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Fruit and Vegetables

The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FOA) estimates that one-third of all food produced globally every year – which amounts to a staggering 1.3 billion tonnes – is wasted. A large part of that can be attributed to fruit and vegetable production, as up to 40% of vegetable crops are rejected simply because they do not meet the arbitrary, but extremely stringent, aesthetic requirements laid down by supermarkets. In this country, farmers are forced to throw away tonnes and tonnes of perfectly good produce that the supermarkets deem to be unsaleable, which means they have to constantly overproduce in order to meet targets. Not only is this a criminal waste of food, it’s a catastrophic waste of all the resources that go into growing them! I truly feel that this kind of squandering can no longer be accepted as normal.

Supermarkets sell 85% of the fruit and vegetables we buy, so they have a stranglehold on the farmers who produce them. Whenever possible I recommend that you try to buy fruit and vegetables from local greengrocers’ or farmers’ markets – or that you investigate the many great veg box schemes now available. We need to fight the supermarkets’ tyrannical rule! I could go on about how corrupt the supermarkets have become in trying to offer cheap, poor-quality produce for ‘the masses’, but I’ll simply say that their commercial methods have produced an abhorrent version of economic colonialism that dominates the agricultural industries of less affluent countries. It is important for people to be able to buy affordable fresh fruit and vegetables, but the cost to the producers, the economy and the environment is unaffordably high.

The responsible modern consumer who is eating more fruit and vegetables than previously, needs to consider the resources required to produce these crops in an ethical and sustainable way. This can be even more important for fruit and vegetables than meat and fish. What is the cost of the resources required to grow these crops that may not be produced in their natural environments? Are the rights of the growers, pickers and other labourers fairly respected, and how much plastic packaging is involved? We now know that most soy is grown to feed livestock reared for meat and that soy farms have almost as detrimental an effect on the environment as meat and dairy farms. There are many reasons for this, but the quantity of water required to grow soy is a key factor.

Does this mean we should not eat soy products? Of course not, but we do need to know the kind of farm on which the soy we eat has been grown. Soy was one of the first food plants to be genetically modified and we can look for non-GMO soy, but is that enough? Finding out the facts and deciding what to buy and eat is difficult. There is a minefield of information out there and my brain is hurting even writing this. We can only do our best and buy the best we can afford. The sad truth is that the best-tasting and most nutritious food, which is slow-grown in the way nature intended, is expensive. So how do we address this if we want to eat well but affordably?

I admit that it’s unrealistic to expect everyone to be virtuous all the time, and part of the joy of the modern world is that we have access to exotic fruits, vegetables and other produce, but I do think we should all aim to buy seasonal, locally-sourced produce whenever possible. Produce that has travelled shorter distances and been stored for less time should be cheaper, helped by a glut when a particular crop is in season. Unfortunately, smaller farmers have a hard time competing with more extensive farms that can produce crops more cheaply because of their vast scale, so prices have shot up.

Looking beyond the supermarkets is also a great way to discover new varieties and flavours. For example, there are more than 2,200 varieties of apple, all with their own unique characteristics, and the supermarkets usually sell only about five of them, with just one in three grown in the UK. That is crazy when you consider that this country has grown apples for centuries – and it also means that we as consumers are missing out!

Although I fully support the ethos of organic farming – and even biodynamic farming for that matter – I believe that there is a lot of misleading information about organic produce, and that organic doesn’t always mean the best. Much of the land certified as organic soil can retain previously applied synthetic chemicals for decades, meaning that produce from that land will contain them too. Also, pollination often contaminates the soil, although regulations frequently allow the produce grown in it to be sold under the organic banner. Of course I am greatly in favour of organic farmers’ generally higher standards and consideration for the environment, but organic methods don’t always produce the best crops, so I look for producers who have slow-grown their harvests.

