What's the Cost?

We are living at a time when we all need to tighten our belts and try to make savings.  Many have changed their shopping habits, going more frequently to the cheap food outlets, while still trying to consider the effect on the environment.  In order to help the environment we can all recycle especially as now the recycle trucks come weekly to take away so much that before we just threw away.  Many companies are making an effort to reduce packaging or using packaging that can easily be recycled.

Less packaging equals less weight and space for transporting

We all like a bargain and like so many I go round the supermarket looking for the special offers of the day.  We need to be wise of course and only buy the bigger pack or the multi buys if the product will keep long enough and we really will use it.  Otherwise it isn't a special offer at all but a waste - of both food and money.

Will I use all three?  Who is really paying for my bargain?

The other concern I have about special offers is who is actually paying so that I can have the product more cheaply?  So often it is not the supermarkets who are taking less profit but the producers who are forced to sell to them at a cheaper rate so that it can then be sold as a special offer.

There have been many programmes about how much it costs to transport goods from across the world so that we can have such choice all year round.  On the one hand we are encouraged to buy from nearer to home to save on transport costs but on the other hand some of the countries we buy from so far away (especially in the 3rd world and developing countries) actually depend on exporting their produce to us in order for them to survive and pay their way as a country.  So it doesn't seem that straight forward.

Buy from afar or from nearer to home?

Buying British is helping our own economy.  Here in the south west we are fortunate to be near many farms and buying from local farmers does help the local economy.  It's good when you know where your produce actually comes from and how it is made, whether it's mass produced or more cottage industry product.  There is also the question of Free Range or caged and restricted animals to consider.  The concern there is that so often these products that are undoubtedly superior in quality (as many TV chefs keep telling us) so often the price is also higher.  What a dilemma when you are trying to cut back on spending!

Quality or price?

It seems that the answer is to grow your own but how many have the land sufficient for this or the ability or even willingness to do so?  On a personal note, we are hoping to enjoy quite a bit of fruit from our back garden this year with the berries, fruit trees etc that we have planted but we still need to buy so much from the shops.

Hoping for some strawberries.

What's the cost?  There are many questions to answer and points of view to consider.  This post just scratches the surface  and no doubt we could go on to find many more pros and cons on the subject.  For some people the economic situation won't make much difference in their actual weekly food shop.  They will still buy the same, it will only cost them a bit more so they will cut back on the other luxuries of life or put less into their savings.  But for many who are struggling already on a minimum wage or dole money, the finer foods with a bigger price tag will just have to go and the option of choosing products from near or far will be decided more by the cost to the customer and less by the quality or where it's come from.