I spend some time this evening wandering in an idle fashion along the aisles of one of the Big Two supermarkets.
I have a few minutes to spare and decide to start the label investigation right now. I walk by a cabinet stocked with many packets of ready-to-eat-now food. You know the sort, convenience food for the time-poor. Pick up a packet, drop it in your shopping basket and a couple of minutes in the microwave at home and there you are with a ready to eat meal.
How good is that? Not so good when you start reading the country of origin details.
I pick up another item, examine the label and look to see the country of origin; I turn the item around and look for more information. What are the ingredients listed? What other details are there regarding the origins of this product? It's random selection; mostly the common items that might be found in any kitchen cupboard. It occurs to me that this project may not be as simple as I first thought; this is my first foray into label reading and it's very confusing.
I have a few minutes to spare and decide to start the label investigation right now. I walk by a cabinet stocked with many packets of ready-to-eat-now food. You know the sort, convenience food for the time-poor. Pick up a packet, drop it in your shopping basket and a couple of minutes in the microwave at home and there you are with a ready to eat meal.
How good is that? Not so good when you start reading the country of origin details.
I pick up another item, examine the label and look to see the country of origin; I turn the item around and look for more information. What are the ingredients listed? What other details are there regarding the origins of this product? It's random selection; mostly the common items that might be found in any kitchen cupboard. It occurs to me that this project may not be as simple as I first thought; this is my first foray into label reading and it's very confusing.
As I walk home from the supermarket I give some thought to what lies ahead of me if I pursue this idea. By sticking to the basics for a main meal it is fairly safe bet that a plate with meat and three veg. will meet the criteria I am going to set. It sounds ominously like a return to the dreary blandness of the fifties. I foresee my standard breakfast fare of cereal, toast and a cuppa are not without their difficulties as well. I stop thinking about what might happen between breakfast and dinner – it all seems too hard.
Like a bolt from the blue I realise that I will be forced to pass up my regular Tuesday afternoon cup of coffee at my favourite local café. Australian coffee beans available there? I don’t think so. Are there any Australian coffee beans available full stop? With this thought comes the realisation that eating out will be restricted; not just eating out in cafes but eating out at the meal table in people’s homes. Cafes provide a menu and you can take it or leave it; they will not be remotely interested in considering 100% Australian produce – maybe I exaggerate a little here. Maybe it would be possible to find a café juicing Australian oranges. As for questioning the origins of food served up in the homes of friends, I might be better off risking assault and battery in a dark lane in the CBD in the early hours of Saturday morning.
I walk in the front door, put the shopping away and flop onto my favourite chair. I need to give this project some deep thought. I need do some rational thinking. Heaven forbid!! I might even have to resort to making some constructive plans. Maybe, just maybe, buried deep in the hidden recesses of the back burner of my mind I might find some answers.
