Rooting through Ramsay's box

In the current economic climate the cost of a cabbage matters. Now the age-old student predicament of balancing low-cost living with green ethics has been compounded by the eagerly-awaited 'veg box' scheme, which helped put Adam Ramsay at the top of University of Edinburgh student politics.

A Journal investigation can reveal that the contents of the highly-publicized £9 veg-box—including a ten per cent student discount—from Damhead Farm can be bought from high street supermarkets for half the price.

Students are therefore being asked to choose between ethics and economics: environmentally friendly organic vegetables or low-cost pre-packaged produce from Tesco or Lidl.

While no one doubts Ramsay’s noble intentions or dares question the impeccable green credentials of his veg box it is worth noting that not all Damhead products are sourced locally – their tomatoes come from Spain, their courgettes from France.

Lidl’s was the cheapest highstreet alternative with an amount of vegetables equivalent to a Damhead delivery costing just £4.15. Tesco was a close second, coming in at £4.79. The Journal even managed to get organic onions and carrots in its Lidl basket. Taking into consideration the student discount, an organic savoy cabbage from Damhead costs £1.30 whilst from Tesco it cost 68p and at Lidl just 49p.

As a central tenet of his election manifesto, Mr Ramsay promised to “cut the cost of student living." The veg-box scheme, he claimed, would save students £350 a year.

In response to our investigation Mr Ramsay said: "Before the election I surveyed around 400 students about how they spend money. The average student surveyed spent £10 a week on veg. It may well be true that, if you buy in bulk or take the time to shop around, you can find cheaper deals."

“However, the evidence is that this isn't how most students shop. Box deliveries save money not just because they are relatively cheap, but also because they are delivered predictably."

"This helps you budget, and means you don't end up popping out to the corner shop late at night and paying through the nose.”

The previously buoyant organic foods market has become a casualty of the credit crunch. Farms planning to convert to organic methods have put changes on hold due to mounting costs and plummeting sales. The Soil Association, which certifies much of Britain's organic food production, said it expects sales growth of about five per cent this year, compared to 30 per cent in previous years. Veg boxes themselves, along with market stall sales, account for 25 per cent of the £1.1bn organics market.

This raises the question of whether veg-box schemes are just another fad of previously prosperous living. Do students have the ethical tenacity to pursue the organic cause when the chips are down? James Gerard the owner of Damhead Farm, however, isn't feeling the effects of a slump – quite the contrary. He said: “We have noticed that sales have increased substantially. Although people are reducing their spend they are also looking at what matters and thinking that their health is the foremost concern.”

Damhead’s success in the face of the prevailing economic climate owes something to the 262 Edinburgh University students who have signed up for the veg box. Mr Gerard said: “After Adam announced the veg-box project we had approximately 1343 hits on the website within the first day. I’m fitter than ever from running up and down stairs with all the boxes.”

He put forward the case for staying organic, saying: “Organic farming is not attached to the price of oil because it does not use fertilizers. There are 5000 chemicals to be found in conventional food, all of which have to be paid for.

“Lets think about end use value, supermarkets are very good at what they do – getting you to pile it high in the trolley. But waste is a huge problem. Our stuff is all fresh and when we say fresh we mean we are picking it from the countryside and it is within the home in eight hours.

“We start sourcing our product in Scotland and source locally where possible but make no apologies for importing where there is no alternative. We are buying from other organic producers across Europe. It means that we offer the same seasonal range for the same price all year round.”

The veg box predicament seems to draw together certain time honoured stereotypes; that of the liberal organic consumer and that of the penniless student. Herein lies the quandary.

However the judicious observer will note that there are other avenues of obtaining good local produce at minimal cost, ones which allow for the individual to chose what they purchase specifically without using environmentally unfriendly packaging and supporting a faceless corporation. Edinburgh has a multitude of small independently run green grocers and while there seems to be no consistent pricing structure there are some deals to be had.

Indeed, there is a school of thought which argues that it is a superlative endeavor to spend your money in small local businesses than over the internet. The Leith "Shop Local, Shop Smart" campaign recently outlined the benefits of supporting your local corner shop rather than cutting them out of the loop.

Moreover, the Damhead veg boxes—which turned out to be bags—have posed problems for the culinary creativity of many students. Giulia Zuzic, a fourth year student and a vegetarian who voted for Ramsay because of his veg bag scheme, was at a loss with what to do with her solitary Damhead leek. The only solution, she resolved, was soup. At the launch of the scheme during Green Week Ramsay, a qualified chef, demonstrated the veg bag’s practical applications by making a soup with more vegetables than a vegan's larder.

The website www.vegbox-recipes.co.uk features almost forty soup recipes. Our favourite looks to be the Halloween special, pumpkin soup; we’re looking forward to seeing a pumpkin fit in our veg bag.