Local or Organic?

As a vegetarian I eat a reasonable amount of vegetables. I buy most of these from the local greengrocer, who sources as much stock as possible from local farmers, but not all. I buy top-ups from asda. I also buy bits and bobs from waitrose. We do a big shop either by going to Tesco, or more frequently these days from ocado online (we are going up in the world!), and will always get some veg in that shop too.

I have some thoughts - don't we all? - about supermarkets. Most of them negative ones. I have some thoughts about supermarkets specific to fruit and veg too. A friend of mine's dad is a farmer and he was telling me about some of the things that supermarkets do to farmers. One such example was that they over-fruit and then insist the farmers buy back the rotting stock that didn't sell. Of course they buy it at ridiculously cheap prices to start with. Farmers are in lose-lose. Leo Hickman's ethical auditors said anyone trying to live more ethically should avoid supermarkets. He switched to an organic veg box scheme.

We have been considering an organic veg box scheme for a while, but weren't sure we wanted to take money away from the local greengrocer. However, they used to deliver to us, but were a bit useless at it, now they don't do it at all. We have to remember to go and get things from them, and they aren't just "over the road" like they used to be. I find I am increasingly buying things from supermarkets and this somewhat distresses me. The supermarket though is more convenient (for me, if not the planet). Leo Hickman's ethical auditors (in his book "My Life Stripped Bare") say that anyone trying to live more ethically should try to reduce their supermarket shopping. I have some friends who manage to not go to the supermarket, except waitrose. So I feel I should try.

Looking into box schemes I read a story about a farmer who was given a large rush order by a supermarket, and he paid people to pick and pack his lettuces, and just as they were ready for delivery he got a call from the supermarket saying they no longer wanted them, they had overestimated. Now picked the lettuces would go off (except this story has a happy ending - the box scheme people bought them all, and presumably they won't make him buy any rotting ones back again, so he won on that one).

Add to this that the supermarkets insist on certain cosmetic characteristics for their veg, they also charge a premium for organic foods thereby making them less available to lower income people. I haven't even touched on the packaging they use, or the even higher amounts of packaging they use on their loose fruit and veg...

So, I have had to weigh up buying locally from a very small business to buying organic from a larger business, but one which does support smaller local farmers, reduces packaging, and has zero air miles.

It will be a big change, harder to plan meals in advance, having to eat seasonally, but a step that feels like the next logical step. We can cancel if we find it isn't working, but I feel like it is really my duty to make it work. I think we will go with Abel & Cole. They also sell milk, bread, ecover washing products, toilet roll, tofu, beer, wine etc etc etc. There is almost no need to ever go in a supermarket again.

I have veg for this week, so I think I will start it next week. I am really looking forward to it.