Grocery Shopping: When Budget vs Ethics

We're on a really tight TIGHT budget at the moment, and where we'd normally buy Australian Made, and ethical, fair trade etc products, I've had to start looking at price instead. Mostly my dollars are going to home brand or store brand items, and a whole lot going to Nestle and it's related brandings. I've even resorted to a storebrand eggs and I actually had a dream about a cage farm a few nights back :o My conscience is bearing down on me ARGH! lol

I don't feel good about it, but I don't know what the alternative is...? What do you do when you have to decide on 12 cage eggs that will last at least 9-10 days, or 6 free range eggs that might do two or three meals...? I know the answer would be to not use as many eggs in the week (we don't its just an example lol) but really it comes down to EVERYTHING in my shopping trolley, things like cheese, milk, flour, pasta, bread, breakfast cereals etc.

(Not really sure what answer I'm looking for... I guess it'd be nice to hear that its ok but I'd also love to know how others stay ethical AND on budget AND be able to feed their family for the fortnight? I'm sure it can be done but... I find ethical shopping can really add up sometimes...)

Just my experience here, but budget wins out.
Id love to be able to buy Australian made, fair trade, organic all the time, but ATM its just impossible.
We all do the best we can, and your family has to come first. In our case this means buying the most and best we can afford within our budget.

Well I for one am going to say that it's ok. As you said, you are on a tight budget at the moment, and that has got to come first. You are still providing food for your family and that is the foremost important thing. Trust me, it sucks big time to be on such a tight budget, but you gotta do what you gotta do.

I think you can only do the best you can. You know that you would buy different brands if you were able to, but for the time being you can't. I'm sure that there are other areas of your life where you make up for what you can't do in the shopping trolley kwim?

Yep - budget is beating wanting to buy ethical as well. I want to buy with my conscience but we just don't have the $$ at the moment to do so. I'm just keeping thinking as soon as the finances look a bit better we'll be able to go back to buying what we used too.

I'm also trying to shop at the local markets (we live semi-rural) so we get our fruit and veges locally (reduce transport costs) and I am trying to make a lot of things we would normally buy, like pencil cases, nappies, clothes for the girls etc.

I guess we can try to make a difference as best we can...

can you make your own bread with decent flour?
do you have a local farmers market?

some times it it better to by OS food then our own.. such as rice(rice shouldnt be grown in aus as it takes water that is needed for others)

yes it is ok to stick to your budget.

[QUOTE=Oorki Galoorki;2171139]some times it it better to by OS food then our own.. such as rice(rice shouldnt be grown in aus as it takes water that is needed for others)
[QUOTE]

sorry to go OT, but that is a common misconception of the rice industry. It's not the rice that takes away the water from others, it is Governments who oversold the water in the first place. There are also many areas where rice can be grown under natural rainfall such as Katherine and Darwin where rice was orginally intended to grow, but other pests such as Magpie geese and other water birds are in large enough populations that they eat all the seed and decimate the crops, so that is why rice growing was taken to the Riverina because the bird populations were not as large so the crops had half a chance to grow and there was a ready water supply and climate conditions were right. It was only when the industry outgrew the area and other industries took off that it became a problem when Govt after Govt sold too much water because they could see the $$ to be made.

I do what I can. Shop's own cheapest brand for most things. But I always buy non-caged eggs. Yes, a little bit more pricey, but that's one of the few things I won't skimp on any more. I home-bake as much as I can. Well, I have to - DS is allergic to most shop-bought treats. I organise recipes in advance, cost them out then see what I can cut down on within the recipe. What I can make stretch further. If I buy XYZ for this recipe, I can use X and Y the next day for another...

We also grow our own veggies in the summer: we only ran out of home-grown potatoes at Christmas time and still have some pumpkins to eat!

Leasha, I read somewhere the other day about someone having to budget and they found that having a set weekly meal planner saved them loads of money because they were only buying what they needed for the set meals for that week and she reckoned that it cut $100 off their grocery bill - would is be possible for you to try that and see how it goes or do you think it would be too hard to stick to a set meal each week? I know I couldn't do it LOL,

It depends where you're spending the money elsewhere in your life. If you needed to save the money so that you could go on a baby seal clubbing trip, or to put fuel in your 4 Hummers, or to funnel into your home-based child pornography business, then I'd say hang on....

But you're not. The cheapest laundry detergent you can buy is an enviro-friendly one. Same as cleaning products (bicarb and vinegar!) Someone mentioned farmers' markets for eggs, and it really is so much cheaper. You're cloth-bottoming your babe...

