Chef wants to outlaw out-of-season vegetables

Reuters

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LONDON (Reuters) - Celebrity British chef Gordon Ramsay said restaurants should be fined if they serve out-of-season fruit and vegetables. </img>
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Reuters
 

Praxius

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Dec 18, 2007
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"I don't want to see asparagus in the middle of December. I don't want to see strawberries from Kenya in the middle of March. I want to see it home-grown," he said after raising his concerns with Prime Minister Gordon Brown.

"Fruit and veg should be seasonal. Chefs should be fined if they don't have ingredients in season on their menu," he told the BBC on Friday.

Ramsay, whose London restaurants include Petrus and The Savoy Grill, said Britain had become a nation of lazy eaters who followed trends and fads rather than substance.
"There should be stringent laws, licensing laws, to make sure produce is only used in season and season only," he added.

What and idiot. Unless he's got a better reason besides him not liking it, he should kiss everyone's arse.
 

karrie

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I guess it all boils down to one simple question.... 'is protectionism wrong?'

Because as near as I can tell, that's the only major argument against importing fruits and vegetables... protecting local growers from competition.
 

MikeyDB

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Frankly I'm surprised that Darkbeaver who used-to stand-up for vegetables rights, hasn't taken up this thread to promote his cause!
 

#juan

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I see nothing wrong with wanting fruits and vegetables "in season". For one thing, local strawberries are far superior to imported berries that have been shipped early so they will survive the trip. In B.C. we often get California or Florida strawberries that look wonderful but compared to locally ripened berries, they taste like a potato. I'm not saying that California or Florida can't grow srawberries because they grow some of the best in the world. I just wish they wouldn't dump them on our market
 

eh1eh

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Aug 31, 2006
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I agree #jaun, I find those berries are also a bit sour. I like my fruit sweet. That Ramsey dude is a media hungry asshat, although his intent is well founded.
 

Sal

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"I don't want to see asparagus in the middle of December. I don't want to see strawberries from Kenya in the middle of March. I want to see it home-grown," he said after raising his concerns with Prime Minister Gordon Brown.
There are an awful lot of I's in there. Not a big surprise for anyone who has flashed past his show when changing channels.
"Fruit and veg should be seasonal. Chefs should be fined if they don't have ingredients in season on their menu," he told the BBC on Friday.
It is not up to him whether or not strawberries should be available for me to order in mid March. It is up to him to ensure that what I order is clean and contaminant free. So far the industry isn't doing so well with that.

He should stick to what he knows best and fix that first.

If local farmers are suffering, then ensure the menu is an 80/20 split or some such divide. But dictating what another may put on a menu is well out of his bounds (I hope).
 

karrie

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But dictating what another may put on a menu is well out of his bounds (I hope).

I bet he'll have an influence Sal. And you'll see more and more people piping up like this under various umbrella excuses. Pollution, fair trade, pesticide use, fuel scarcity.... the list of reasons to buy local is huge, and more and more people are pushing it.
 

Sal

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I bet he'll have an influence Sal. And you'll see more and more people piping up like this under various umbrella excuses. Pollution, fair trade, pesticide use, fuel scarcity.... the list of reasons to buy local is huge, and more and more people are pushing it.

While I have no problem with people pushing an agenda, I do have a problem with people forcing or legislating a behaviour.

To fine a restuarant because of their menu choice, possibly crippling their ability to compete in a free market is akin to communism/facism.

If we allow this to happen, then we deserve everything that will follow with regard to the erosion of our freedom. It may seem minor but it is insidious none the less.
 

karrie

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While I have no problem with people pushing an agenda, I do have a problem with people forcing or legislating a behaviour.

To fine a restuarant because of their menu choice, possibly crippling their ability to compete in a free market is akin to communism/facism.

If we allow this to happen, then we deserve everything that will follow with regard to the erosion of our freedom. It may seem minor but it is insidious none the less.

It is insidious. I agree completely. Protectionism usually is. Canada's looking at doing it right now, only they'd call it a 'tariff' rather than a fine. 'Environmental tariffs' on Chinese goods are nothing short of protectionism, trying to make sure that Canadian businesses meeting environmental standards can compete against companies that don't bother.
 

Sal

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It is insidious. I agree completely. Protectionism usually is. Canada's looking at doing it right now, only they'd call it a 'tariff' rather than a fine. 'Environmental tariffs' on Chinese goods are nothing short of protectionism, trying to make sure that Canadian businesses meeting environmental standards can compete against companies that don't bother.

I don't have as much problem with a tariff as this egocentric fool. If you want to protect local farmers..okay, ....hell we should. We need to get past the corporate greed and need to import and help ourselves first, particularly the little guy. And our own farmers compared to corporations are the little guy.

So then ensure that the imports are comparatively high in price and that the consumer pays through the nose.......no problem. But to put it out of reach of the consumer ..... well that's where things become very, very, controlled. And very, very scary. It's a form of paternalism, and any paternalism is dangerous.
 

#juan

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As yet we don't grow oranges or bananas in Canada. Import all the oranges and bananas you want from anywhere you want as long as the things are clean and not toxic sprayed. God! Do we have to protect our own farmers with fines? We should be buying Canadian whenever we can without any bloody fines.
 

Sal

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We should be buying Canadian whenever we can without any bloody fines.

It is irritating when picking out fruit and sometimes the imports are lower in price......

Also........ case in point.... a local grocery store in my area was out of pumpkins last October. A local farmer had tons of them. He approached Zehrs...... they had a contract to buy with another.......thus he couldn't sell to Zehrs and their customers had no pumpkins.

Corporate snafus at their best.
 

Outta here

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Jul 8, 2005
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Exactly Juan - we should be buying local as much as possible. I'll always choose the most locally produced over the imported stuff.

Talk of legislating our imports though isn't just ridiculous, it's worrisome. As already pointed out it sets an ugly precedent. It seems quite unnecessary to entertain such things - with the cost of shipping rising ever higher, now is a good time for local producers bump up their own production. They can't lose when factoring in the cost of transport on imports. If we have an abundant and fresh selection of competitively priced produce, there'll be an automatic shift in buying habits without ever having to legislate a thing.
 

Outta here

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He approached Zehrs...... they had a contract to buy with another.......thus he couldn't sell to Zehrs and their customers had no pumpkins.

Corporate snafus at their best.

If we're gonna legislate anything, it should be the eradication of corporate policies like that.
 

Sal

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If we're gonna legislate anything, it should be the eradication of corporate policies like that.
Now that kind of legislation I could stand behind.

The farmer was on the news and they gave his farm location so hopefully he made out like a bandit.......but who knows.