Cheap Food

[WILF 44,637]

Was watching a thing last night about broiler chickens, the farmer got 39c each for 3 months work !!

35,000 birds at a time and 4 lots a year so 140,000 birds.

Out of that he had to pay all his costs bar buying the chickens and feed and transport!!

 

Was also reading today that the price of milk and beef is being squeezed again.

 

Farmers are just farming for subsidy, that can't be good?

Is it a accident that food is kept at an artificially low price in order to free up money so we buy shit we don't need?.......is it time farmers cut off the supply until food is back at it's natural price level?

[kanny 19,674]

I know it's not on the same scale but I've just had a mate round this evening who has a small livestock holding and he was tell me how bad it is he's loosing money left right and centre he was never going to make a million but it supported him in a simple life style and he was happy...he's giving up the on the animals and going back to work as handyman... it's sad.

Edited December 10, 2015 by kanny

[WILF 44,637]

I know it's not on the same scale but I've just had a mate round this evening who has a small livestock holding and he was tell me how bad it is he's loosing money left right and centre he was never going to make a million but it supported him in a simple life style but he was happy...he's giving up the on the animals and going back to work as handyman... it's sad.

I have a smallholding myself mate and there is no way it would make money, it can feed me which is worth about 10k a year but it will still be a cost.

Shame but it's not just small boys, it's big farms too.

[Accip74 7,112]

It's is mental & it's easy to take it for granted........In a local supermarket here I can pick up whole chickens for as little €2, that's under £1.50 for a chicken, wtf? I give them to the dog, chicken for us I happily pay €12 +......

 

The demand for ever cheaper food is massive & it ain't just from people with little money.......

[king 11,685]

 

I know it's not on the same scale but I've just had a mate round this evening who has a small livestock holding and he was tell me how bad it is he's loosing money left right and centre he was never going to make a million but it supported him in a simple life style but he was happy...he's giving up the on the animals and going back to work as handyman... it's sad.

I have a smallholding myself mate and there is no way it would make money, it can feed me which is worth about 10k a year but it will still be a cost.

Shame but it's not just small boys, it's big farms too.

I travel from South Wales to the midlands quite regular and have noticed a lot more honesty boxes outside people's homes.along with eggs there's quail eggs fruit and veg even jars of chutney and pickled cabbage etc.

[secretagentmole 1,701]

We buy our meat from the butcher that breeds and raises the pigs, his beef comes from a friend who breeds and raises his own cattle and the chickens from a third farmer who does the same, he only buys the lamb from the wholesaler and then he tries to source meat from as locally as possible.

 

Does not cost as much as middle quality meat from the supermarket but is so much better, they only feed stuff they have milled themselves and only use medicines when the animals need it, the animals are not fed antibiotics for weight gain. We could buy cheaper but we like identifiable meat, tasty meat and meat that is free from drugs, we won't be antibiotic resistance.

 

Either eat crap from Supermarkets and pay more or eat food from real butchers, butchers who raise their own animals and take pride in it and pay less!

[Lloyd90 509]

There's some interesting documentaries on Netflix about big corporations putting pressure on farmers to produce more for cheaper.

 

They really are ruthless scum bags.

 

They have so much money they are pretty much untouchable!

[dytkos 17,592]

I work in the consumer food industry and its the Supermarkets buying power that puts the squeeze on the prices for all foodstuffs, the margins have been declining for years as the Supermarkets take a bigger slice of the cake each year.

Its great to be able to use your local butcher, fishmonger (remember them?), greengrocer etc but peoples lifestyles have changed massively, time is at a premium for most people so its a "one stop shop", chemists, clothes, cafes etc in most supermarkets.

Alternative is to lug your weekly shopping to a car park that you've paid for so that you could have the priveledge of spending money in the town.

 

Sad but true, I myself am guilty in some respects, sorry to say.

 

Cheers, D.

[VOON 1,315]

Check out the difference in quality of fresh organic food/game vs factory farmed animals.

[dytkos 17,592]

Check out the difference in quality of fresh organic food/game vs factory farmed animals.

Preaching to the converted though mate.

Joe/Joanna Public wants cheap, quick, easy!

 

Not gonna get better either, sad to say.

 

Cheers, D.

[Accip74 7,112]

Check out the difference in quality of fresh organic food/game vs factory farmed animals.

I use to think that was bollocks haha.....silly me! But since having kids I've almost entirely switched over to organic, it's easier & not as expensive to do here, as it is in the uk.........you can even notice the difference in the flavour of potatoes :-)

Also during the game season here.....Roe, Red, Fallow in various cuts, Wild boar, Hare, Wild duck etc are all readily available in the mainstream supermarkets....

Edited December 11, 2015 by Accip74

[WILF 44,637]

I work in the consumer food industry and its the Supermarkets buying power that puts the squeeze on the prices for all foodstuffs, the margins have been declining for years as the Supermarkets take a bigger slice of the cake each year.

Its great to be able to use your local butcher, fishmonger (remember them?), greengrocer etc but peoples lifestyles have changed massively, time is at a premium for most people so its a "one stop shop", chemists, clothes, cafes etc in most supermarkets.

Alternative is to lug your weekly shopping to a car park that you've paid for so that you could have the priveledge of spending money in the town.

Sad but true, I myself am guilty in some respects, sorry to say.

Cheers, D.

Ah, but is buying power by the supermarkets all part of some type of social engineering?.........see, without subsidy there would be no option but for farmers to charge the real price.......and if the big chains didn't pay then production and supply would stop which would put the supermarkets business in jeopardy ?

[WILF 44,637]

As an aside, the label "Organic" is a bit of a crock of shit......as many of you know they are simply independent organisation set up to relieve the farmer of some money in order for them to get a label that says organic.

They have some set rules for doing this but it's not as clear cut as that, I did a FITAC course on organic and I binned it off as it was pure bollocks.

See, I can get a certificate that says I am an organic farmer.......but I can then set up a box scheme and fly in produce from all over the planet using tons of jet fuel.

So tell me, who is certifing the grower of Chinese walnuts?........of South American cherrys?

But I can sell all these as organic as long as they too have a little badge that says organic!!!

 

Free range would be a much better thing to look out for, it's really about low input systems and where things come from.

Seasonality too plays a large part......we just shouldn't be eating strawberrys in January when you think about it!

[moxy 617]

 

I work in the consumer food industry and its the Supermarkets buying power that puts the squeeze on the prices for all foodstuffs, the margins have been declining for years as the Supermarkets take a bigger slice of the cake each year.

Its great to be able to use your local butcher, fishmonger (remember them?), greengrocer etc but peoples lifestyles have changed massively, time is at a premium for most people so its a "one stop shop", chemists, clothes, cafes etc in most supermarkets.

Alternative is to lug your weekly shopping to a car park that you've paid for so that you could have the priveledge of spending money in the town.

Sad but true, I myself am guilty in some respects, sorry to say.

Cheers, D.

Ah, but is buying power by the supermarkets all part of some type of social engineering?.........see, without subsidy there would be no option but for farmers to charge the real price.......and if the big chains didn't pay then production and supply would stop which would put the supermarkets business in jeopardy ?

Probably not. We would just find more imported shite filling the shelves instead.

The farmers sold themselves out years ago. When they got into bed with the dairies.

[paulus 26]

you will see a big shift to other uses for the countryside as farmers have no option but to diversify, around here its solar farms, they can make 6 times as much per acre as they can from traditional farming and still run sheep on it.