Ecological and organic - but not quite.......

I watched a fairly in-depth documentary on French television last night, featuring two groups of citizens who had decided 'to go ecological'. The first concerned a largish family who had built their own house, using the latest materials, to ensure that it was self-sufficient in terms of heating, cooling and maitenance. They had installed a series of solar panels in the garden (fairly ugly and I am surprised they got planning permission!), had built a water wheel in a fast running nearby stream (unclear who it belonged to or again whether planning permission was sought or given), and were in the process of improving the drain pipes and guttering on their roof to collect rain water in an underground tank.

What I found most disappointing is that their whole set-up was built around producing and consuming meat - chickens were reared for their eggs and their meat, along with several sheep and cows whose destiny was not explained.

The second case study appeared to revolve around hydroponics (growing plants in water rather than in the soild) and again seemed to be centered on producing feed for animals, which were reared for their meat.

What the documentary failed to tell viewers is the high cost of feeding (vegetable) protein - 50% of which goes to feed animals - in order to produce meat (10 grams produce only 1 gram of meat) when it is clearly cheaper and ecologically sound for humans to eat the vegetable proteins direct and reduce the production and consumption of meat, currently estimated at 100kg per person per year in France!

Posted by peterdanton@orange.fr

French cities going green ....literally!

French cities are vying with each other to create more wide open, green spaces, as part of their effort to combat air pollution and help reduce excessively high temperatures such as those  of the 40 degree heatwave in 2003, responsible for the deaths of over 15,000 people.

Not surprisingly one of the pioneers of this movement is the city of Paris, with a mixture of tree planting, opening up more green spaces and encouraging the installation of 'green roofs' - the use of grass and other vegetation on the roofs of schools, office blocks and other public buildings.

Although the city is well blessed with open spaces, the two largest being the bois de Boulogne and the bois de Vincennes, both located far from the city centre,  Paris lacks a variety of smaller open spaces, easily reachable by the public, for examples during a lunch break.  The two famous bois alone account for 70% of the city's open spaces.

Paris's norther outskirts are particularly short of open spaces and the city also suffers from suburban blight due to the apparently unrestrained development of huge out of town shopping centers which ring the capital, and increasing demands for more transport infrastructure such as roads and rail.

As a result during a typical summer heatwave there can be a difference of 8 degrees or more (higher) between parts of the inner city centre and a typical built-up sector. Cooling these spaces is not cheap and uses large amounts of energy - for example for refrigeration and air conditioning - and to provide insulation and double glazing increases construction costs.

With 75% of French now living in urban areas (compared to the countryside) inner-city pollution is becoming an increasing threat and a drain on healthcare costs. However some successes are already being reported including a reduction of the incidence of asthma.

Another encouraing sign is the growth of healthy eating and organic food production* and the development of small urban 'grow your own' allotments managed by the local community.

Finally it goes without saying that greener cities make more pleasant places to live in and can add to the value of your property investment.


* For more information see my recent post here about France's 'organic revolution' and my article in 'French Property News' issue 314, April 2017, pp 50-52.
And also Alternatives Economiques No. 367, Aptril 2017, pp 58-60 by Bénédice Weiss, who offers further sources.

Posted by peterdanton@orange.fr

Supermarket shopping in France - food sales up, non-food down....

A survey by Nielsen research published today in LeFigaro* notes that French supermarkets and hypermarkets are holding their own and even increasing their sales in virtually all sectors, particularly food, but losing sales (by 6.5 per cent) of electric and electronic goods to online suppliers and specialist retailers.

The growth in food sales is due to increases in the sale of fresh produce, emphasis on local suppliers and extension of their range of organic (bio) products. Sales of packet goods such as cornflakes are also up, together with bakery items and wines. Household necessities such as cleaning materials, toilet rolls, soaps nd shampoos, are also popular supermarket buys.

Although facing competition from online sales in several sectors, further research reported in LeFigaro shows that in over 70% of cases - an analysis of 24,000 products in over 56 supermarket chains - prices online were the same as those in the supermarkets.

Electric and electronic goods - TV, phones, fridge/freezers etc - are most popularly bought via specialist supermarkets which offer pre-selection via their online catalogue - and 'discounts'.


