The Weezer

Dairy and beef production is an enormous polluter, quite horrible, and large scale dairying is very hard on the land, water, and even sea (contaminated water flowing into the ocean). Don't want to elaborate now, as it's off topic, but it's causing all sorts of problems in NZ, as far as water quality and other issues.

TommyLuck

Create a new topic with added reading references would be good.

I'm interested in information of this ilk, providing it's more than anecdotal stuff

Or, PM me. But I reckon others would be interested too.

Mark Smith

Very much closed, now a food outlet.

BEVS

I have to say that I find it hard to believe that all the tomatoes you bought in the UK tasted bitter. Bitterness is caused by an balance in the soil that the tomato plant is grown in. Something that can be detected & corrected by the grower. I doubt that a commercial grower , be they small scale or large scale , would not pay proper attention to the growing medium. Even hydroponic tomatoes are grown in a balanced nutrient medium.

Perhaps you bought your toms from the same UK fruit and vege stall which grew their own , as you do here.

When it comes to final taste though, a sun ripened tomato, not one that is picked green, is best. The taste will depend on the sugars and acids of the variety of tom chosen.

The taste of an avocado will not differ country to country. It is about the variety & again the health of the tree and what the tree is growing in.
I am currently encouraging my youngish avocado tree to flourish.


Not so.

If one is talking about root crops , then that is about exposure to air. The nutrient quality of a root crop can be enhanced with correct storage. In the case of carrots, for instance, the nutrient value increases with correct storage. Quality nor taste is diminished. However a young carrot that is picked and cooked the same day will obviously be the sweeter just as for peas eaten straight from a pod.

Unless it is actually stated organic or chemical free crops, then you can be sure that pesticides and non-organic soil enhancers have probably been used.

As TL says though, we all appear to have side tracked all over the place.

Perhaps I should split this thread .

bourbon-biscuit

As an aside, Wholly Cow beef is 100% grass fed supplemented only with their own farm silage in winter, no palm kernel at all - I got that from the farmer's mouth, so to speak!

https://www.facebook.com/whollycowcambridge

Pom_Chch

Cheers for the info BEVS

Just an observation on my part. I really do feel avocado tastes different here. Whether that's a NZ thing or just how they have been grown/picked/packed/stored etc in either country I don't know.

Just in the early stages of setting up a veggie patch in the garden so wont need to do too much shopping in green grocers in future.

garethwm

To be fair again, a quick google search tends to indicate that the quality of NZ water compares well with other countries on an international survey basis. Not saying there isnt pollution but I personally think the quality of NZ tap water is pretty good.

The Weezer

Thanks, PomChch. I actually went to that shop, before the earthquakes. I was looking for annatto seeds. All they had was some kind of annatto powder with seasoning spices, not what I was looking for. I found out later that some Asian markets sell annatto seeds because Phillippinos use it. Anyway, I bought enough back from a trip to the US last time I was there.

The Weezer

I think the tap water quality is fine, in the cities at least. I don't think there's a problem with it. It's the fresh water sources, lakes and rivers are suffering. It's a big topic, I have some links below, didn't mean to derail this thread so much. I wish I had time to post a new thread, but we're actually heading off to LA this week, then onward to the East Coast to visit the folks back home.

Anyway, I thought the pollution of NZ waterways was well known? Certainly it's a big problem, but you can bet the dairy industry and the NZ gov'ts need to sell itself as some kind of environmental haven keeps it fairly low key. There's a lot of money at stake; they can only charge premium prices for their goods based on a "pristine" environment, which is a completely manufactured reputation, and it certainly keeps the tourists and immigrants coming in looking for the greener grass:

Residents condemn 'Third World' tap-water | Stuff.co.nz

https://researchspace.auckland.ac.nz/handle/2292/3127

Editorial: Water quality, what quality? | Stuff.co.nz

Delayed report shows need for clean water rules | Scoop News

Lake water quality in New Zealand 2010: Status and trends : Ministry for the Environment - Manatū Mō Te Taiao

