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‘Less than half’ fresh produce sold globally makes any profit
(www.fruitnet.com)
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this post was submitted on 21 Sep 2023
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Fresh produce in the grocery store is a marketing gimmick. The reason it's there in the front of the store is to look nice and give you the psychological cue that you have fufilled your obligation to buy healthy things and may now buy what's in the aisles with less guilt. Similar to how grocery stores don't profit on rotisserie chickens which you have to walk through the aisles to get to so you will usually end up buying more than the chicken. They may control costs by displaying what loses them the least money, but direct profit from the fresh produce isn't why it's there.
Frozen is cheaper and healthier if we're talking what to buy for nutrition. Fresh is really only fresh locally. Yes, it's sad that fresh vegetables from your own locality can be unaffordable. The reason for that goes far deeper than the supply chain disruptions from the past few years.
How is it healthier? That's a new one for me.
Simple atrophy. Room temperature vegetables deteriorate more quickly than frozen during shipping. Check it out.
I discovered the glory of freezing my excess food instead of letting it go bad and I've never gone back. Never again will I experience the heartbreak of an entire block of cheese going moldy. (Important: GRATE THE CHEESE BLOCK BEFORE YOU FREEZE IT)
Do you just thaw the cheese in the fridge?
Worse, I had to grate the cheeze while it was still frozen. If I thawed the entire block then I wouldn't be able to refreeze it because foodsafe.
Sounds dangerous, reminds me of when my dad sliced himself open trying to get frozen garden burgers separated!
What about thawing the grated cheese after its frozen?
It's better to grate the cheese before it's frozen. That way you get the benefits of freezing without needing to grate a rock.
... Damn. Never thought I'd have to choose between nutrition and texture. 😩
Still, very good to know. Thanks!
I definitely prefer the texture of fresh-ish for certain dishes, and there are some which I only buy fresh for preference even though I'm aware of the healthier alternative. That last part is only to advocate for the kind of stuff that's suited to a global supply chain for nutrition purposes as long as we have to deal with the system we have. Frozen can be convenient, like with soup or other dishes where the produce would be thoroughly cooked. I toss them right in from the freezer. Air Fryers can close the gap on a lot of dishes as well.
What is your method for cauliflower mash? Sounds like a comparison I would like to play with next time I'm grocery shopping.
Thanks!
I just have a stock of frozen, and then buy fresh when I plan to make a specific dish that's worth the effort.
I buy from locals doing organic farming.
Less carbon footprint. Less pesticides. You can actually see who is doing the hard work.
Organic typically has a higher carbon footprint because it requires more land and often even water resources and of course more labour.
Less pesticides, yeah, sure. But those pesticides allow us to grow crops much more efficiently. Everything is a trade-off I suppose, but I am very skeptical that the trade-offs of organic are worthwhile.
https://www.technologyreview.com/2019/10/22/132497/sorryorganic-farming-is-actually-worse-for-climate-change/