Yes Follicle, I always look to see where it comes from. I saw 'fresh' cherries from California yesterday. Surely we can survive the winter without them? They are seasonal like daffodils and tulips which is part of the joy of anticipation. Are our appetites so jaded that we have to have the best of the seasonal fruits all year round?
Any way they looked Cr@p!

I also look to see where food originates, whether it be fresh, frozen, dried or canned.

I am not happy with what is happening. I think we should try and support our local farmers and growers. My greatest fear though, is the chemicals which can be used in countries such as China (e.g.DDT) which have been banned here for many years.

How on earth do you know what you are eating!

All we can do I think, is to read labels (or ask the supplier) to assess the origins of the food and vote with our purchases (or lack of them). It's up to all of us.

Cheers,
Dee.

Yes, I would rather eat Australian grown food, and I always buy Aussie veges and fruit.

But the other day, in the vege shop, I thought, maybe its alright to have imported veges and fruit, if that product is out of season here. Such as strawberries. What do people think about that ?

Seems we have to be really cautious about the frozen veges and fruit, the origin of that is dubious, and its terrible that the big supermarket chains are dumping Aussie growers in favour of imported produce, for the frozen section.

But maybe Aussie growers need to become more efficient, or innovative. Its such a tricky situation.

Good idea DEE to read labels to see where food comes from.

Cheers
Popi

It is indeed a very tricky situation. We want to export our products and have folk purchase them, do we not do the same with their exported products...??? Just another way to look at it....

Cheryl.

Yes Cheryl, that is a very valid point. We rely on exports heavily and if we don't import we can't export.....it's just the way the system works. My question is why do have to import things that we can grow here? I don't mind buying imported things like coffee etc. because there really isn't enough grown here to support the demand, but when it comes to things like everyday vegetables it just doesn't make sense that we should have to import the.
Cheers,
Dee.

"but when it comes to things like everyday vegetables it just doesn't make sense that we should have to import them"

the problem is that coles and woolies are the two big supermarket players and they have the farmers and producers over a barrel. if they can get something cheaper and sell it for the same price (which they did with the milk industry), they will do it to make more profit. the problem is that long term the farmers will suffer and go broke, and then in a few years we just wont have any choice but to import.

macdonalds are doing the same thing and have decided to cut their bottom line by not buying from australian farmers and deciding to go to china and other countries instead because its cheaper, even though theyve been dealing with these farmers for decades now. I think if large companies want to make money from australian consumers and offer them inferior products for the same price, theyre just screwing us

I'm afraid I am guilty of buying Turkish Apricots as they are so much tastier than the aussie ones.That's the dried ones I mean.

I too always try buy Australian produce but I am upset when I see that the Californian oranges are far superior in quality and taste to our own and the price is no different. I hear how our orange farmers are throwing away their oranges, perhaps if they were of the same quality as the US ones, more people would buy them.

I see that SImplot in Tas has lost some of it's Mcdonalds potato contract because of price .Apparently MC D's will source spuds from places like NZ.
I think a company like MC D's will make life difficult for spud farmers in TAS.
This year my veggy garden has provided me with some beautiful fruit and veg.Nothing better than growing your own
when you have the time and a place.

Homebrand frozen beans are from NZ, read the packets b4 you buy. We need to support our farmers here.

