Eat local!
If you’re planning to vacation in Britain any time soon and intend to do your own cooking or plan to move there then rejoice in the latest obsession to hit their culinary scene: knowing the provenance of food.
By Reshmi R Dasgupta, TNN |
If you’re planning to vacation in Britain any time soon and intend to do your own cooking or plan to move there then rejoice in the latest obsession to hit their culinary scene: knowing the provenance of food.
‘Buy local’ is the new mantra sweeping Britain. Piquantly, at the same time, India is poised to take the very path being gladly vacated by the “advanced” nations of the west — big hyper marts selling cheap produced sourced from all over the world. But buy and eat local certainly makes more sense.
A visit to my favourite supermarket in London this summer, Waitrose, proved a pleasant revelation; nearly every ‘own brand’ item like veggies, fruits, meats, ready to eat foods, breads, confectionary etc clearly showed where they came from. The accent is definitely on local, and Waitrose isn’t the only chain to follow it.
Apart from the jingoistic joys of buying your own country’s produce, the whole movement to make people aware that local producers aren’t necessarily expensive, and that eating in-season produce is better, is welcome.
So no strawberries from Australia in the dead of winter or lamb in autumn from South America.... It’s peas and asparagus in spring; parsnips and new potatoes in winter...Even if you buy it from a supermarket that has a worldwide access...Get it?
ADVERTISEMENT
That has also spawned a phenomenon that any visiting Indians would find very comforting — the Brit version of the weekly neighbourhood ‘haat’, where small local producers of everything from meats, veggies and fruits to puddings and pies sell at reasonable rates. Unlike impersonal supermarkets, there are conversation, haggling, sights, smells and joyful commotion and every area has its own ‘market day’.So, who’s borrowing ideas? And which is the better one?
Download
The Economic Times Business News App for the Latest News in Business, Sensex, Stock Market Updates & More.
The Economic Times Business News App for the Latest News in Business, Sensex, Stock Market Updates & More.
ADVERTISEMENT