In the case of online shopping, one of the major drawbacks cited is the process of delivery to your home, which means waiting-in for the delivery which often does not arrive on the day or at the time agreed. The sector also suffers from high levels of returns, disputes over payments and/or product discription, and the potential for online fraud (bogus suppliers through to stolen credit cards).

In the fresh food sector, competition includes direct selling of local (organic) produce from 'farm shops', local delivery and co-operative buying.

Shopping around offers numerous alternatives for the consumer.

* LeFigaro.fr

Posted by peterdanton@orange.fr

France still a nation of meat eaters.....

I wrote recently about about the growing organic (bio) movement in France and that there were encouraging signs that consumption of meat in France was showing a slight decline, which started several decades ago, after the end of the war and the post-war boom years up to 1980.

Sadly - for vegetarians like me at least - latest figures show that the average consumption per head is now 86 kilograms annually and that 3 million animals per day (or 1 billion annually) are slaughtered in French abattoirs in order to keep pace with this demand.

These figures and other revelations - for example, that only 20% of abattoirs inspected by the authorities conformed to current regulations - are revealed in a French TV programme next Tuesday 28 March, if you have the stamina to watch it.

'Le Monde en Face' series, Channel 5, Tuesday 29 March 2017, 20.50, followed by a discussion at 22.00.

Posted by peterdanton@orange.fr

Video shows inner city regeneration can be achieved

Having written recently about the decline of city centres - including my home town - and how it affects people's income, jobs and lives, I am specially happy to recomment a vido by American film-maker Kirsten Dirksen, which you can watch via Youtube or on her blog.*

The 30 minutes-plus film traces the history of a citizens' revival plan of the main street in a small urban community in Water Valley, Mississippi, where over a couple of decades some 18 retail stores and businesses had closed, creating a lifeless, ugly Hight Street.

It was largely a private initiative to start with which gathered in numbers and strength to create a local business association, which succeeded in renovating 29 solid brick-built buildings and opening a variety of small businesses - among them a restaurant, drugstore, art galley, a boutqie hotel, apartments,  and a 10,000 squate feet 'alternative' supermarket selling fresh, locally produced foods and fighting off a challenge from Walmart.

Local jobs have been created and as one observer notes Saturday nights see the whole area crowded with people - many of them students at the local State University.

The video offers a tour of several of the buildings before, during and after renovation and is a heartening reminder of what can be done when determined local people get together to bring about change.

* Kirsten's blog is: faircompanies.com Select under 'Categories' 'videos' - it is the latest currently posted on her site. Commentary is in English.

Posted by peterdanton@orange.fr

The price of a French 'veggie-burger' - will shock you!

As reported in an earlier post, France is undergoing a veritable organic food revolution and a TV programme* on Channel 6 last night went behind the scenes to reveal a number of its hidden aspects.

- First, the consumption of meat has dropped by 7% since this time last year with sales of organic (bio in French) products are up by 20%. While very few French are actually vegetarian or vegan, there is a growing class of 'occasional veggie' eaters - known as 'flexitarians' - who try and eat a vegetable based product once a week.

- These changes are largely the result of the growing popularity of the 'veggie-burger' which looks and tastes like the real thing, but is in fact made of soya based ingredients and vegetables such as tomatoes (which can give the product a meat colour).  

- Virtually all the major manufacturers of meat-based products have started producing vegetable versions of burgers, sausages, 'chicken' nuggets etc.

- What the programme makers described as 'scandalous' is that while producing the vegetables alternatives costs less than half that of the meat versions - they are sold by retailers at double the price! The same higher prices are found in restaurants and snack bars offering veggie-burgers on their menus.

- Some manufacters and retailers (supermarkets especially) are however starting to compete with their own-brand cheaper versions.

- Retailers selling organic vegetables are sadly still insisting on uniform colour and shape of raw vegetables, with one producer noting that as a result 30% of his carrots never reach the shops and are sold as cattle food. It may be some time before retailers realise that for many vegetarians odd sizes or shapes are not a problem and even add a certain authenticity to the product.

- The second part of the TV programme focussed on the amazing rise in popularity of almonds - mainly from California - where prices have more than quadrupled in the last 12 months. Once again many almond based products such as 'milk' cost much less to produce but are sold at one-third more at the retail level.

* 'Capital' Channel 6 (France) Sunday 20 November 2016.

Posted bt peterdanton@orange.fr