Re: Fresh Food Labeling

"Emma Thackery" <emma@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:emma-F4DF49.13191203032007@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
In article <QVhGh.4025$B25.791@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>,
"JoeSpareBedroom" <dishborealis@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:

"Emma Thackery" <emma@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:emma-0FD0F2.10484803032007@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

I was listening to a podcast of one of Lynne Rosetto Kasper's
broadcasts
from Italy. She mentioned that in Italy, all the food must be labeled
with the location where the food was raised or caught and also the
grade....

Wegman's (my local chain) labels lots of stuff, especially fruits &
berries
from South America, since many people (like me) know that other countries
may use some strange pesticides that are not used here. By "labels", I
mean
that on the big price sign next to the plums, they hand write "From
Chile",
or whatever. It's consistent from store to store. I suspect this began
because customers wanted it, although Wegman's is unusual and might've
dreamt it up because they're big on full disclosure.

I think you'd be better off getting your stores to provide the
information,
especially since it involves virtually NO extra effort. They know where
the
stuff comes from.

Good idea. Here, produce is rarely marked for location at the regular
groceries--- meat & fish, never except farm-raised or wild-caught. In
the summer, local produce sometimes has a sign that says it is locally
grown. Whole Foods (quite far for me) often gives the location but not
always. I'm going to ask our grocery if they will but I'd be very
surprised if they did.

Since the store buys the stuff, an actual human being knows where it came
from, so accept no bull*** from them if they claim "it's too hard figure
out". :-)



"Raised or caught" - now we're talking about meat & fish, right? With
fish,
it doesn't matter much. There aren't many places in the ocean where the
water's pristine any more. If you saw "Caught in the Long Island Sound",
would you know what pollutants were in the fish? How about "Bay of
Fundy"?
"Indian Ocean"?

Vegetables and fruits are "raised" too btw. :) The more local a food
is, the more likely it is to be fresher and the less likely it's been
over-handled, bruised, repeatedly sprayed, etc. And there are other
environmental advantages if one is concerned about that sort of thing.

Where it's grown has pretty much no connection to how much or little it's
been poisoned. All the other factors are true, though. And, it takes less
petroleum to get them to you.


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