 2017 6:56 am

That figure sounds awfully high. That's about how much of the UK is paved and roofed over, including all the cities and buildings and roads.

Clodhopper · Post by **Clodhopper** » Mon Feb 06, 2017 7:00 am

It's a rough figure got by a BBC journo. There's more golf than you may think: 140+ Golf clubs in Surrey alone and that's not the highest land/golf ratio - Merseyside was, iirc. Average size of colf course 110 acres.

Clodhopper · Post by **Clodhopper** » Mon Feb 06, 2017 10:01 am

Donald Trump has hit out at recent polls suggesting he has one of the worst early approval ratings in US history, saying that "any negative polls are fake news".

(Independent)

Oh, well that's ok then.

AnneBoleyn · Post by **AnneBoleyn** » Mon Feb 06, 2017 3:15 pm

Clodhopper;1506415 wrote:

Donald Trump has hit out at recent polls suggesting he has one of the worst early approval ratings in US history, saying that "any negative polls are fake news".

(Independent)

Oh, well that's ok then.

After NO poll had DT winning over Secretary Clinton, I don't have much to say about the subject.

Post by **spot** » Mon Feb 06, 2017 3:40 pm

Clodhopper;1506405 wrote: It's a rough figure got by a BBC journo. There's more golf than you may think: 140+ Golf clubs in Surrey alone and that's not the highest land/golf ratio - Merseyside was, iirc. Average size of colf course 110 acres.

94,058 * 640 / 110 *0.025

There would need to be 13,681 golf courses for a coverage of 2.5% of the island of Great Britain. The internet consensus is around 3,000 including Northern Ireland, which comes to about 0.5% coverage nationally.

Clodhopper · Post by **Clodhopper** » Mon Feb 06, 2017 4:48 pm

Thanks for correction. That's still a lot of lettuces!

Clodhopper · Post by **Clodhopper** » Mon Feb 06, 2017 4:49 pm

AnneBoleyn;1506429 wrote: After NO poll had DT winning over Secretary Clinton, I don't have much to say about the subject.

Fair point.

Post by **spot** » Tue Feb 07, 2017 1:44 am

Clodhopper;1506433 wrote:

Thanks for correction. That's still a lot of lettuces!

Nowhere north of Bristol is capable of growing lettuce, and everywhere south of it needs polytunnels. You're thinking of kale, turnips and potatoes. The dales do not yet enjoy the same growing conditions as Jersey, though global warming might improve matters in that regard.

gmc · Post by **gmc** » Tue Feb 07, 2017 5:34 am

AnneBoleyn;1506429 wrote: After NO poll had DT winning over Secretary Clinton, I don't have much to say about the subject.

That's one of the ereasons for brexit - people kept hearing about the poles getting it wrong and why do we listen to them anyway.:sneaky:

daily mail readers what can you say.

Bruv · Post by **Bruv** » Tue Feb 07, 2017 7:02 am

spot;1506440 wrote: Nowhere north of Bristol is capable of growing lettuce, and everywhere south of it needs polytunnels.

What a load of ba..b...b......baloney !!!

How far North do you want ???

Romaine, Iceberg, Cos and Little Gem lettuce........grown in Fife Scotland....poly tunnel or not.

As an aside.......what is the problem with poly tunnel grown food ?

gmc · Post by **gmc** » Tue Feb 07, 2017 12:55 pm

Bruv;1506443 wrote: What a load of ba..b...b......baloney !!!

How far North do you want ???

Romaine, Iceberg, Cos and Little Gem lettuce........grown in Fife Scotland....poly tunnel or not.

As an aside.......what is the problem with poly tunnel grown food ?

I'm impressed someone from the south of england that knows up north is not a wilderness. In fairness though I keep forgetting bristol is also a town in england not just massachusetts. is it left or right of london? My geographical knowledge of down south is a bit vague. Been to kent must have passed bristol on the way.

Post by **spot** » Tue Feb 07, 2017 1:04 pm

From where you're sat it's to the right.

Bruv;1506443 wrote: As an aside.......what is the problem with poly tunnel grown food ?