Thank you so much Sparaxis for this thread. I am new to this forum and only beginning to learn how it works.
The banter is great isn't it ?
I agree with you that fruit is best eaten seasonally or it will all become so boring.
Popi: Your second paragraph isn't going to help our own growers is it?
Cheryl: We are talking about spuds and cabbages, not Holdens and Iron ore. Surely it has to stop somewhere.
Macdonalds tried this on with beef a few years ago and there was an enormous backlash, that is the only language they understand and I believe we should now stand up for our growers and not purchase imported food.Boycott Macs but tell them why.
Gratlog: Turkish dried Apricots are perhaps tastier due to the fact they apply twice as much sulphur on them to preserve them?
Marrion: I am unsure if Tasmania imports oranges from Queensland or Sth Aus. but if they are from your own state, oranges never colour the same in a cool climate,usually quite pale in colour but if you cut into one I think you will find the flesh is a good colour and equally as tasty. I live on the Sth coast of WA,cool, and an orange grower here has a tough time selling his fruit to Perth but they are in fact delicious.
I believe if we do not support Australia by buying our own simple produce such as food then where will it all end,anyway with the price of fuel going as it is imported food will not be worth the effort to foriegn growers, with a bit of luck!
Perhaps we in this forum should set up local websites where we can trade vegetables amongst ourselves,then at least we could be fairly certain it is safe to eat?

Hello follicle. I have been led to believe we export a lot more than Holden's and Iron Ore, but perhaps I am wrong.

Cheryl.

I wouldn't want to deprive anyone else of being able to enjoy fruit imported from elsewhere when it's out of season here but I personally feel the same way as Sparaxis re the joy of anticipation. As for having to import in order to be able to export, I'm happy to buy quality goods from countries that specialise in those goods because they have the natural resources or the appropriate climate or the history of relevant expertise. But I'm greatly annoyed at having to buy clothes which are imported, usually of lesser quality, still cost at least as much as the Australian made versions of a year or two ago just so the middle man can make a larger profit, waste resources being transported long distances, deprive locals of jobs, and send the local expertise and infrastructure and corporate knowhow into oblivion. Please let's not mess up the food industry the same way. MacDonalds has already dwindled down to an occasional treat. Next time I'll be quizzing the staff on the origins of every ingredient and if I don't get a favourable answer I won't buy.

Let's not forget the enslaving of children in impoverished countries, working in apalling conditions for next to nothing. Where do they then go for jobs when they have been "used up"? It really is just another form of prostitution.
Australian's can't make clothes to compete with the prices, and a lot of better labels are made overseas at incredibly cheap rates.
There are many countries that DO have to import food, simply because they don't have sufficient land to produce what they need. Some of the smaller European countries rely heavily on exporting their expertise in other areas - business, IT, etc, and import much of their produce.
I think what irks me the most - during the war people were encouraged to grow their own, for the 'war effort' and a whole generation (our parents) got into the habit of always having a small (or large) veg patch in the garden. We have been pushed away from this by the relative cheapness and availability of produce in supermarkets, but the monopoly is closing in and the prices are rising, and we have been made VERY dependent. We have also forgotten how GOOD home grown food tastes in comparison. The next generation has been made exceedingly lazy and avaricious by TV. Can't work outside if there is a good show to watch! Must have everything they have in the ads!
OK - I'm rambling and waffling, but I think the whole country would be better off if a lot of young people got OFF their backsides and got into the soil. If I have offended anyone young, ask if you are justified by being offended. If you are one who gets off your backside and gardens, then Nooo you are not justified:-)
BTW - I can't BELIEVE I dropped the 'u' out of your in the subject heading :-)

I was surprised to read that Marrion thought Californian oranges were superior to local. Not in Melbourne!! They certainly have a beautiful appearance, but you can't judge a book by it's cover. It's the inside that counts.
Cheers,
Dee.

Welcome to the real world---me me me greed greed greed.sorry but the battle is lost.people in general will buy if they think it is cheeper how did the supermarts get up and running and the shops in the "main"street and the corner shop go belly up?no loyalty is how. yes buy Aussie ect.ect. sounds good--but---the other problem is one can only buy whats available,so if the big boys can make more profit by only stocking cheeper imports ??the only way I can make a protest is keep the vedgie-fruit patch going and try to talk others into doing the same but moddern thinking seems to be---blow you jack,I'm all right.sorry but being patriotic is out the door in this modern world.

