to think some things not right about 50p pineapples from south america in UK supermarkets?

[MarieNE]

I don't get how they can be sold so cheaply when they come from across the world and they don't grow abudently like say apples on a tree. I thought each plant only produces one fruit? They were not this cheap in Peru, although were alot better quality!

"I really don't want us to be dependent on food imports"

We've always been dependent on food imports. Rationing in WWII was a response to the fact that the UK can't produce all the food it needs; not even when gardens were commandeered and dug up for the war effort. If we don't import food we end up living on a pretty thin selection of goods - maybe we could go without bananas and oranges but no wine? - plus thousands of jobs would go to the wall e.g. importers, dockers, haulage companies, cool-stores.

Britain is a trading hub.... it's one of our big strengths.

I once did some work at a Dole pineapple plantation in the Philippines, and came away quite impressed. The sheer scale of the operation was huge, and part of their social obligation was the supply of education and health care to all employees far in excess of the local standard - including a company financed hospital and sponsoring the children to university level.

When I spoke to the locals they felt their lives were much better than before the company had arrived and they were subsistence farming.

Although Dole shipped these pineapples primarily to the US, where they are undoubtedly cheap, the impact on the local population was still very positive.

Low cost food doesn't always have to mean exploitation

I don't see why a pineapple shouldn't cost 50p. Corn-on-the-cob can cost as little as 10 cents in the USA: cookmethis.com/?p=283

cogito - I am not anti trade, but dont want us to starve if war/disaster stopped imports. so under normal circumstances I want us to export turnips and import wine....

but if import/exports cease, I want there to be enough turnips we don't go hungry.

The thing that really mystifies me (and I was reminded of it listening to everyone talking about halal supermarket meat) is why in Britain we're so keen to buy New Zealand lamb when there are sheep all over the place right here. It beggars belief really.

I don't buy New Zealand lamb. Nor Danish pork/bacon.

Danish bacon is much worse, mind.

Also: advertising.

British lamb is usually more expensive than NZ. The real question is why is British lamb more expensive to produce and get to market than something from half way round the world?

Yes Cogito, that's exactly what I mean. I only buy British meat (but not very much of it!). But I wonder how those New Zealanders rear their lamb so affordably when each sheep needs a certain acreage to graze (as far as I recall). Are they factory- farmed?

Quite the opposite. NZ flock is entirely grass reared because, if they have one thing in NZ, it's plenty of grass and a mild climate which means the animals spend zero time indoors. British lamb - and I stand to be corrected - endures harsher weather conditions and often has to be finished indoors with expensive grain.

buy British" is impossible in respect of food
no it is not 'impossible' just quite difficult. and who can afford to be that precious about it? still I do make an effort to avoid pinapples bananas etc

British lamb is usually more expensive than NZ. The real question is why is British lamb more expensive to produce and get to market than something from half way round the world?

NZ lamb isn't shut away in shed's all Winter, therefore there are no massive heating costs (same goes for the cattle). The meat is then shipped over. Shipping produces a very low carbon foot print. NZ lamb tastes nicer than British (but then I'm biased!), but I can't afford to buy it often so just drool at it as I walk past once a week. (did bag a half price leg roast at Sainsburys a month or so back, that was a good week).

I read an interesting article about food miles recently (can't remember where though) not only did it touch on lamb but also talked about Spanish tomatoes vs English tomatoes. Weighing up the vast amount of electricity to heat green houses for English toms against the cost of road freighting Spanish ones and there (my memory is a bit hazy here sorry) was either not much in it for the carbon foot print or it was slightly better to buy Spanish. I wish I could remember where I read it because it was very good.

New Zealand is an enormous expanse of land that lies in perfect weather conditions for sheep to thrive. NZ lamb is delicious, and cheap thanks to low productions costs (no need to heat sheds or provide large amounts of extra fodder) which more than outweigh the costs of refrigerated shipping across the globe.

About the only issue I have with New Zealand becoming a meat 'market garden' for the UK and other North Atlantic countries is the destruction of habitat of the weird and wonderful NZ native creatures.

South African farm workers are paid 71 pence an hour if paid the minimum wage.

Cogito - milk can be shipped in from euro land no problem. Cows are a long term investment.Farmers can't just produce milk one year and stop the next if the price isn't right.

Pineapple is a very common and cheap fruit in SE Asia - it's sold very cheaply on roadside stalls.

@revealall... true, but the bigger picture is which retailer wants to be the first to risk the headline... 'Big nasty supermarket abandons British dairy industry in favour of filthy foreign milk'.... and the subsequent mass boycott by shoppers?

They were sold at 25p each this time last year, I remember as I bought 6 of them as I was heavily pregnant and gullibly believed eating them would bring on labour (it didn't).

I've been munching through two pineapples a week for the last year or so because they are so ridiculously cheap. It used to be an exotic fruit that DM would splash out on if she was having a dinner party. Now they are cheaper than apples. Mental.

I worked on a farm in New Zealand. Some sheep were savaged by a dog. The farmer didn't call the vet as the profit margin was so tiny the vet bill would have wiped it out.

It was pouring with rain. Some of the sheep seemed ok but had been bitten and the farmer thought it was very likely the wounds would become infected and the sheep die.

One sheep had been bitten in the head. We propped it up against a rock to at least try to make it a bit more comfortable.

New Zealand farmers work every hour in the day and are so scientific in their approach to grass composition. The male calves (bobby calves) were popped into little pens at the bottom of dairy farm drives a few days after birth. They do (or did) seasonal milking so calving in the area tended to take place around the same time - a lorry would go from farm to farm picking the calves up. It's very hypocritical of me as all dairy breed male calves go the same way eventually but to dispose of them at such a young age really did emphasise that they were just an unfortunate biproduct.

My DF was a dairy farmer, I really don't have a romantic view of farming. The cost pressure on the industry is enormous. Even though New Zealand has advantages in terms of grass production etc, I know that farmer was absolutely gutted than he couldn't call the vet out.

Most UK lamb is also grass reared only older stocks are barn finished. But we actually don't produce enough for our needs and it's very seasonal so autumn/spring you will find a higher volume of British lamb on shelf with NZ to plug the gap.

Not sure how people think NZ lamb tastes nicer when it isn't fresh it's frozen for transport. That's why lamb on the deli counter is all British.

We then export a load of our lamb to europe

Supermarkets make supply chains bonkers.

The Aldi/Lidl thing actually isn't really that they are screwing suppliers, they take.lower margins, have lower overheads and buy clever.

NZ lamb can be quite nasty compared to British lamb tbh

Eddie DH lasted 2 months on an NZ dairy farm. Never again! (don't get me started on dairy farming in Canterbury, it's just stupid at it's current levels)

Also, NZ farming wasn't subsidised when I was there (1997). The farmers were really upset about restricted access to the EU market, I heard lots of "we fought for you in the war and this is how you repay us" comments.

As an aside, my DF wintered his cows indoors and I don't remember any heating. Body heat from the cows and insulation from straw on the floor is all I can remember. Did feed some grain though but mainly silage.

In NZ the dairy cows were fed maize silage to fatten them up before calving. Lots of cow shot everywhere full of pieces of sweetcorn!

Cow shit...