No clean green NZ water in Tokomaru - Story - Campbell Live - TV Shows - 3 News

Drinking water unsafe for many Kiwis | Stuff.co.nz

Popular swimming spots prove unsafe - National - NZ Herald News

Manawatu River gets black mark for pollution - National News | TVNZ

Investigation into Rotorua Lakes pollution crisis | Scoop News

Bo-Jangles

For a moment there I thought we wandered off into a parallel universe where everyone has money and time to go and participate in the smug JAFA lifestyle of wandering around Ponsonby shopping for organics and specialist European / Deli Foods.

Meanwhile back in the real world, the OP is probably going to joining the rest of us shuffling around among the great unwashed and pyjama'd masses that are looking for the specials at Pak n Save.

The Weezer

I think the OP might think not realize you ain't kidding

Daytime PJs in public keeps city awake at night - National - NZ Herald News

bearskin

That's about the nastiest comment I've seen on here for a while. Well done.

davros1984

Its a fair comment, not a nasty-nasty one that should upset people. This thread should stick to affordability and 95K in auckland.

Ultimately, does shopping for similar items here cost less, the same or more? Clearly, if you shop at supermarkets its cheaper in the UK than NZ. If you have time to go around ponsonby or other places looking for organic things or meat thats 200% grass fed only then fair be it. Of course, this is easily achieved in UK supermarkets, especially if popping into Waitrose, Morrisons and maybe Sainsburys. Whilst in NZ, I saw very little choice in terms of Organic (not that I am an organic-only sort of person), you pick up whats there and pay whatever it is as you're damn lucky in the first place to even have that option! This is a mindset thing as well as a reality check - be aware of it when emigrating to NZ. Doing that makes you appreciate the little things in life so much more and may even encourage you to grow your own

The Weezer

I agree Davros, that comment didn't sound offensive to me. I thought it was funny. We always need humour on these threads.

Top post, Davros. Exactly the point I was trying to make. The food is NOT of better quality here (see my comments on labelling laws). In fact, organic veg. are harder to find, are available in less variety and likely cost more. 100% grass fed beef is hard to find, and is more expensive than the supermarket stuff, etc. There is no reason to suppose the vegetables are fresher, unless bought from the farmer direct. There is plenty of imported food sold here, sold out of season too, in supermarkets and veg. shops. Sounds like limiting yourself to the highest quality food is easier to achieve in UK than NZ, if anything, and likely at a lower price?

Even if the weekly food marketing costs just a little more in NZ than the UK, it's still important, as that difference can really add up, especially if you are counting every penny. It could mean the difference between being able to save up for a vacation or not, for example, if you extend that difference to a few years.

bourbon-biscuit

Sure, but not everyone lives in Auckland. In Cambridge, it really isn't much bother to go to veg fresh and Wholly Cow in town as well as Countdown - you park right outside the shops here and everything is a 2min drive from the next thing. I don't work, but that is not a luxury; we made a choice a long time ago to set our family up like this because we wanted the benefits and were prepared to pay the costs.

It is more expensive to shop in NZ, and there is less choice: if you didn't know those things before you came here, you can't have done your research. Housing is critically unaffordable in Auckland, whereas there are places in NZ where it is much more affordable. I think it is harder for immigrants to choose places outside of Auckland if they work in city-specific roles.

I think the OP should try and negotiate to get >100k and ideally should look outside of Auckland. But it is true that grocery shopping and housing costs are not the whole picture of affordability. We enjoy a life here that we couldn't manage in the UK, and as my husband is a nurse we are in a position to really compare whole lifestyle affordability rather than squabbling over the cost of shrink wrapped peppers, etc. For all its faults and challenges, and for all that I loved being back in the UK and will always love my beautiful home country, NZ still offers us a richer lifestyle (and, no, I don't live near the coast!!!) than we could afford on a comparable lifestyle in the UK. But then, it's hard to put a price on a lot of things that have a high value