Lately, I've been noticing more and more the insanity surrounding the origin of products. There are grapes from India, asparagus from Peru and Mexico (I didn't even know that these countries grow asparagus), blueberries from Morocco, berries all year round from countries that probably don't even know about these berries. I just find it a bit paradoxical that people describe themselves as increasingly environmentally conscious and then support these foods being transported halfway around the world to satisfy a few people who don't even know when which food is in season. I'd like to see much more support for these products from local producers or closer to home so that not all fruit and vegetables are always available on the shelves. That used to be the case and I have survived to this day. Above all, some of these fruits and vegetables are inedible because they are picked so unripe, have zero flavor and after a few days you can throw everything away because these fruits and vegetables never ripen but go straight from unripe to rotten.
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There seems to be a worldwide demand for such products, and it looks like there is in Switzerland too, but it can hardly be "just a few people"... And these days, everything should/must be available all year round if possible. The majority probably don't care much about the environment, and the majority don't seem to care where the products come from, the main thing is that they are available for as long as possible, regardless of whether they are in season or not (the same discussion could be had with SUVs)... I don't condemn anyone who buys such products, please don't misunderstand, everyone should buy what they want. But where I agree with you is that you can't claim to be environmentally conscious and then buy such products, then I think you should just admit that you buy such products and that you are perhaps environmentally conscious/more environmentally conscious in other ways (e.g. driving an electric car, only using public transport or cycling to work, etc.). As long as you have such products available, some of which are massively cheaper than domestic products, nothing is likely to change. And it looks like demand and customer needs have changed, people want such products, otherwise you would hardly find them on the shelves in Migros, Coop, etc. I also try to support domestic products as much as I can, but unfortunately my modest wallet doesn't always allow me to do so... The "not all fruit and vegetables are always available on the shelves" thing is one of those things; as long as the competition offers such products, no Migros, Coop etc. will refrain from taking them off the shelves; and obviously there must be a (high) demand from customers, otherwise such products would have disappeared from the shelves long ago... As you say, it used to be possible, but then was then, and now is now, times change. It's partly true that these fruits/vegetables are inedible; but I can say the same about some of the domestic, seasonally available fruits/vegetables (e.g. last year I bought some from a farmer directly from his farm). last year I bought 1kg of cherries from a farmer directly from his farm - when they were in season nota bene, they were totally tasteless and inedible, I then gave them to a colleague who likes to make her own jam instead of disposing of them in the green waste, and these cherries really weren't cheap). And the latter are practically always a lot more expensive than the non-domestic fruit/vegetables, and if I have to throw away domestic fruit/vegetables because they are inedible, rotten, moldy or similar, then I am very upset, especially my modest wallet... And what you also have to bear in mind is that there are many people who can't afford (expensive) domestic fruit/vegetables due to a lack of funds and are therefore happy to buy cheap/cheaper foreign produce. I don't need to mention shopping tourism in countries close to the border (France, Germany, etc.)... Ultimately, everything has its pros and cons.
There seems to be a worldwide demand for such products, and it looks like there is in Switzerland too, but it can hardly be "just a few people"... And these days, everything should/must be available all year round if possible. The majority probably don't care much about the environment, and the majority don't seem to care where the products come from, the main thing is that they are available for as long as possible, regardless of whether they are in season or not (the same discussion could be had with SUVs)... I don't condemn anyone who buys such products, please don't misunderstand, everyone should buy what they want. But where I agree with you is that you can't claim to be environmentally conscious and then buy such products, then I think you should just admit that you buy such products and that you are perhaps environmentally conscious/more environmentally conscious in other ways (e.g. driving an electric car, only using public transport or cycling to work, etc.). As long as you have such products available, some of which are massively cheaper than domestic products, nothing is likely to change. And it looks like demand and customer needs have changed, people want such products, otherwise you would hardly find them on the shelves in Migros, Coop, etc. I also try to support domestic products as much as I can, but unfortunately my modest wallet doesn't always allow me to do so... The "not all fruit and vegetables are always available on the shelves" thing is one of those things; as long as the competition offers such products, no Migros, Coop etc. will refrain from taking them off the shelves; and obviously there must be a (high) demand from customers, otherwise such products would have disappeared from the shelves long ago... As you say, it used to be possible, but then was then, and now is now, times change. It's partly true that these fruits/vegetables are inedible; but I can say the same about some of the domestic, seasonally available fruits/vegetables (e.g. last year I bought some from a farmer directly from his farm). last year I bought 1kg of cherries from a farmer directly from his farm - when they were in season nota bene, they were totally tasteless and inedible, I then gave them to a colleague who likes to make her own jam instead of disposing of them in the green waste, and these cherries really weren't cheap). And the latter are practically always a lot more expensive than the non-domestic fruit/vegetables, and if I have to throw away domestic fruit/vegetables because they are inedible, rotten, moldy or similar, then I am very upset, especially my modest wallet... And what you also have to bear in mind is that there are many people who can't afford (expensive) domestic fruit/vegetables due to a lack of funds and are therefore happy to buy cheap/cheaper foreign produce. I don't need to mention shopping tourism in countries close to the border (France, Germany, etc.)... Ultimately, everything has its pros and cons.
I agree with you that the fruits are only for the eye but not for eating. Fruits that are edible can be counted on one hand, the rest are useless for me and apparently for others ????? too
Hello krabi, thank you very much for your message. I appreciate you giving us the opportunity to comment. I am happy to provide you with the following information: if a product from Switzerland is in season and there is sufficient good quality produce available from local cultivation, then domestic produce takes priority. It is not for nothing that Migros is an important partner of Swiss agriculture. We endeavor to help market the entire domestic production. If there are not enough stocks, we resort to imports. We are aware that there are people who consider this unnecessary. For many, however, the availability of such goods is important. So that you can decide for yourself which items you want to buy, we provide the necessary information on their origin. Kind regards, Tabea