Sorry but being patriotic

" I was surprised to read that Marrion thought Californian oranges were superior to local."

me too dee, the last time I bought californian oranges, which wasnt long ago, they looked perfect on the outside and they tasted disgusting, I bought a few kilos and couldnt find one good one in the whole lot, they tasted like they were almost rotten or fermenting or something, the whole lot ended up in the compost.

Last week we were given a bag of freshly picked home grown tomatoes by a neighbour in exchange for the home grown sweet potatoes and beans we gave them.

Oh, the taste of them, and I thought I would never buy the hard shelled,tasteless things the Supermarkets sell again.

In Australia we have the best farmers in the World they are careful about what they spray and feed their crops with, on the most part, but the costs of wages and fuel and lack of workers at times are a problem.

The tomatoes the supermarkets sell are bred so that they can be picked green and travel well and they just don't think about the end taste.

I would really love to buy some item of clothing that was Made in Australia, but have yet to find it even when I look at old familiar brands.

Marion, who was proud of the fight the Graziers won about the meat with McD's now it is time we stood up and walked out of their busines in protest over the Potatoes for chips.

I heard on the news only this morning that Bob Brown of the Greens is going to try and enter a bill into parliment to insist that food is labelled in respect as to where it comes from and if it is labelled 'made in Oz' or 'Produced in Oz' then that is what it must be. Imported addatives will have to be declared what and where they come from.
Brown as tried this before but it was blocked by the other parties. I hope we can support him this time. [This in definately NOT a party political broadcast]

yikes - I was offered a sample taste of mangoes in Woolworths the other day .... out of season, I said ... they're from Mexico, was the reply ... NO thanks I said.
Oranges - yuk, they smell rotten and taste awful. I sometimes buy one for my daughter, but even she won't touch them any more.
I much prefer the Australian apricots!
On the other hand, I bought my daughter a punnet of strawberries the other day - from Beerwah (Glasshouse Mts in Qld) and they were disgusting. White and almost bitter inside. I'll never buy from that farm again (probably just green but unsuitable for eating)

I think it is our right to be told where the produce we are eating really comes from so I would support that bill 100%. I would also like to see fruit and veg sellers who ever they are to label the potatoes as to the variety and how it is best cooked. Am I alone in not knowing which spud is which I wonder and just what variety is in that bag.....

Cheryl.

I think you are absolutely right Cheryl about the types of spuds.
Different types of potatoes do different things. Some are good for boiling, some for frying etc.etc.
I have recently spent some time in southern Victoria and the SEED poatoes that we were selling were all with full descriptions and instructions so it should not be difficult for the grower to put a named label on the bag. Perhaps its up to us again, the consumer to demand this detail.

At least here in Creswick we know where our spuds come from - just up the road. Some of the 'new' varieties of potato are really yummy. Buy different types and experiment with them.

This old argument has been going on for years, and it really has had its day... The whole thing is balance of trade - who buys what from whom. Australia has a very poor balance of trade when it comes to food products ie we export more food products than we import. With Italy alone, our balance of trade for food products is 25:1. That is, Italy buys 25 units of our food and we buy one unit of theirs. Explain to me any time where this is unfair to our Australian farmers? I have no objection to buying tinned Italian tomatoes from Italy. They are FAR superior to the Australian tinned tomatoes in both price and quality. If you don't want to eat the dreadful food from overseas, then don't buy it. If we only ever ate/bought/used products made in Australia, the other countries would very quickly not agree to buy our products. THAT would be a disaster for Australian farmers and everyone else in this country. It is not a disaster for Australian farmers when you buy an orange from California. As for the argument about little kiddies being forced to work. Remember the Nike factories in the third world countires that employed little kiddies at extremely low wages? Good old Greenpeace and their ilk closed them down. Now those little kiddes really ARE prostitutes because there isn't anywhere else for them to work and they needed the money to survive. Did anyone really think that by taking them out of the factories they would suddenly be flying kites in the park on their way to school? There's no free education in those countries!

