As I entered the store I put on my glasses so I could read the fine print on the packaging.... rice crackers made in Australia, in the trolley you go... tinned peaches from China, no thanks... breakfast cereals from Germany, you've got to be kidding! How many food miles does that involve?
Do they come by plane or ship?
What's wrong with Australian made cereal?
What's with all the weird brand names on the Australian made products!
Why do supermarkets need to sub-brand items?
Why are these items always cheaper than the manufacturer's brand?
Are they ripping our farmers off?
Does Aldi pay Australian taxes?
All these questions were doing my head in, so I grabbed a bag of potatoes, a carton of free range eggs, a free range chicken, a loaf of bread and got out of there!
For years I have tried to shop for Australian Owned, so as I drove home I wondered what had possessed me to even go to Aldi when I knew it was an overseas company.
I am finding it harder and harder to find the brands I want at Coles & Woolworths, so from now on I am going to buy the bulk of my groceries from my local independantly owned Supa IGA store. I might pay a few cents more but at least I know these companies are trying to make Australian products available to us.
Made in Australia – what does it mean?
Product of Australia – what does it mean?
Australian Grown – what does it mean?
Find the answers at - australiangrown.com
Fightback For Australia has a list of Aussie brands - fightbacknews.com.au
IGA stands for ’Independent Grocers of Australia’ - www.iga.net.au
4 comments:
I shop at Aldi. There are 2 stores near me. Depends on the day as to which one I use. I have to say that I was also disappointed with my first time visit as there seemed to be alot of overseas products there. Then I did a little research into the company. The vegetables/fruit/meat/smallgoods are ALL LOCAL. They strive for local perishables only. They do carry alot of Aust made tin and non-perishable if your willing to spend some time looking. After doing the research I decided to give them another go, I found alot of local and aust made/grown products and I am a regular shopper of Aldi now. The best thing is that their prices are exactly the same nationwide! I guess its just a comfort thing whether you choose Aldi, or wollies or coles. I prefer Aldi being on a very low income and most of the stuff that is placed in my trolley is aust or local and I dont have to contend with crowds, checkout lollies, eyerange tempatations and tricks that the big chains inherit to get you to spend more money than you wanted to. I am a proud Aldi shopper althought they are not Australian company, they do support Aust & local farmers, but each to their own.
xoxoxo
Hi CH,
Yes, we each have to do what works for us :-)
Aldi is actually out of the way for me. My closest supermarkets are Woolies, Coles and Super IGA, plus there's a BiLo in the same centre as my closest library, so I guess I'm fortunate to have a lot of choices where to spend my money ;-)
I usually shop at whichever is the most convenient on the day, depending on the direction I'm heading, whether I need a Post Office, chemist, library, visit the in-laws, etc.
For convenience sake I won't boycott the other stores completely, I'll just do the bulk of my grocery shopping at the Supa IGA or OnlyOZ.
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Bev
I agree totally with you on the shop locally sentiment. Though it is becoming harder and harder to do that here in the states. As more and more companies sell to oversea interests or move their factories to locations with cheaper labor. Its really sad that The owners of these companies are too busy looking at short term gain instead of the long term damages they are doing to our country.
Humm sorry got a little preachy there :P
Hi April,
I don't think you're being preachy at all :-)
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BevB
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