The food police

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Posted at 10:19AM, 26 October 2009 by Christine Hayes - Editor, olive magazine

My sister's been staying with me, and I got home last night to find a few spears of asparagus in the fridge. I wasn't thrilled. My fridge. Asparagus, out of season, probably imported from Thailand or Peru, and pretty tasteless as a result, never mind the food miles. Later, I heard her tell her husband that I'd given her a lecture about it... and, as well as realising it's a bit daft to tell her what she should or shouldn't be eating, I felt like a big fat hypocrite. Because when I took a second look at some of the other stuff in my fridge, bought by yours truly, I saw I shouldn't have thrown the first stone.

First up: a jar of mint sauce. I know, I know - fresh mint sauce takes 30 seconds to make and is infinitely lovelier. But sometimes the sheer fakeness of it is the appeal. We had it slathered over roast lamb when growing up and it's a comforting, familiar taste. Second, a supermarket pizza - I got a voucher for it and, though I can make my own pizzas and much prefer to, it seemed like a waste not to use it. Then there's a jar of anchovies - no longer on the MSC's list of fish to eat. I can't 100%, hand-on-heart, promise I bought it before I knew that.

I'm glad the foodie police didn't knock on my door today

So I'm glad the foodie police didn't knock on my door today, but in case they come tomorrow, I've put my home-grown tomatoes, acorn squash, organic milk and homemade Japanese salad dressing in the front. I would never buy chicken that wasn't free-range. 90% of the time I get my fruit, veg, fish, eggs and cheese from the farmers' market, and meat from my local organic butcher. Milk has to be organic. I always buy wine from independent merchants, particularly those that sell wines from smaller producers, rather than the supermarkets. But the halo slips every now and then.

So if the foodie police swoop on your house today, what would they find? And where won't you compromise?

Comments

Nicola

26 October, 1:30PM
Nicola

Oh - my friend told me this morning she is having friends for dinner on Sunday and was making a chicken and asparagus pie. I really had to bite my lip...all I could think was "thats NOT in season, will have flown half way round the world and will not taste of asparagus" . But, I know she does not appreciate my 'food snobbery' so I kept it to myself! What's in my cupboards though.....!

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Sarah

26 October, 2:58PM
Sarah

Peppers, pangs of guilt shoot through me every time I throw them in my basket...

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Sue'srecipes

26 October, 3:39PM
Sue'srecipes

Tomatoes! I have to have tomatoes, can't live without them. The out of season ones usually come from Spain or Holland so I kid myself that both countries are in Europe so it's OK. I always get the English local ones when they are on sale at the Farmer's Market and always buy English if they are on sale even though I feel really guilty that some are probably grown in hothouses.....Oh the guilt!

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Vic

26 October, 4:42PM
Vic

Avocados and olives. I kind of enforce a northern Europe rule too - I mean, living in the south east as I do, something from say, northern France or Belgium, is as local as something from Scotland. Isn't it?

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miniminx

26 October, 8:46PM
miniminx

admittedly i'm in a grumpy mood, but writing half an article about all the 'good' things you do was the teeniest bit smug and annoying......:(

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christine

27 October, 10:19AM
christine

I guess I asked for that, miniminx!

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miniminx

27 October, 5:18PM
miniminx

Christine, I'm sorry! I actually totally agree with you. However, it's just that we hear so much about what we should and shouldn't be doing these days that I was looking forward to reading an article about freeing ourselves from the food fascism (check out the alliteration in that one!) and how to get revenge on the food police! Each to their own and all that.

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suz

27 October, 8:20PM
suz

I know we shouldn't but I think we all eat out of season - imagine telling a pregnant woman she couldn't have a certain food because it's just not in season!!! Just joined site but looking forward to boring others with my foodie talk - my partner is banned from 'my' kithchen and we are happy with that!!!!!

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kittendothroar

31 October, 10:07AM
kittendothroar

I cook, a lot, from scratch. However I do also have pataks balti paste which I really love and a jar of garlic and ginger paste, which saves time when in a hurry. I also love avocados and my frozen prawns are from very far away. Shall I hand myself in now?

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christine

2 November, 4:19PM
christine

Expect a knock on the door around 7.30am tomorrow, kittenroar.

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just seaweed

7 November, 7:03PM
just seaweed

i sell edible seaweed, i have abot 50 bags of dry bladderack in a cubbard next to my washing machine if the police came to my house i think id be down the nick for a few hrs explaning the difference between weed and seaweed

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squaccy

10 November, 5:58PM
squaccy

I'd LOVE to be able to buy organic all the time and save air miles but being a student I just can't afford it. However, thank god for morrisons doing half Price seasonal veggies and Waitrose too. So at the moment, Red Peppers is my only sin in terms of out of season...air miles I try not to think about because there's nothing I can do :(

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