Where is my food from?

[DevilsLettuce]

I was just making bread (ie: putting a few simple ingredients into a bread machine) and looked at the ingredient labels to see where each component was from and was surprised that none of it has any information beyond ‘packed in the UK’ for the salt. AIBU to want to know where the wheat was grown, and where all of it has been?

Well yes a bit. Presumably the company are buying from whatever source is the cheapest at the time. They are not going to be able to re print the packaging each time they change supplier.

You could try emailing the company for more info.

I thought it was a legal requirement but apparently it’s only for these foods

You must show the country or place of origin for:

beef, veal, lamb, mutton, pork, goat and poultry
fish and shellfish
honey
olive oil
wine
fruit and vegetables

source: www.gov.uk/food-labelling-and-packaging/food-labelling-what-you-must-show

The olive oil I used for the bread (yellowy Morrison’s own brand) doesn’t have a country of origin because it’s blended.

That makes sense about the packaging, I found on Allinson’s website the information I wanted which was that the flour is most likely from North America and the UK and continental Europe. It doesn’t really matter, I was just curious about the flavour.

YANBU, OP. It’s even more difficult with non-food.
Most complex products we buy travel the world three times by the time we buy them (as raw materials, then parts, then final product). Appalling environmental impact.

Lately traditional English-made brands that have outsourced to China but are too embarrassed to say so, put on their products ‘Designed in England’. 🙄

You can buy from a known source if it’s important to you, but many mainstream suppliers will have all sorts of different origins at different times.

I suspect I couldn’t buy from a known source on my income but I’ll look into that! That complex global process seems less precarious than the old days, when the failure of a single crop would devastate a community. But also the global economy thing seems unstable, I guess it’s still a relatively new way of doing things. In terms of human evolution.

This is so horrifying to think about I don’t know what to say. I was measuring the water and thinking grrrrr at the water company for dumping sewage in our rivers harming otters etc and that made me wonder where the other components originated and had been and what sort of climate etc.

I’ve found somewhere only 30 minutes from home where flour is milled from grains grown on site. Also honey, meats, eggs, vegetables. Currently budget around £20 a week for groceries (for one), wonder what I can get for that locally and how long it will last.