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Frozen v. Fresh food

  1. #17
    MLBW Guest

    Aussiegal, I would venture to say that Australia is not "without pollution" as you say as any developed country uses fertilizers and pesticides that are chemically hazardous to our health (my husband's old boss is from New Zealand--she grew up on a farm there--and even today she suffers the effects of chemical poisoning from just being near the fertilizers that were used in the fields her family tended--nothing dodgy or illegal--just the normal chemicals that are used every day to increase output and therefore make more money while throwing the quality and safety of the produce to the wind).

    Believe me, if you saw Mainland farms and HK farms, you would see the difference. From my experience, I do believe that those in the organic vegetable association are in it for more than just the short-term--they want a long-term reputation for high quality and standards. That is a big difference between here and the ML--also, these farmers have been at this for generations--sometimes they even own the land they work so it's a whole different deal.

    It is easy to take a local tour in HK and see the growing methods (small-scale, family-oriented, using traditional techniques that are hundreds of years old--they water with traditional irrigation and watering cans--very labor intensive actually)--there are tourists walking through our village every weekend checking it out--it's an hour train-ride from the city.

    Anyway, yes, HK is polluted compared to the places we come from (and I have spoken and argued at length about this subject on this very forum) but that isn't across-the-board. I think it's really a great experience to go and see for yourself. That's just another option, I guess.

    Carang, we're away from home for CNY but after we return, I'll get in touch with the grower I buy from and get his contact info--I just walk over to his house so I've never actually called him--there is also another guy who offers the delivery service and I'll try to get his info. as well--it's always nice to have more options to choose from.


  2. #18
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    i must admit, that until VERY recently, we bought everything local (except brazilian chicken)...however, hubby and i have discussed it and decided that with all of the health scares from china over the past 14 years (how long i've been here) that it isn't worth it to buy anything from there anymore.

    we are usually on a fairly tight budget. i shop in oliver's about once every year or so (usually at christmas), was in 360 once and i actually remember laughing at the prices as i can't imagine paying what they are asking for 99% of their stuff! the same can be said for GREAT. from my perspective, it ain't so GREAT as it's cracked up to be... unless of course you have $20,000/month to spend on feeding your family!

    i've since resorted to ordering most of our meat online and so far have been fairly happy with what we've received. i may try to order the veg online, too...being located out in the boonies makes getting to some of these places more difficult.


  3. #19
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    forgot to say, thanks, i'll wait for the contact details.

    KUNG HEI FAT CHOI!


  4. #20
    LeahH is offline Registered User
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    I agree with MLBW, I'm from NZ originally and pesticides / chemicals used as a matter of course there on fruit and veg farmed traditionally are absorbed and not easily washed off, in particular by items with sensitve/thin skins (e.g. strawberries - less so items like bananas/avocados). These indeed have long term effects, a neighbour who moved onto what was over 5 years ago a former raspberry farm, has experienced ongoing health problems as a result of the chemical residue on the property. Locally sourced produce is inarguably best from an environmental perspective.

    However, just as no-one remotely implied that those who do not buy organic are bad parents, I don't think it's at all fair for anyone to lable people that shop for organic food at 360 or other supermarkets as mad, flagrant money wasters with huge budgets...

    Time and accessibilty drive most things here for me. When I can get to a supplier that can provide locally sourced organic produce (or them to me) I do - sometimes I have time to go to the farmers market, sometimes online suppliers don't have what I need or want.

    Additionally, you can ususally get veg/fruit/meat and fish at 360 at significantly marked down rates (40-70% off).


  5. #21
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    leah... this is what kind of irked me...

    "For me, there is such a difference btwn fresh and frozen foods that I couldn't imagine buying frozen for my wee one."

    to me that implies that those of us that feed previously frozen food (never mind non-organic) are deliberately doing something that isn't good for our children.

    my comments about 360 etc were simply that i don't know how someone could feed a family of 4-5 on less than $20,000/month. admittedly, i've only been once and have not much intention of going back again after what i saw the first time. it is WAYYYYY out of my budget. HOWEVER, if you have a larger budget for food, then by all means go for it. personally, we don't have that kind of money to be spending on what i consider "fancy" foodstuffs. ( i seem to remember $40 for a loaf of bread, or something ridiculous... but this was when it first openned and it may have changed a little since then.)

    what it all boils down to is priorities, and it doesn't make one of us a better or worse parent than the other.

    as i said in a previous post, we each do the best we can by our children and THAT is what we have to remember.


  6. #22
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    ps> i'm sure there are plenty of people in hk that spend $20,000/month on food, just not us... it wasn't a put down on you, it was a comment on my own situation.

    sorry if i caused offence, none was intended.


  7. #23
    jaetee is offline Registered User
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    Quote Originally Posted by LeahH View Post

    Additionally, you can ususally get veg/fruit/meat and fish at 360 at significantly marked down rates (40-70% off).
    Just curious, how do we do that? Are the items marked down at evening time (thus no longer "same day fresh" but really still usable)? I know some fruit/veggies are marked down when they are looking a bit over-ripe, but do they do that for meat and fish as well? I would love to save some money at 360, and would appreciate the advice. :)

    Thanks. :)

  8. #24
    aussiegal is offline Registered User
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    MBLW, 8 months pregnant with my third (in 3 years) I doubt I'll be making a trip out to see who farms in a way that might make me change my mind about any sorting of farming in HK! Of course their practices will undoubtedly be better than those used on the mainland but that doesn't, for me anyway, cancel out the fact that soil used to grow comes from one of the most polluted countries in the world.

    Whilst some people complain about the use of fertilizers in places like Australia and NZ, I am satisfied with the produce I get from both those countries. Unless you completely shun all chemicals (deodorant, cleaning chemicals, hairspray, etc), live in a pollution free environment (which clearly none of us do) I don't think it's worth worrying about the tiny amounts of insecticides left after washing your fruit and veg.

    As for the costs of places like Olivers and 360 - they are really scary. Our food spend per month is awful enough without setting foot in those places. I remember the first time I went to 360 and saw that a whole chicken was $400! I almost fainted.

    At the end of the day, whatever our convictions we're just trying to do what we think is right for our families.


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