farmdoc's blog post number 139

Last Monday night when Sweetheart Vivienne and I were watching a DVD, a dreaded blue-screen crash occurred. Not knowing whether or not the DVD caused the crash, we decided not to run that DVD again. So the next night we streamed from the internet last Monday’s episode of Four Corners. To quote the ABC’s programme blurb, ‘The Price We Pay’ shows the results of Four Corners’ investigation into how the astonishing market dominance of Woolworth’s and Coles supermarkets affects consumers, suppliers and the nation’s food bowl. This supermarket duopoly may benefit consumers in the short-term, but because it’s terrible for suppliers and therefore Australia’s food bowl, consumers will suffer from it too in the medium-term and beyond. And a recent ACC inquiry was a rubber stamp for the status quo, in the blind and obedient interest of big business and ideologically moronic competition policy. All very depressing, really. At least darling Meg and PJ do the intelligent thing by avoiding supermarkets altogether. Good for them. Recently Meg sent me the latest blog post – titled ‘Strange Fruit’ – from George Monbiot. Monbiot is a self-confessed fructivist who knows that supermarket fruit is selected for how well it travels, and it’s picked before it’s ripe. Ergo, he concludes, the only way to get wonderful tasting fruit is to grow it yourself. Last Wednesday PJ planted fruit trees. How delicious!