As for Australian farmers being the 'best' and being careful and considerate about the amount they spray etc - 'bull'. Coming from a farming background, having been a farmer myself (apple and stone fruit) I can tell you that is not true. Just like in any industry, there are good farmers and bad farmers. Some use chemicals and sprays responsibly and some couldn't care less. Each year in Australia, 1000s of farm workers are poisoned by their own chemicals - usually by not reading the labels and safety instructions or just ignoring them. Farming is the most dangerous occupation in Australia and most of the danger comes from ignorance and stupidity - believe me, I've seen lots of it! This does not make Australian farmers the best. We are however the most efficient.

I am in favour of compulsory laws that tell people where the food they eat is from. Why shouldn't we know?

Robyn

Oh yeah - I never eat apples. They are sprayed a minimum of 24 times before you eat them, and as yet, no-one can look at an apple and tell if the chemical withholding period had been 'honoured' or not. You would have to believe that there is not one good-old Australian farmer who wouldn't lie to you to risk that. I eat fruit with skin that can be peeled off, or I grow my own.

Good points ROBYN, scary what you say about apples.

P

Is it ok if you peel the apple first?

Cheryl.

We wouldn't eat anything at all, or drink the water or breathe the air if we thought to hard about these things. Lighten up folks!
BTW - what edible stuff are you guys growing in your gardens at present? I just put out 2 rows each of broad beans and peas, and we have been eating spinach, lettuce, Japanese turnips. Also have a few spring onions and carrots left, and some broccoli, chinese cabbage and silverbeet coming along. It IS nice to eat vegetables that have taste!

So you're in Creswick Sparaxis .. my sister in law used to own the American pub there. Bette and Les. Did you know them?

To the subject in hand. I try to avoid buying anything that comes from o/s, but it's hard when Italian canned tomatoes are cheaper and generally better than our own. Problem is, most of our canneries are no longer Australian owned either, although they at least keep our people employed.

My husband processes a lot of veg for the anti pasto products he makes. At various times of the year it's very difficult juggling between the end of the season in one state and the beginning of a season in another. He mainly processes tomatoes, but does a good line in preserved lemons. He refuses to use Californian lemons, "they're crap", so just goes without until local ones come on line.

Everything he uses is sourced in Australia.

Henry is the vegetable grower here, we say,Marion's garden for the soul and Henry's for the inner man"
He has Beans, beetroot, lettuce, Kohl rabi, carrots, radish, last of the corn and the odd tomato bush, peas, cucumbers and a monster jap pumpkin and mustn't forget the sweet potatoes that have been feeding us and friends for months.
Nothing but oprganic put on them and they all taste just wonderful.

Marion

Ah! Marion you can grow things for so much longer than here in the cold! Mind you - we will be eating pumkins until the last ones rot, then the chooks can finish them off.

Jennie - I didn't know the previous owners of the American - we haven't been here long enough. Only started going there for meals recently. Tell them we bought the Old Gold Bank no longer a B&B, now a software company:)

This thread was really intended to discuss FRESH vegetables.I realise that some canned stuff comes from o/s and that these more often than not declare their original source. I personally consider it so sad that the supermarkets are selling cabbages-caulies from China etc. etc.etc. What I was hoping is not only to pressure these supermarkets to buy Australian but even to buy LOCAL produce when possible. We have some fantastic growers here in the Sth. West but most of the stuff on the shelves are foriegn. We too grow much of our own stuff but its not always possible and one has to buy in. So if that is the case I just like to know what I am eating??
As far as the chemical use, even from our own farmers, I tend not to try and think too deeply about this otherwise I might end up in the looney-bin. I know what goes on but its too scary to go there.
Tell me ?has anyone else heard that some Asian countries sometimes use human waste as manure ????

