Shopping: an ethical minefield

Shopaholic Claire Holland asks: with the multitudes of ‘food ethics’ we are told to follow, is it sometimes easier and more convenient to just forget them all?

''Do you only shop in supermarkets and eat from fast food chains or do you buy your produce from local markets and ethical suppliers?'' ''We need to lobby those places most people go to for their weekly shop - the supermarkets!'' ''I think that maybe we need to choose which values are closest to our hearts.''

How ethical do you think you are? Do you always choose ethical foods and clothing or only when it’s convenient? Do you only shop in supermarkets and eat from fast food chains or do you buy your produce from local markets and ethical suppliers? Or do you, like me, fall somewhere in the middle in absolute confusion?

I am certainly not the most ethical of people, far from it in fact, but I do have my ethical ideals which I follow strictly, the main one being that for about five years now I have not eaten any Nestlé products. However, even this is not as easy as it sounds. Due to the way these things work many brands that are not labelled Nestlé are still owned by it.

I eat far more ethically when I’m at university in Norwich, mostly because the campus shops have a strong moral code, including: a ban on Nestlé and Coca-Cola products; promotion of Fairtrade goods; and actively encouraging the reuse of plastic carrier bags. Maybe this shows that in order for people to become more ethically aware we need to lobby those places most people go to for their weekly shop - the supermarkets!

There are so many different ethical codes you could follow when you go shopping. Will you avoid certain brands? Maybe you’ll shop with ‘food miles’ in mind? What about organic food? Fairtrade food? What about if you shop for food based on the treatment of animals?

It would be almost impossible to follow all of these. You would either starve or spend all your time shopping, though admittedly that doesn’t sound like the worst way to spend my time! I think that maybe we need to choose which values are closest to our hearts. If the treatment of animals is most important to you, you could ensure you only buy and consume free-range eggs and meat, or even become a vegetarian.

If your biggest concern is global warming and the environment you could focus on food miles and eating organic products where possible if, like me, you feel particularly strongly about the treatment of people, both in this country and in others, you could avoid unethical multinational companies and buy Fairtrade.

Because of the multitude of ‘food ethics’ it may sometimes be easier to just give up and opt for convenience all of the time, but remember - the most important thing is that you shop ethically some of the time, rather than none of the time.