A monthly guide to which fruits and vegetables are in season

January

apples, beetroot, blood oranges, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, celeriac, chicory, clementines, grapefruit, Jerusalem artichokes, kale, leeks, mushrooms, parsnips, pears, pomegranates, potatoes, rhubarb, satsumas, spring onions, squash, swedes, turnips

February

blood oranges, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, celeriac, chicory, clementines, grapefruit, Jerusalem artichokes, kale, kiwi fruit, kohlrabi, leeks, lemons, oranges, parsnips, passion fruit, pineapples, pomegranates, potatoes, purple sprouting broccoli, rhubarb, salsify, shallots, swede, truffles (black), turnips

March

beetroot, blood oranges, cabbage, cauliflower, chicory, cucumber, grapefruit, Jerusalem artichokes, kale, leeks, nettles, oranges, parsnips, pineapples, purple sprouting broccoli, radishes, rhubarb, sorrel, spinach, spring greens, spring onions, watercress

April

beetroot, cabbage, chicory, grapefruit, Jerusalem artichokes, kale, morel mushrooms, new potatoes, parsnips, rhubarb, rocket, sorrel, spinach, spring greens, spring onions, watercress

May

apricots, asparagus, aubergines, beetroot, chicory, chillies, elderflowers, globe artichokes, grapefruit, lettuce, marrow, new potatoes, nectarines, peas, peppers, radishes, rhubarb, rocket, samphire, sorrel, spinach, spring greens, spring onions, strawberries, watercress

June

apricots, asparagus, aubergines, beetroot, blackcurrants, broad beans, broccoli, carrots, cauliflower, cherries, chicory, chillies, courgettes, cucumber, elderflowers, fennel, globe artichokes, gooseberries, lettuce, marrows, nectarines, new potatoes, peas, peppers, radishes, raspberries, redcurrants, rhubarb, rocket, runner beans, sorrel, spring greens, spring onions, strawberries, summer squash, Swiss chard, turnips, watercress

July

apricots, aubergines, beetroot, blackberries, blackcurrants, blueberries, broad beans, broccoli, carrots, cavolo nero, cauliflower, cherries, chicory, chillies, courgettes, cucumbers, fennel, French beans, garlic, globe artichokes, gooseberries, greengages, loganberries, new potatoes, onions, peas, potatoes, radishes, raspberries, redcurrants, rhubarb, rocket, runner beans, samphire, sorrel, spring onions, strawberries, summer squash, Swiss chard, tomatoes, turnips, watercress

August

apricots, aubergines, beetroot, blackberries, blackcurrants, broad beans, broccoli, carrots, cauliflower, cavolo nero, celery, cherries, chicory, chillies, courgettes, cucumbers, damsons, fennel, figs, French beans, garlic, globe artichokes, greengages, leeks, lettuce, mangetouts, marrows, mushrooms, parsnips, peas, peppers, plums, potatoes, pumpkins, radishes, raspberries, redcurrants, rhubarb, rocket, runner beans, samphire, sorrel, spring greens, spring onions, strawberries, summer squash, sweetcorn, Swiss chard, tomatoes, watercress

September

apples, apricots, aubergines, beetroot, blackberries, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, butternut squash, carrots, cavolo nero, cauliflower, celery, courgettes, chicory, chillies, cucumbers, damsons, fennel, fig, garlic, globe artichokes, leeks, lettuce, mangetouts, marrows, onions, parsnips, pears, peas, peppers, plums, potatoes, pumpkins, radishes, raspberries, rhubarb, rocket, runner beans, samphire, sorrel, spinach, spring greens, spring onions, strawberries, summer squash, sweetcorn, Swiss chard, tomatoes, turnips, watercress, wild mushrooms

October

apples, aubergines, beetroot, blackberries, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, butternut squash, carrots, cauliflower, cavolo nero, celeriac, celery, chestnuts, chicory, chillies, courgettes, cranberries, cucumbers, elderberries, figs, kale, leeks, lettuce, marrow, onions, parsnips, pears, peas, potatoes, pumpkins, radishes, rocket, runner beans, spinach, spring greens, spring onions, summer squash, swede, Swiss chard, tomatoes, turnips, watercress, wild mushrooms, winter squash

November

apples, beetroot, Brussels sprouts, butternut squash, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, celeriac, celery, chestnuts, chicory, cranberries, elderberries, Jerusalem artichokes, kale, leeks, onions, parsnips, pears, potatoes, pumpkins, swede, Swiss chard, turnips, watercress, wild mushrooms, winter squash

December

apples, beetroot, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, celeriac, celery, chestnuts, clementines, cauliflower, cranberries, dates, grapefruit, Jerusalem artichokes, kale, onions, raddichio, quince, parsnips, pears, pomegranates, pumpkins, salsify, swede, sweet potato