I had friends who (years ago) used to use human waste on their garden - it had been properly treated - I think it was dug from the base of old treatment ponds or whatever. I don't see a problem there. The main consideration from overseas would be parasite introduction in FRESH vegetables - whether the garden beds have been treated with human waste or not - this is still a problem. Our customs inspectors should be pretty much on the ball shouldn't they????
Hmmmm ...... we just recently received 3 pellets of slate, which had been cut to our requirements and shipped from India. The Indians have to sign a stat dec. for each shipment stating that none of the pallets have bark on the timber. The bark would of course harbour insects. The last 6 or so shipments that our supplier has received has been held in customs for 2 weeks while they fumigate the slate BECAUSE - there was bark and insects on the pallets. The most recent shipment actually contained live Indian lizards! Our customs guys were on the ball and fumigated the whole lot several times. Clearly the other end weren't to fussed. We could end up importing some very unpleasant wildlife, and it only takes 1 shipment that isn't very closely inspected, to start a whole new pest problem.
Now with those cabbages and caulis from china - Do they open them up right through to the middle to see that there are no insects or parasite larvae or eggs? Do they fumigate them? What on earth with? I have big problems with that!

Jan, I forgot the garlic growing in our garden, after I heard that it came form China I put it in the vege plot and there are now a lot of little Aussie garlics growing happily.
I found that even the bottled garlic is grown in China when there are perfectly good garlic growers in Australia.
The difference is the way the stalks are cut of, China's are very flat.
Marion

I have some beautiful apples from my trees :-)
A few Tamarillos and the feijoas have finished.
Heather

I must admit I very rarely buy vegetablkes fromany supermarket,they spray the vegetables to keep them looking ftesh, and its almost impossible to see if they re imported or not. But....we are very lucky in this small town, have a marvellous fruit and veg shop, owner of which uses mainly organic produce straight from the grower and therefore really fresh. I like buying only what is in season,and enjoying the produce in its true season.
If I have to buy tinned tomatoes, either SPC or Ardmona, and no other,no matter what the price. But..labelling should be much clearer.

Follicle,I too ,would like to see supermarkets selling more local stuff.I would be just as happy with them telling us where the stuff comes from so ,we ,the consumer can make a choice.I get annoyed when I can't get a decent onion because the best stuff goes straight to export!

Spraxis,landline had a story about the Creswick woollen mill.It is the last mill in australia that processes dyed fleece and also alpaca wool.
I try to buy local fruit and veg and I do take notice of where my tinned stuff comes from.I support SPC and Ardmona and other "local" companies.
I also like to go to growers markets where you can buy direct which if you have the time are really good value.
Spent today with a front end loader moving dirt around my farm so I can have more garden beds.I have visions of self sufficiency.Maybe I should just stick to growing wheat!
regards sarah

This has been a great thread and it has been so encouraging to hear what other folk have to say, mostly agreeing and on the positive side of things.
Buying "fresh" Peas and Carrots from overseas is not the way for Australia we all seem to agree.
I just might send this thread to the PM ??

About the source of fresh produce.

I reckon Robyn6014 has said most of it. If we wish to go back to being all protectionist about buying foreign food then why shouldn't we expect have it applied to our exports as well. Australian wine for a start.

The protectionist policies of wealthy western nations keeps many third world countries in poverty. If the USA and the EC were to open their markets to African grown food it would lift them out of their poverty traps. Introducing a reasonable market economy to these countries would provide a huge motivational assistance and incentive for more democratic, healthy and dignified communities. Read the arguements thart are going on in the G8 talks at present.

The changes may well put a lot of US and French farmers out of business but they are obscenely protected now anyway. It would allow third world countries access to markets that would radically change their economies.

Calthrop mentioned Landline. There was also an interview with the head of Ausveg, which promotes Australian produce. There's a transcript on the Landline website and more info on www.ausveg.com.au. Great story about the Creswick mill. Speaking of textiles, I made some comments on the related thread in conversations.

