The Savvy Shopper - Rose Prince

Скачать книгу

The EU has now ruled that all countries should pay a single tariff, or tax. The Caribbean growers say that, due to poorer growing conditions, banana production is more costly there and with a single tariff they cannot compete. They say the US complaint was about corporate greed, and will not bring fairness. The EU stands accused of making rules without evaluating the outcome. No study has been done to check how even the playing field will become and the Caribbean countries say the future of banana growing is under threat. Around 80 per cent of the banana market is controlled by corporations, including Dole, Del Monte, Bonito and Chiquita.

      Are bananas sprayed?

      Bananas rank second on the ‘most sprayed’ list (cotton ranks first), especially on large-scale plantations that can afford the expense of agricultural chemicals. Some of these pesticides and fungicides are hazardous to growers. Workers in Honduras have just persuaded a multinational corporation to stop using chlorpyriphos after a study showed it caused skin allergies, appetite loss and fertility problems. There are compensation cases pending in Nicaragua over similar claims of horrific damage to workers’ health.

      Are bananas artificially ripened?

      All bananas, including organic ones, need a trigger for ripening. Most producers use ethylene, a gas that is permitted even under Soil Association rules. Ethylene is naturally produced by fruit, but for commercial purposes it is manufactured, a by-product of industry. Remember that you can ripen bananas, tomatoes and avocados by putting them in a paper bag and letting the natural ethylene enclosed get to work. Ethylene is not that harmful and the Soil Association argues that it must permit this treatment or we can forget the availability of organic bananas.

      Are organic bananas more eco-friendly?

      Bananas travel several thousand miles, organic or not. But both conventional and organic bananas travel by boat, not plane, and leaving the banana out of the fruit bowl would have a devastating sociological impact on producing countries so it is a worthwhile exception to make, even for those aiming to keep food miles to a minimum. Bananas are also very nutritious. Soil Association-certified bananas hail from the Windward Isles, Costa Rica and Ecuador.

      Which is the ideal banana to buy?

      It is best to buy organic or Fairtrade bananas; the extra is worth paying and they are still a remarkably cheap food. Be aware, however, that Fairtrade does not necessarily mean organic, and Fairtrade bananas could have been treated with agricultural chemicals unless the pack also says organic. Having said that, it is also the case that Faitrade bananas tend to be grown by producer groups of small-scale farmers who cannot afford the expense of pesticides and fertilisers, so minimise their use. Likewise a premium should be paid to organic banana farms, boosting their income, so there is an element of fair trade, too.

      Sales of Fairtrade bananas are growing at an astonishing rate of 43 per cent per annum, increasing from sales of 18 million kilos in 2003 to 25 million kilos in 2004. Some countries need more help than others. The Windward Islands are the most needy and fairly traded bananas from there are the ones to buy. Look for the ‘Windwards’ label, but also for Caribbean bananas in general.

      What the supermarkets say

      Sainsbury sells both a Fairtrade and an organic supply of bananas. Marks & Spencer and the Co-op import their bananas from the Caribbean and sell an additional Fairtrade supply and an organic supply. Budgens sells bananas sourced from all over the Caribbean, including a Fairtrade and an organic variety. Waitrose sells Fairtrade bananas from the Windward Isles and Tesco sells them from the Caribbean.

      It is interesting to note that at the time of writing the price of conventional bananas in the ‘Big Four’ supermarkets was a standard 85 pence per kilo. Could they be ‘price fixing’, which is illegal? No – the price is too low to accuse the stores of this. Supermarkets rate bananas as a KVI – a ‘known value item’. This means they lower the price as far as it can possibly go, which works out the same for each of the Big Four. No wonder fair trade is needed.

       BEEF

      Burnished and juicily rich, a roast forerib of beef is as magnificent on the Christmas table as turkey or goose, and just as seasonal. Traditionally December is the time to slaughter adult cattle still fat from grazing, then slowly mature the beef, hanging it in cool winter temperatures. But while a margin of this culture continues, the beef industry in general has been turned on its head by modern farming methods, technology and, in the last decade, by consumer uncertainty over BSE.

      The implementation of the Over Thirty Month (OTM) age-limit rule, a measure brought in at the height of the BSE scandal, had a devastating impact on our native breeds. Farmers crossbred purebred ‘native’ cattle with larger Continental types so they would grow to full size within the allowed time. While this beef is safe and nutritious, it does not measure up to the great flavour and texture of the British pedigree breeds so suitable for roasting. With the lifting of the OTM rule in November 2005, it is hoped that farmers will be able to afford to revive and maintain the pure native breeds and British beef will be 100 per cent British again.

      What is – or was – the Over Thirty Month rule?

      The OTM rule was introduced in March 1996 to restore shoppers’ confidence. Under the rule, all British beef or dairy animals must be slaughtered before the age of 30 months. There is much argument about the science behind the introduction of the OTM rule, with government scientific advisors insisting that the measure would eradicate the disease and keep cattle BSE free. Farmers complained it was simply a PR initiative, there to placate consumers, and I agree with them. It led to the slaughter of over five million older animals at a huge cost to the taxpayer. The rule was implemented in the dairy industry, too. But numbers of animals with BSE in the UK have dropped to equal levels with other EU countries and the scheme is now to be scrapped. This means that the slower-growing traditional breeds will have the four or more years they sometimes need to reach optimum maturity and a return to traditional flavour and texture.

      But how can we be sure British beef is risk free?

      The UK will change to a testing regime once the OTM rule is dropped: any animal suspected of having the disease will be slaughtered, then tested. Meat and bonemeal feed, the suspected catalyst for BSE infection, is banned and so-called ‘specified risk material’ (SRM), such as heads, some offal, most of the vertebrae and all spinal cords, is not permitted for sale. With no proof that nvCJD (the human form of the disease) is spread by eating meat from cattle with the disease, the risk can never be fully assessed. The best way to be sure that beef is safe is to have a full history of the herd from which it was supplied. The new beef labelling laws provide full traceability, but there is nothing like buying from a herd that has always been closed, i.e. one where animals are never bought in.

      Where’s the benefit in removing the OTM rule?

      Nearly a million British cattle will return to the food chain over the next two years, pushing up the percentage of beef available in shops so we can move towards eradicating the need for imported beef, specifically the forequarter beef used in cheaper burgers. This will obviously boost the incomes of British livestock farmers.

      What’s wrong with imported beef?

      Problems with imported meat include lack of traceability and lower safety standards. Imported meat has been found to contain spinal cord, and SRM banned throughout Europe. Some beef is imported from South America, Africa and EU countries. Shops do not like to advertise this fact so it tends to find its way into the catering trade or ready meals. There are always welfare and feed issues with imported meat; most

Скачать книгу