The ecological impact of creating polypropylene from fossil oil and then trying to degrade it somehow.

Bruv · Post by **Bruv** » Tue Feb 07, 2017 1:08 pm

gmc;1506448 wrote: I'm impressed someone from the south of england that knows up north is not a wilderness. In fairness though I keep forgetting bristol is also a town in england not just massachusetts. is it left or right of london? My geographical knowledge of down south is a bit vague. Been to kent must have passed bristol on the way.

On the way doon jock, it's on the right, but looking at a map it's on the left, close to the other Celtic enclave Wales.

Bruv · Post by **Bruv** » Tue Feb 07, 2017 1:13 pm

spot;1506449 wrote: The ecological impact of creating polypropylene from fossil oil and then trying to degrade it somehow.

We shall have use glass then.

Clodhopper · Post by **Clodhopper** » Wed Feb 08, 2017 6:36 am

I've looked for some hopefully rather better figures than last time...

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/s ... 5jun13.pdf

According to DEFRA in 2012 we produced about 60% of what we ate and exported about 10% (chart 14.5). That's rather better than I'd expected. Most of the rest we get from the EU. (It looks as though the next set of figures will come out this year)

(...and I thought Bristol was the industrial suburb of Bath...)

gmc · Post by **gmc** » Wed Feb 08, 2017 4:47 pm

I've been to bath although it was last century. Never been to liverpool must make the effort someday.

magentaflame · Post by **magentaflame** » Wed Feb 08, 2017 5:01 pm

I had to laugh!!!!

FourPart · Post by **FourPart** » Sun Feb 12, 2017 3:34 pm

"Most of the lettuce grown in the UK is grown outdoors, however, about 20% is grown in glasshouses. It is usually butterhead lettuce and some speciality leaves which are grown in this way, however, Iceberg is never grown under glass and it is unusual for Cos/Romaine to be grown in this way".

(The British Leafy Salad Association web site)

gmc · Post by **gmc** » Wed Feb 15, 2017 1:43 am

Used to be a massive tomato growing industry in the clyde valley that died out thanks to the oil prices were rocketing in the seventies just as access to cheaper exports as we entered the single market became available. Come to that there is still a massive arable farming sector in the UK it's just you wouldn;t know it if you walked in to the average supermarket.

Bruv · Post by **Bruv** » Wed Feb 15, 2017 9:40 am

I live in The Garden of England full of apple orchards, so I have never worked out why I see French and South African apples in the local super markets, and the very English Cox's Orange Pippin all the way from New Zealand totally blew my mind.

gmc · Post by **gmc** » Wed Feb 15, 2017 1:53 pm

Bruv;1506684 wrote: I live in The Garden of England full of apple orchards, so I have never worked out why I see French and South African apples in the local super markets, and the very English Cox's Orange Pippin all the way from New Zealand totally blew my mind.

I could see the point of english apples were out of season at least cider is making a comeback but why o why do we have french cider instead of the proper english kind as a mainstream product. Side note never tried thatcher's cider unfortunate name I expect it to have a nasty kick and leave a nasty after taste. One of the big breweries has taken over local wine and cider producer in east loithian, first thing they did was scrap all tryhe established scottish brands for their own the supermarkets could do more to support local producers. I reckon that's one of the reasons aldi and lidl are taking market share y=they make a virtue out of showing the name of the farm the meat etc comes from.

Bruv · Post by **Bruv** » Wed Feb 15, 2017 3:39 pm

gmc;1506699 wrote: I could see the point of english apples were out of season at least cider is making a comeback but why o why do we have french cider instead of the proper english kind as a mainstream product.

I am talking about during the local harvest period, not a local apple on a shelf.

That is Cidre a la francaise, so they can get away with it.

gmc · Post by **gmc** » Wed Feb 15, 2017 5:17 pm

Did a lot of the kent ghrowers not almost go out of business?

Clodhopper · Post by **Clodhopper** » Sun Feb 19, 2017 5:36 am

I saw some Kentish apples in my local co-op yesterday. Struck me because I wouldn't have called this apple harvesting time...

I wonder if we export a lot of apples?