Grocery Shopping: When Budget vs Ethics

[Junglemum]

Just the fact you think about it and care makes a big difference Leash. Somethings i just can't budge on, like eggs. (anyway you could get a couple of chooks? they lay cheap eggs. )

But you do what you can, and you do what you have to. No point shopping ethically if you then end up on the streets because you couldn't pay the rent.

I have a real thing about homebrand products and the supermarkets pushing small business out of the market. Soon we wont have a choice. So i try, if i can, to avoid homebrand products. I wouldn't let me family starve though if that's all i could afford.

[Cherished]

Leasha you can only do what you can do and you know within your heart that if you could afford all the right products you would buy them. I also try to buy fair trade, organic, local etc In fact I would like to not only buy the right products/groceries I would like to fix the whole world of pain, suffering, war, starvations, murder etc etc but you know what, I can't. I will start with making my environment full of love and compassion and let that spread as far as it can. That is all I can do. Is there a local farmers market you can go to? Their would be free range eggs there and local organic produce at a good price.

[christy]

Well I'm an ethical buyer, but at times have had to compromise. We make most of our foods, so I try to check out where my flour (wheat) is grown, and I grow my own herbs. I have my own chickens which works out to be heaps cheaper than buying eggs anyway. The outlay was around $400 in the very beginning, but now I have 3 chooks who lay at least 2 eggs daily. I swap 12 eggs a fortnight to a friend who brings me special sourdough bread and he brings me 2 loaves of bread.

I buy my fruit/veg/normal bread from Aussie direct. I am now making my own rice milk at home, but I buy some at the shops.

I still refuse to buy Nestle... its hard at times, but I don't use packet mixes and it took us a few shops to change the way we bought. I guess thats just it, give yourself time and a budget and as you go along in your shop get the most important items first, the essentials, and then go and get the 'extras" and think about what is needed etc. I generally do something like a zucchini loaf for snacks for the week and hummous and then buy plain rice crackers and carrots for our snacks... sometimes we get a packet of chips on the weekend etc, but I guess its a matter of budget for us. We do not get take away, well once a week we have a budget of $20 for take away, so we might get fish n' chips but just get fish for us and I'll make a salad to go with it, and get the kids fish n' chips.

I think if you also think about what you are drinking at home... if you buy heaps of drinks, try to cut down to water and one other item per day... so water and a coffee, or tea.... or water and a wine etc etc .... it really makes you cut down on cost that way too .

ETA: also, just thinking, don't beat yourself up over it either, if you can't do it one week, thats okay. I actually bought Nestle chocolate the other week by mistake and got home and debated taking it back, but DH convinced me that it was worse for the environment if I got in the car and drove back to the shops.

[maz]

You gotta do what ya gotta do chicky.

time factor doesnt help when you work full time so sometimes markets are out of the question. You could start a small vegy garden, even if its just some parsely and chives to start with and build on that. I found that the kids love picking their own tomatoes from the garden so not only are getting something organic they are seeing were the food comes from and saving me $$$ and its Aussie grown
Eggs - we are fortunate enough to live near egg farms so we can get direct. We also source out the local produce farms and buy direct from them.
Nestles....as much as i dont like them my kids love their milo's so were I do my bit in other ways I have to lean in such a way for them.

As Ange said...atleast your thinking about it and giving a toss babe.

[Fleur]

Budget wins here, too, although like LadyZaidie & Marydean - I cannot skimp on eggs, that's the only thing though. Otherwise it's all down to cost.

Like some of the others have said, I think just being aware is the biggest thing of all, there will be a time when you might be able to do differently, or educate someone else...
... in fact I have been educated just reading this thread, I am now off to learn what Nestle is all about...(I'm sure there is a thread on here somewhere but I've never read it...)

ETA - ok, found it gawd that is a big list of stuff to avoid. Good to know though.

[Astrid]

I know I am coming in a bit late, but this has always been a dilemma of mine and a frustration. Nothing annoys me more than the budget hints that recommend the cheaper brands as "there is no difference", well of course there is a difference. I am glad to know that there are other out there that also feel the same way.

I do what I can, I always spend way to much though. I really need to meal plan, but that can be hard when relying on garden veg. I often have to work in reverse, see what is coming in from the garden and work it out from there.

[AwesomeFoursome]

budget wins out here too.

[alioops]

I have a real thing about homebrand products and the supermarkets pushing small business out of the market. Soon we wont have a choice. So i try, if i can, to avoid homebrand products. I wouldn't let me family starve though if that's all i could afford.

Just an FYI, The home brand is bought from the original maker and put in a different packet. eg, home brand bread is actually tiptop. and 2 minute noodles are san remo.

I also go straight to the egg farm for my eggs, they are bigger, stronger and cheaper and taste better. I would love chooks but DH is not keen.

[Astrid]

It is often done at a much reduced price to the supplier, which often hurts the smaller guy who supplies them. It also reduces competition, often I have seen a brand disappear only to have a homebrand put in its place. Also we have known of one case where both Coles and then Safeway put the pressure on a small supplier to either rebrand as store brand or not be sold at all. The small supplier had put a lot of time and money into building their brand, only to have it destroyed in the name of homebrands. In that case we were hurt directly as we used to do some of their deliveries when we had the delivery busines.

[Junglemum]

Just an FYI, The home brand is bought from the original maker and put in a different packet. eg, home brand bread is actually tiptop. and 2 minute noodles are san remo.

I know that the product is the same Ali, i don't have an issue with the quality. It is the fact they screw the producers down, get the product for nothing and the end result is that the supermarket makes a better profit on someone elses product and the producer loses out.


My friends sells fruit to a big supermarket chain. In order to keep the contract with them they were pretty much forced (read: bullied) to sell them fruit for their own homebrand label at a price which was hardly profitable. They had no choice as the supermarket said they would stop buying their product all together if they didn't agree. The bigger the supermarkets get the more power they have. If they can push everyone out of the market and sell just their homebrand products then we will have no choice, and they will be able to dictate a price of their choice.

[peanutter]

I would love chooks but DH is not keen.

I want them too! DH would be into it, I think. And we have a huge yard, so it would be possible ... we have dogs and a cat, so would need to have a separate part of the yard for them, but I think it would be completely doable ... but no idea how!! or what kind of cost would be involved ...

[mummato1]

We are also on a tight budget here, so its a bit of both here. There are some things like eggs that I like to get freerange.

I am also very aware of what we have in our cupboards/fridge so I dont waste products (I used to throw out so much food esp fruit and veggies). Meal planning is great when it comes to this.

Dp and I have just moved to a rural area which has a farmers marker once a month, and the first time we went we stocked up on fruit and veg, only to find out later that its actually NOT local produce and they buy it all in like the supermarkets do!! I was so annoyed.

We now have a compost and our veggie garden, use bicarb and vinegar these days, and we will be getting chooks soon.. yippe cant wait

We do what works for us and our family, ideally I would like to be even more ethical in my choices but its not possible at the moment.

[BekZ]

Budget is my first priority but I do tend to avoid shopping at the 2 largest grocery shops where possible. I prefer Aldi because a lot of their products are from Australian companies, we support local businesses like the butcher and baker and health shop. We go to the markets every 2 weeks for fruit and veg.

On the top of free range eggs. In most cases there is not a lot of difference between cage and free range eggs in the larger eggs farms. Free range hens do get some out door time but they are locked up at night often in high density conditions, they are still fed the same feed that often contains insecticides and gmo grains. My father works for a trucking company that carts the feed for these chickens and he has seen first hand that free range chooks aren't that much better off.