Cool it Robert NSW please !
I am talking about us aussies buying some spuds from our own local growers first, preferably.
I am fully aware of what is happening in Africa and the likes of Bob Geldoff, bless his heart. I am hoping I was talking about a smaller picture and what we as individuals can do to support our own growers NOT the world economy. I am aware about exchanging trade etc but do lighten up,I encourage everyone to grow their own or purchase from a local trader first, thats all, not BHP/Billiton raping and pillaging.
Rob

BHP/Billiton??
Sorry Rob I had no intention of upsetting you.

I still stand by what I said in my previous post. But I thought it was clear that I was referring to fruit and vegetables not iron, steel or anything else BHP Billiton may be dealing with.

To quote you; "We are talking about spuds and cabbages, not Holdens and Iron ore."

To quote me; "If we wish to go back to being all protectionist about buying foreign food then why shouldn't we expect have it applied to our exports as well." Note I referred to foreign FOOD not iron or steel. I also referred "African grown food".

I agree that the thread of this debate should stick to food. If you read my previous post again, food is exactly the subject I was referring to.

I have lived and worked in New Zealand over the years, in the wine industry and the folk on the land there battle to find markets just as hard as our growers do. They depend MUCH more on their Agricultural and Horticultural industry than we do here. It is pretty well all they have got. (Lucky in a way, all that beautiful soil and rainfall).

I feel for the Tasmanian farmers and it is probably true that MacDonalds are being callous about them. But I still feel we need to step back a bit and walk in the shoes of both the Tasmanians and the Kiwis.

It is my feeling that we should not apply one law for ourselves and a contradictory law for others. We now get fresh food flown all the way to Sydney from Darwin and the Ord River which is much farther away than New Zealand. New Zealand gets penalised because it is a foreign country.

No worries Robert, you didn't upset me at all.
Good debate is worthwhile if positives can come out of it.
I hope the G8 does the correct thing too.

The supermarkets are multinational corporations. In other words they are US owned. Who do you think gets the bulk of the profits when they buy overseas produce? The third world countries that produce the stuff? Hahahahahahahahahaha
Not B$@#$y likely! Once they have only imported 'cheaper' stuff on the shelves, and we con't have a choice, then the prices go up ..... and up ......

I'm sorry I've come to this thread late. I don't just think it's about buying Australian produce - it's about buying local produce - ie for West Australians, buying WA produce.

I read in the paper the other day that the dairy industry in WA may be in serious threat - that we may face a future where our milk is trucked from across the Nullabor. Surely that's a scary thought?

We do need to care more about the quality of the food we eat, the ramifications of how our food (and everything else we buy) is produced (both environmentally and socially) without EVERYTHING being driven by the almighty dollar. Somehow though, I can't see there being a groundswell of public change - in the end, most people worry about money. Businesses worry about money. Governments worry about money.

But threads like these give me some hope.

Hi All,
An old Farming friend of mine grows Lettuce for McD's and gets 5 cents each and FFP give him 6 cents each so you do the maths he also pays labour and freight, thats delivered to their doors.And where's the local fruit and vege its now another empty shop. Good luck. Peter r

there's been a bit of discussion on local radio and tv here about this, and aparently a couple of smaller supermarkets have been labelling the aussie produce and sales of these items have gone through the roof so it looks like there is concern out there about this. the thing that really bugs me is that the major supermarket chains are doing this and just hoping no one will notice what's going on, I think theyve underestimated the public though. there just doesnt seem to be any disclosure about what the supermarkets are selling and we have a right to know what we're buying and where it came from so we can make our own choice. I did hear something about a bill being introduced about the labelling but unfortunately I didnt catch all the details and Im not sure if it was a WA parliament thing, aparently WA is a bit lacking in labelling laws anyway.

"An old Farming friend of mine grows Lettuce for McD's and gets 5 cents each"

that just shows the level of greed doesnt it? they are paying farmers those sorts of prices and still looking to find cheaper suppliers. shame shame shame Mc D

I notice when I was grocery shopping yesterday that Coles are now putting 'imported' on the price boards of the vegies where appropriate. It pays to make our feelings clear.
Cheers,
Dee.