When in the Northern hemisphere, do like Jess

I've been in hibernation for the last few weeks, hammering away at a first draft for my thesis. I've become very comfortable with the regional and ethical food suppliers here in Stellenbosch, so being an integral part of my reality, I tend to forget to share it on The Regional Buffet. Apologies. However, I've found an alternative source of inspiration for you, until I've (in Jess's words) "slain the thesis monster".

Jess is a beautiful friend of mine with a mutual love of food systems. She is currently making her way through a number of inspirational food systems in the Northern hemisphere and I suggest you follow her journey on her blog, Encounters.

After a week in Italy, Jess is spending a few weeks around the UK working with project partners, The Lexi Cinemas (an independent community cinema that are 100% social enterprise and support a number of projects at the Sustainability Institute). During her stay, she has visited some interesting projects around London, is currently spending a week in Findhorn Ecovillage in Scotland (one of the oldest ecovillages around) and will be spending some time in Southern England and Wales visiting interesting projects there as well. A curiousty in local food economies means the topic of ethical and earth friendly food systems always seem to find their way into her travels.

Enjoy beautiful people. Until we meet again.

This little piggie went to market

One of the first "BUTS" that comes up in conversations about local/regional/organic food is that it is too expensive for average people (and students!). So I decided to test this assumption by comparing our weekly market shopping with two supermarkets in Stellenbosch. One supermarket is known for its very affordable prices and the fact that you can pick your own produce, the other for its unfailing quality and organic range. For the purpose of this exercise, let us call the former F&V and the latter WW.

		Organic Market (all organic)	F&V	WW (organic = o)
Product	Quantity
Yogurt (full cream)	1 L	R45	R19.99	R25.95
Yogurt (low fat)	1 L	R25	R19.99	R25.95
Milk	1 L	R12	R9.99	R11.95 (o)
Whole Chicken	1 kg	R35	R23	R35.95 (o)
Eggs	6	R12	-	R7.45
Hummus	120 ml	R25	-	R11.95
Butternuts	1 kg	R30	R4.99	R6.99
Sweet Potato	1 kg	R10	R4.99	R10
Potato	1 kg	R10	R6.99	R11.50 (o)
Beetroot	A bunch	R7	R5	R13 (baby)
Broccoli	1 kg	R30	R25	R26.99
Carrots	1 kg	R10	R4	R14
Spinach	1 kg	R24	R15	R64.95
Tomatoes	1 kg	R10	R12.99	R13.99
Lettuce	A head	R5	R5.50	R7.89
Bananas	1 kg	R17	R10	R13.99
Pineapples	1	R12	R5	R5.95
Oranges	1 kg	R10	R4.99	R6.95
Gooseberries	1 kg	R50	R113	R84.95
Naartjies	1 kg	R10	R12.99	R14.95
Guavas	1 kg	R20	R7.99	R20

I was unable to find the market's variety of organic produce in the two local supermarkets and therefore had to compare some of the organic market prices to the cost of conventionally-grown produce in supermarkets. WW had some organic produce, indicated by an ‘o’.

In the case of spinach and gooseberries, WW only had smaller quantities available. I used the price for 200g spinach (R12.99) to calculate the price for 1 kg of spinach (R64.95), and R16.99 for 200g of gooseberries to calculate the price of R84.95 for 1kg. F&V also only had smaller quantities of gooseberries and the 1kg price was calculated the same as WW’s.

Nevertheless, this table clearly indicates that the organic market’s prices are not necessarily higher. The market has the highest price for only 28.6 percent or 6/21 of the produce, mostly in comparison to conventional prices. Compared to the three organic vegetables I could find in supermarkets, the market had a higher price of 5c for only one product.



It is important to remember that the prices paid for non-organic foods don’t include the costs of environmental degradation like (water and air) pollution and soil deterioration, which are common effects of chemical farming. This is because we don’t pay the environment for its resources (e.g. soil) or services (e.g. pollination or water purification in the water cycle). I’d much rather pay an extra 5c for organic produce, because I know that not only is the farmer getting a fair price for her produce and can continue farming, but I’m also helping her to look after the parts of the environment necessary to grow MY food. If I don’t pay that 5c now, my great grandchildren might have to pay it (with interest) in other ways in the future.

So buy organic, but also buy from the farmer if you can. If more of the money you spend on food ends up in the farmer’s pocket (as opposed to the middleman’s), she has more money to invest in the conservation of environment that we depend on.