Cant say I am happy about this !

[Frederick]

Galia melons and now being grown in large numbers in Yorkshire....under glass in bio controlled conditions 6 or 7 to a plant vertically .....They taste the same and are the same size as those grown in a field in the sun of the South of France or Spain ....Asda are selling them  and the talk is of carbon footprints and global warming and now the way to go is to produce what is needed close to the Supermarkets ......I cant help thinking of the guy in France or Spain  with a field full of melons who is going to find himself trying to sell them at the road side in future ....or the truck drivers who will find themselves off the road .......It might save fuel not having to truck them hundreds of miles and be better for the UK Supermarkets to have stuff grown on the doorstep but at what cost to those who depend on an  EU wide market place for a living ....not happy about fields covered in glass houses either !

[chris pp]

""not happy about fields covered in glass houses either""

No shortage of those in France and Spain either.[;-)]

Chris 

[Llwyncelyn]

Go to Herefordshire and find lots and lots of poly tunnels which as I understand things do not need planning approval.

Better still take the M50 from Monmouth towards the Midlands just before the first junction look to your left!

Years ago it was only the let us say Evesham asparagus that was on one's table yes its moved a bit to Kent so perhaps we can allow that.  However how many times have we seen both in the UK and indeed here in France asapargus from the tunnels in Spain or Chile or Argentina.

It is argued that the consumer is the ultimate market place thus do not buy them.  But of course then go to Wakefield and in the golden or red triangle buy the rhubarb but that is at least run by candle power.

The market is the market you have the choice no one else.

[Llwyncelyn]

Frederick another thought go to Cherbourg say mid week and see the crab fleet coming in from ten days fishing around the Channel Islands.  Watch on the quayside and look at the reg numbers of the Spanish and Portugese vehicles just standing there.  Then watch the big baskets coming out of the holds on board and where the crabs have been kept for about ten days in water balast.  Then watch the weighing process then watch the deal between the skipper of the crab boat and the merchant who acts for the Spanish and Portugese guys.  Watch the cash passing hands.

The look at some of the menus here in France with Langoustines.   Where do they come from?  Scotland.

Back in the UK buy Aberdeen Angus beef does not mean that it comes from Aberdeen it could come from down south.

Then to Dijon mustard.  An AOC.  However provided the process is abided by could be made in the states.!

Its branding and market positioning.

How can Brittany Ferries keep going with limited numbers on board.  Support perhaps from the Conseil Generale and various Tourist boards.

How can a guy in Normandie with less than an acre and with one or two cows keep going?  Ask Brussels.

 

[Frederick]

All this trade is fine my me ......but ...when a big supermarket chain decides to use its power ....and science..... to support the growing of crops that are not native to the country it is selling them in like "Yorkshire Galia Melons " and states it is in the interest of "global warming prevention "  to produce food locally and cut down on shipping it accross Europe ...whats next in the way of a crop not produced in the UK ....bananas !    

[LEO]

[quote user="Frederick"]All this trade is fine my me ......but ...when a big supermarket chain decides to use its power ....and science..... to support the growing of crops that are not native to the country it is selling them in like "Yorkshire Galia Melons " and states it is in the interest of "global warming prevention "  to produce food locally and cut down on shipping it accross Europe ...whats next in the way of a crop not produced in the UK ..

..bananas !    [/quote]

They might be woolybananas

[TWINKLE]

Ssshhh! Leo!

[Thibault]

[quote user="Frederick"]All this trade is fine my me ......but ...when a big supermarket chain decides to use its power ....and science..... to support the growing of crops that are not native to the country it is selling them in like "Yorkshire Galia Melons " and states it is in the interest of "global warming prevention "  to produce food locally and cut down on shipping it accross Europe ...whats next in the way of a crop not produced in the UK ....bananas !    [/quote]

Logically, on this basis, potatoes would remain a South American vegetable, there would be no grape vines in England, rabbits would not be found in the UK, rhubarb would remain a Chinese plant and there would be no tea in India or Ceylon.

There is a long history to taking plants from different parts of the world and attempting to grow them in other parts of the world.  Sometimes this is for economic reasons eg stealing tea plants from China and transplanting them to India so the UK did not have a trade imbalance with China.  (BTW, when that didn't work, we sold them opium instead - that soon solved the trade imbalance.)

[woolybanana (ex tag)]

Woolybananas grow anywhere and cost next to nothing to produce. Just a little love occasionally. Talking to us is good.

[Frederick]

" The customer is the ultimate market place " ...I dont think he or she will care when going round the Supermarket where the food is produced or even  if the supermarket will  bother to try and tell customers where their products come from ..they can sell them anything  !     ..You could put up a sign saying all food in the store was grown in dodo droppings on the south slopes of the Netherlands mountains and it would not stop one item being dropped in a basket .....still dont thinks food from warmer places should be grown under glass in the UK ...but  it will get sold !

[Hagar]

[quote user="Llwyncelyn"]

 

Then to Dijon mustard.  An AOC.  However provided the process is abided by could be made in the states.!

Its branding and market positioning.

[/quote]

1 . There is no AOC for Dijon Mustard " Le terme "moutarde de Dijon" est une dénomination générique, la moutarde de Dijon peut être produite aussi bien en France que dans de nombreux autres pays... et la majorité du temps avec des graines de moutarde importées."

2. It is illegal to brand, market or sell any AOC product that does not originate from the area/region/country specified - (AOC = Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée)

rgds

Hagar

[Hagar]

[quote user="Frederick"]

" The customer is the ultimate market place " ...I dont think he or she will care when going round the Supermarket where the food is produced or even  if the supermarket will  bother to try and tell customers where their products come from ..they can sell them anything  !     ..You could put up a sign saying all food in the store was grown in dodo droppings on the south slopes of the Netherlands mountains and it would not stop one item being dropped in a basket .....still dont thinks food from warmer places should be grown under glass in the UK ...but  it will get sold !

[/quote]

Frederick - I assume you are talking about UK supermarkets and their customers. In this part of france the supermarkets and other shops are very careful to ensure the customers know the origin of the fresh products they buy even down to the particular village or commune.

I find it very interesting that a french supermarket will display locally produced melons right alongside the spanish ones which are less than half the price. Even more interesting is the fact that the customers will buy local even though it costs them twice as much.

Unlike you I beleive there are many UK consumers who would prefer to know the origin of their purchases. Unfortunately , in the main, UK supermarkets give them neither the information nor the choice.

rgds

hagar

 

[Frederick]

Yes I was meaning UK supermarkets........... ASDA it appears have had grown  for them the galia melons  under the control of the  Stockbridge Technology Centre  They  used 3 different methods of production in a trial ...rockwool..upright soil production and traditiional style Spanish  flat grown ....This is a first for the UK ...Production this year 4.500 fruits at £1 each sold by ASDA .  The Galia strain was  Alpes  supplied by a Dutch seed specialist ..... the talk nowadays is of  "Food Miles " ....  so we can expect to see more and more of such crops  which  we normally get shipped up to us from  sunny places grown in the UK......tough on the farmers who now send  their crops to the UK  you may say ...but .....Personally I dont want to see the change ....I will  prefer my fruit to have done a few miles ..and the French or Spannish farmer continue to  make a living .   

[woolybanana (ex tag)]

Well Frederick, if I understand you correctly, we must beg to differ I fear. My policy is to buy local as far as possible, then the nearest or the Fair Trade item. Sometimes the latter comes first. What I will not do is buy stuff outrageously out of season from far, far away. And I have noticed more and more people seem to be doing this too. I must add that my first port of call is the local market where possible or even the roadside stalls from the local grower. Seems logical to me.