Mindfulness When Shopping

TastyReuben

TastyReuben

Nosh 'n' Splosh
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I think this is as good a place as any for this question, seeing as I'm asking it specifically as it pertains to shopping for ingredients (and kitchen kit).

How much do your own values/morals/ethics influence your shopping ingredients? How mindful are you of a particular supplier's or manufacturer's social responsibility profile? Does being a "good" corporate citizen matter to you when shopping at this grocer or that one, or buying this brand over some other brand?

Keep in mind, values/morals/ethics can be a pretty wide net, encompassing everything from sustainability, fair trade, human rights, political leaning, etc.

A couple of examples: We don't drink a lot of coffee, but we do occasionally, so we have it on hand, and what got me thinking about this was that I noticed every bag of coffee beans I have (two) and every box of coffee k-cups I have (two) all say that they're "fair trade certified."

Now, I didn't buy them because of that, didn't even notice that when I bought them, but I like the fact that they are, and from now on, when I do buy coffee, I'll look for that certification. That's an example where I was not mindful at all, but I will be going forward.

Eggs - Organic, local, and free-range splashed on an egg carton mean a lot less to me than the "certified humane" stamp. Unless there are absolutely no other eggs available and I have to have eggs right then and can't go anywhere else, I will not buy eggs that don't have that stamp. One of the shops I frequent gives eggs away if you spend a certain amount each month (which I usually do) and I won't even take those, because they're basic supermarket eggs. That's an example where I'm very mindful.

I also try and buy cleaning products that aren't tested on animals.

However, the flip side of that is...I eat at McDonald's and they have a terrible environmental reputation, and I shop at Kroger and have done no research on what their corporate citizenship record is like, nor do I plan to.

Circling back around to the original question: Do you practice your personal values in the marketplace?

I probably should stress, though it should be clear from my own examples...this is meant to be a no-judgment topic (I spray Roundup on my weeds, for cryin' out loud! :eek:), and is more about sparking a little discussion just to see where membership falls.
 
If I required my producers (not just food) to share my values, I'd be naked, freezing, immobile, and starving to death.

Give me a quality product at a price I can afford, that's your job.

edit: Based on my experience, most of those "certifications" are pretty meaningless other than "I paid the agency fees and pretended to care." Did you know, for example, that it's fine to spray grapevines with toxic copper sulphate and still meet "organic" standards?
 
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"How much do your own values/morals/ethics influence your shopping ingredients? How mindful are you of a particular supplier's or manufacturer's social responsibility profile? Does being a "good" corporate citizen matter to you when shopping at this grocer or that one, or buying this brand over some other brand?"

(Author´s note: this is not a rant, but rather a reflection of what I believe a huge majority of people might think. )

To be brutally honest, I don´t give a crap about values, morals, ethics, social responsibility, carbon footprints, organic, being a corporate citizen or the Woke brigade when I go food shopping. When I buy food, I look for what seems to be (a) fresh (b) reasonably priced (c)best possible quality, within my price range and (d) in the case of packaged, tinned, boxed goods, the product which is most "natural" rather than "added vitamins, minerals, taste enhancers, chemicals, viagra, etc. I do my shopping, I go home, I cook, and if any of the products I bought is not adequate to my taste, then I never buy it again. Very occasionally, I might send a letter to a supplier saying " You know what? The product you´re marketing is really, really awful" but I always give reasons.

One of the reasons I don´t give a crap is because I, personally, cannot control or influence what is delivered to me from a supermarket, butcher´s, fishmongers, cheese shop, deli. That depends entirely on who is in charge of the above. Since I can´t control it, I don´t fret about it. Life is too short for me to worry about other people´s problems.

Another reason is that millions and millions of tons of food goes to waste, or is inadequately used, because it´s "the wrong size". A 125 gm chicken breast would not stand a chance in an American, British, French or German supermarket, because it´s "not big enough" Wonky veg (ie. those vegetables which are not a supermarket standard size) don´t get a look in . Everything like rice, lentils, beans, flour, nuts, dried fruit has to "packaged" , instead of being sold loose, thus augmenting the price to the consumer.
 
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So am I mad about ethical concerns when I go shopping? Not at all. Do I seethe when I see brine-swollen chicken breasts on sale? Nope. Do I keen, wail and gnash my teeth over inhuman production in the 3rd world which is sold to corporate capitalism? Not a chance - because there´s nothing I can do about it, and I´ve got a whole load of my own problems to think about before planting my size 8 1/2 carbon footprint in the way. I live to eat, so food is food to me, where ever it comes from.

(NB: I am very concerned about global warming, the destruction of rain forests, carbon emissions, because there´s no doubt in my mind that it´s gradually changing our environment. Sir David Attenborough is my personal hero)
 
I do try to be careful what I buy but in the UK its rather difficult because so much is imported. In parts of Europe and the US food is much more seasonal and grown in the locality.
 
I am careful, but I don't stick exclusively with organic because I simply can't afford it though it usually does taste better in my experience.
If I can't grow it in my own garden, or buy it from our local shop (her hours are very limited as in 2hrs on Wednesday and then Sat/Sun 9-2), then I'm careful. All of her stuff is locally sourced, some from get own allotment, some from swapping of produce with locals (so lemons from me, rhubarb from another local, apples or pears, damsons, cherries, apricots, plums etc from other locals who just happen to have trees in their garden). She buys fresh from the grower, so Wednesday morning she will be out buying stuff I purchase from her in the afternoon.

