Saturday, 26 May 2007

According to the Meteorological Office, this was to be the only half-decent day of the Bank Holiday weekend so we spent the day laying in supplies. While Jackie went on some other domestic errand, I started going around Asda alone. More from curiosity than from any lofty ideal, I decided to base my shopping decisions on broadly ethical considerations: what was healthy food, what was good for the environment, what was politically sound etc.

What a nightmare! Fair Trade bananas from the Windward Islands seemed a good decision, but surely flying bananas across the Atlantic can’t be good for global warming. Organic tomatoes from Spain or Fair Trade tomatoes from Africa? And what does “organic” mean anyway? I was really not very good at it all. I suspect that we have all got too used to having “everything all the time”. Heaven help us when the oil runs out. Or when the seas rise.

When Jackie caught up with me at the check-outs. She was not impressed: Why have we paid £1.29 for two peppers? No, I’ll rephrase that: have we won the Lottery?