So put your guilt away, leash. Don't stress too hard over it. You alone can't save this world, and you're already doing what you can - which, most importantly, is setting a fantastic example for Jazz, just by considering it - so you're changing this world more than you think....

Thanks everyone :)

OG: we buy usually buy Australian made, but go fair trade where Australian made maynot be possible (I'd always thought rice shouldn't be grown in Australia because of the water so :) Thanks Trillian, I hadn't read about that before :hide:).

We do homebake, because Jazz and I both have intolerances to some major preservatives and flavours. We have been pretty lax with out meal planning/menu since I've been at work, Shel's just getting into the hang of things. We'll have to really get back into it, might make it easier to work out where we can buy ethically and still feed ourselves for the week.

Gonna have to get my butt into gear and work this out. We do a lot, local butcher which buys local meat and the green grocer attached to it buys local and Australian grown produce, both of which is important to us. I'm sure it can be done though. I worry about it a lot, especially when am talking to someone and start to go on about, for example, Nestle, and then realise "aw crap, my trolley looks like a home brand and Nestle advert" :hide: :redface:

ETA: NAAAWWW snuggley, you gave me warm and fuzzies :D :hug:

It will take a bit of practice, but I'm sure that you and Shel will be able to reach a healthy compromise on it - buy according to your ethics where you can and do a bit of research on which products meet that criteria and aren't that expensive and keep your eye out for specials on the stuff you can't regularly buy. I think I posted a link somewhere that listed all the australian made and owned products that you can buy through IGA stores and some of them are comparable in price to big imported names.

Budget always wins here

Budget wins here (although I have chosen 6 free range vs 12 cage eggs in the past because I just can't stand the thought of those unhappy chickens :()...but everything else I'm buying entirely to my budget.

I do however try to compensate by op-shopping & buying 2nd hand goods where I can, selling my own used things, and trying to be less of a rampant consumer generally. Not always successfully :redface: and I'm sure I have a long way to go, but I figure something is better than nothing.

I'm the same as so any on here. I would love to be able to buy australian made, organic, free range etc but our budget just doens't stretch to cover it. I do go to the farmers markets/fairs so guess that helps a little bit. Unfortunately at the moment I'm choosing food for my family over moral/ethical choices and I don't feel guilty about it at all - my family has to come first!

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. :rolleyes: 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.

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.

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.

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 :dance:
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.

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.

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.

budget wins out here too.

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I have a real thing about homebrand products and the supermarkets pushing small business out of the market. Soon we wont have a choice. :rolleyes: 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.

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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.

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.

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Just my experience here, but budget wins out.
Id love to be able to buy Australian made, fair trade, organic all the time, but ATM its just impossible.
We all do the best we can, and your family has to come first. In our case this means buying the most and best we can afford within our budget.

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I totally agree. IF and I stress IF there are markdown free range eggs, by golly they're mine! I'll use them first mind.

But I try and get the best bang for my buck that I can when shopping, as we are on an extreeeeeeemly tight budget

I used to go to the Chandler Markets, but now my payday is a few days before the weekend I work :( I'm now in the process of trying to stretch out what I have and saving my grocery shopping til my off weekend.. which is this weekend.. hmm can I do it?

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.

whats this about Nestle?

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.

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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.

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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.

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I would love chooks but DH is not keen.

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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 ...

Peanutter, TBH, all chooks need is a covered place to roost, where they cant be attacked by other critters.
You could lock them in your garden shed at night if you wanted too, if you could teach them where roost, then you could just put straw or woodshavings undertheir perch which you would clean out once a week. Bales of both are about $10 ea.
A bag of good quality food will set you back about $20 and last you 2-3 months for 3 chooks.
Chooks, you can buy from most produce stores for under $20 each or go direct to a breeder and buy a heritage breed that looks prettier and lays for longer (but prolly wont give you an egg a day- maybe 4-5 per week, but times 3 chooks is still over 1 doz per week) for $30-$50 per bird
If your yard is secure and you can fence off the vege patch and anything else you hold sacred/or is a bit fragile, then they can just freerange all day.
If you need to buy a pen/chicken tractor, expect to pay a minimum of $200 and a good one for $5-600. if you have a handy hubby, I can direct you to a great site.
Chooks are pretty easy...

a tractor?? why would I need a tractor??

mostly sounds good, but we actually don't have a garden shed ... but I've seen kits at Bunnings, which look like they'd be pretty user-friendly to construct ... the fence would be a bit trickier - unfortunately, DH and my "handy person" limit is Ikea furniture ... but we're pretty determined, and aren't afraid of hard work!!

will have to discuss ... I've got a couple of weeks off in May-June ... maybe a project would be good!