After that it's the supermarket and I prefer to buy the 'odd bunch' stuff which is usually cheaper and misshapen, or smaller than average or wonky veg or fruit etc but typically is tastier. I generally buy only Australian grown and if I can, locally grown but that's not always possible, for example coconut. That's hit and miss and I'm having to buy frozen fresh coconut at the moment, rather than fresh coconut in a brown husk.

I don't really think about the ethics of a company, more of where it is grown and that's Australia, (I was the same in the UK, preferring UK grown).

Coffee beans are only from 1 company and 1 brand because that's all I like. Hubby doesn't like coffee granules, they don't sit well with him and the selection is awful.

I don't buy eggs, but if I did I would be looking very carefully for free range with a maximum of 800 chooks per hectare.

I do avoid certain products such as MSG and GM crops.

I do think it's important to limit the amount of travel food has made, 'air miles' especially and if I can I'll buy local within Australia, so NSW rather than Western Australia. But some stuff I can't control such as kiwi fruit, they are New Zealand or America as a choice, so NZ will get my purchase.

I also try to buy what's in season locally simply because it's fresher and often better tasting.

For me at least, cheap isn't always the option I'll choose.
 
karadekoolaid said:
"How much do your own values/morals/ethics influence your shopping ingredients? How mindful are you of a particular supplier's or manufacturer's social responsibility profile? Does being a "good" corporate citizen matter to you when shopping at this grocer or that one, or buying this brand over some other brand?"

(Author´s note: this is not a rant, but rather a reflection of what I believe a huge majority of people might think. )

To be brutally honest, I don´t give a crap about values, morals, ethics, social responsibility, carbon footprints, organic, being a corporate citizen or the Woke brigade when I go food shopping. When I buy food, I look for what seems to be (a) fresh (b) reasonably priced (c)best possible quality, within my price range and (d) in the case of packaged, tinned, boxed goods, the product which is most "natural" rather than "added vitamins, minerals, taste enhancers, chemicals, viagra, etc. I do my shopping, I go home, I cook, and if any of the products I bought is not adequate to my taste, then I never buy it again. Very occasionally, I might send a letter to a supplier saying " You know what? The product you´re marketing is really, really awful" but I always give reasons.

One of the reasons I don´t give a crap is because I, personally, cannot control or influence what is delivered to me from a supermarket, butcher´s, fishmongers, cheese shop, deli. That depends entirely on who is in charge of the above. Since I can´t control it, I don´t fret about it. Life is too short for me to worry about other people´s problems.

Another reason is that millions and millions of tons of food goes to waste, or is inadequately used, because it´s "the wrong size". A 125 gm chicken breast would not stand a chance in an American, British, French or German supermarket, because it´s "not big enough" Wonky veg (ie. those vegetables which are not a supermarket standard size) don´t get a look in . Everything like rice, lentils, beans, flour, nuts, dried fruit has to "packaged" , instead of being sold loose, thus augmenting the price to the consumer.
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karadekoolaid said:
So am I mad about ethical concerns when I go shopping? Not at all. Do I seethe when I see brine-swollen chicken breasts on sale? Nope. Do I keen, wail and gnash my teeth over inhuman production in the 3rd world which is sold to corporate capitalism? Not a chance - because there´s nothing I can do about it, and I´ve got a whole load of my own problems to think about before planting my size 8 1/2 carbon footprint in the way. I live to eat, so food is food to me, where ever it comes from.

(NB: I am very concerned about global warming, the destruction of rain forests, carbon emissions, because there´s no doubt in my mind that it´s gradually changing our environment. Sir David Attenborough is my personal hero)
Click to expand...
+1
I'm mostly watching my wallet to be frank.
 
I buy some products organic, because they taste better and some have a longer shelf life (milk). I try to buy meat and eggs from humane sources. I do care about my carbon footprint, which is why I don't buy things like Irish butter or Japanese mayo. American lamb is harder to find, but I buy it when I can find it. I like the taste better, and it didn't travel across the globe to get to me.

I am VERY picky about seafood. Only wild-caught USA shrimp/prawns and fish (other than catfish which is mostly farmed in the US). That is a support local issue, a carbon footprint issue, and a food safety issue.

I also do 90-plus percent of my shopping in Frisco, so that the city portion of the sales tax goes to my city.

There are so many non-food product purchases where I have no choice. Kitchen small appliances are all from China, or other countries where people work for next to nothing and worker safety regulations are a joke. At least my pots and pans are made in the US or Europe (a lot from France).

CD
 
We try to buy as much locally as we can: we get our eggs from a local smallholding, and we use a small local milk delivery company (rather than the main national one). When we buy meat we try to always buy free-range/higher welfare, and if we want something special then we'll use the butcher in town. I'm not too bothered about organic, and we'll often get our veg from the Saturday market...which supports a small family business, but actually the quality isn't always great. But we also have to balance our budget so most of our shopping is done in either Aldi or Costco which both have a fairly limited range of options so its often a case of take what's available.
 
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