So i went to Preston Markets this morning to get my vegetables as my local organic store is still shut for the summer break. It is only two stops on the train line from my house. The amazing thing about these markets is how the older Eastern European and Russian communities are still active in this market. You see the older folk meeting and having coffee together and speaking in their Slavic languages – i love it – you dont get it concentrated anywhere else in Melbourne.
I decided to try and stick hard to the rules I have set myself – i went to the organic fruit and veg store and bought completely organic and also local (didn’t buy any tropical fruit – argh I love mangos). I bought a rye loaf from the bakery (made in the bakery) and some fresh pasta and fetta from the deli. The bread came in a paper bag but the pasta and fetta came in plastic…damn it. I also went to the grain store to try and buy bulk grain, pulses or rice but it was ALL in plastic. There was some rice in a woven material bag that had come from India (lovely lovely), but it was too big to take home on the train. Are there any bulk grain places in Melbourne?, maybe I will look at the Vic markets in the City which has a dedicated organic section.
This site has great information on seasonal produce which has been helping me with the kind of foods to buy as they are local. One surprise was that avocado is grown in Victoria?? I thought it would be too cold.
And just on the local vs waste vs organic battle here is an interesting article about ‘food miles‘. It makes me swing back towards favouring local above organic simply due to the fossil fuels being burnt to bring the food to Australia by ship or interstate by road train. I think the thought that makes me want organic so much is how much damage the drought and unsustainable farming has done to the land and I really want to support a practice of food production that considers this.
