I shop in the supermarkets for a good majority of what I eat. I have no loyalty to any to one supermarket, and truth be told, I would much rather spend a whole day in the London Borough Markets for all my food shopping needs (who wouldn’t?). But, I don’t have a car to carry a weekly shopping’s worth. Nor the arm muscles. Nor the bottomless wallet. And I try to fit in my shopping on the way home on a weekday so I can live it up during the weekends (sleep through the mornings, that is!).
So I shop where it’s on the way home. And with no local markets and farm stalls open by the time I head for home, I make do with the convenience that the supermarkets offer.
So, if you’re like me, constrained to the goods that the supermarkets churn out, note that you can still shop responsibly within these aisles. Aside from reading the labels (you know, trying to be healthy as well), I also wanted to make sure that it doesn’t have to cost the earth to feed me. I look out for these symbols:
The Soil Association Organic Logo. But not all organic products bear this symbol. Also look out for the Organic Certification numbers in the label (UK2, UK3, UK5, UK15, etc.) which means this was produced to EC Organic Certifications standards.
The Fairtrade Logo. This is what you would normally see in the UK.
But occasionally I also see the Fair Trade Federation mark, which is the trade association promoting fair trade in North America.
The RSPCA Freedom Food Logo. Make a difference to farm animal welfare, buy your meat with this label. The Soil Association also makes sure that the organic meat you buy are also welfare-friendly, with the animals able to roam freely.
The Marine Stewardship Council logo. Seafood is healthy for you. But the stocks are running low. And with most of the seafood I have grown to love ending up in the Greenpeace’s Red list fish, I realised I have to do more.
The Rainforest Alliance Logo.
The Forest Stewardship Council logo.
