Pledge “ShopLocally”
"I will do all my shopping locally and NOT in a supermarket chain for the month of July but only if 20 other local people will do the same."
— Ellie Stoneley, of UKVillages.co.uk
Deadline to sign up by: 25th June 2005
31 people signed up (11 over target)
Country: United Kingdom
Postcode area: CB4 (view map)
More details
Having shopped locally for some time now and felt the benefit both financially and in terms of the quality of what I eat, I would like other people to try as well ... there are many people on a national basis who do shop locally - corner shops, farm shops, local delivery etc but I know of very few locally and I think it would give support to struggling local shops faced with huge competition and agressive supermarket pricing policies to know that other people are joining in ... also if enough of us get involved we will have a stronger argument to say to supermarkets 'hands off our local shops'
by supermarket chain I am referring to Tecso in particular but also Sainsbury, Asda/Walmart etc and NOT the Co-op
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Current signatories (
= they've done it)
Ellie Stoneley, the Pledge Creator, joined by:
- Steve Huxton
- Sophie Pert
- Simon Wilcox
- David Tomlinson
- Neale Upstone
- John Duffey
- Heather
- Tim Anderson
- John Wallace
- Francis Irving
- Catherine Wanless
- Jez
- Dave Mee
- Sarah Mundy
- Jenny Nicholson
- john driver
- Heather Chappelle
- Tom Quick
- ROy Gradwell
- Madeleine Parkyn
- Amias Channer
- Mark
- Mark Southgate
- Flora Hoori
- Angelina
- Quinn Comendant
- MOHMED
- Susan Small
- 3 people who did not want to give their names
Comments on this pledge
1) It is entirely not possible to do this where I live. For what it is worth, I shop at the farmers market once a week, but I need a grocery store to augment the supplies beyond produce. I shop at Whole Foods, which tries to stock local products, but in the end it is a chain, albeit a forgivable one.
2) If shopping at Whole Foods qualified, I must say that I already buy most of my things at local stores already. If I signed up, this may feel like a vegetarian giving up meat for lent.
Thoughts welcome.
I would say shopping at Whole Foods wouldn't count for you. It could possibly for me because Whole Foods is headquartered and began where I live (in Austin, Texas).
In any case, I won't be shopping at Whole Foods because of the small contingent of neighborhood markets like Fresh Plus.
I find it is much easier to buy from locally owned shops than it is to buy products that haven't travelled. (I live on an island, but I think it would be hard for most anyone.)
A worthy challenge, either way!
This is something I've been doing for a while now, and find it scary how the word "Tesco" is becoming the generic word for 'shop'.
And I'm not sure, but Duane, I reckon if the Co-op counts then maybe Whole Foods does too - it's impossible to get EVERYTHING local.
What do the rest think?
Nikolai, the pledge is only asking you to try it for a month. I do shop in supermarkets, but I also get an organic vegetable box delivered.
To my surprise, its main benefit is not that is local or organic. The best thing is that it is delivered, somebody choose seasonal vegetables for me, and I do more and more interesting cooking.
Local shops and local food have lots of things to offer, we've just forgotten what they are.
(1) Many supermarkets have appalling ethics, particularly in their relationships with third-world farmers
(2) Not buying from supermarkets keeps non-chain shops flourishing, thereby increasing the diversity of your town or city. (Anyone heard of clone towns?)
(3) The less far your food has travelled from farm to plate, the greater the benefits to the environment. (Hmmmm ... could Booths be considered exempt? They're local to the North West of England, and they make a feature of showcasing locally-produced goods.)
just to say that the Pledge starts tomorrow on 1st July - do post up your thoughts and experiences here ... where you shop, how much more interesting it it, if you encounter any problems and so on ... and if we all keep a log we can compare and publish afterwards...
Go to it and enjoy being part of our pledge - thanks for signing up
Ellie
ps - you might find http://UKVillages.co.uk has info on local shops and services ... or try http://www.BigBarn.com for farm shops etc
extract: "...This autumn I checked how many English apples were on sale in my local Waitrose and Tesco - the answer was one variety, in one of those stores. At the height of our own apple season, we were importing our apples from New Zealand and the USA.
The label on the lone UK apples said 'ripened on the tree.' Are we going mad, or is it just me?
I went to my local organic shop, and there were eight English eating apples on sale, and two cookers. All were sourced from nearby Worcestershire farms, and all had the delicious taste of a true apple.
Sadly, only 4% of the fruit we eat in the UK, is produced here; the supermarkets say it can't be done cheaply enough.
Meanwhile, Tesco who has a staggering 25% market share of all food sold in the UK, has just announced profits of two billion. For my money, this just doesn't add up.
I don't shop at supermarkets - not least because I hate the sensory deprivation. Supermarkets have lost us the tastes, textures, scents and excitements of real food. The bright lights and packaging are there to hide the fact that there are no wonderful smells, no chances to pick up lovely earthy potatoes, or find mushrooms that hit the nostrils with the whiff of warm straw, The wet fish counters in supermarkets are dismal affairs of farmed and previously frozen products, with dull sunken eyes and flabby flesh..."
The full article can be found at:
http://www.jeanettewinterson.com/pages/c...
supermarket secrets ...http://www.channel4.com/news/microsites/...
sounds interesting
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/show...
You can also enter your postcode on bigbarn to find local producers:
http://www.bigbarn.co.uk/
-
http://wholefoodsmarket.com/stores/fresh...
there is one in Bristol... ok i know miles away from Worcester but if you ever in Bristol you can stock up on non persishables ...
but yeah we could so do with a trader joes over here ...
Local shops reduce fuel requirements and take monopoly & high prices away from supermarkets.
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The ultimate aftermath of cyclical criminal establishment control is a major war used to reduce a population and grab their assets.
Whether driven by Hitler or Blair, the true leader lie behind closed doors truly ptotected whatever the outcome.
Look dep into your heart and recall how you wished to change the world before the institution got hold of your very thoughts.
Hope you find it useful.