Forum Topic

khan and tomatoes

Hasn't he anything better to rant about than tomatoes, or lack of them? All down to Brexit , obviously. What a wally.

Barbara Shillabeer ● 838d25 Comments

Many have probably eaten cochineal in the form of carmine (pink/red) food dyes, although I think it's going out of favour as it's not veggie or vegan, some consider it haraam and a few people are apparently allergic to it (ref: Wikipedia). If one's going to eat meat, why not insects? For the avoidance of doubt, vegans don't eat insects or their products :-)

Michael Ixer ● 836d

My father would call those extra protein.  I wasn't so keen. I've eaten insects and no big deal, it upsets me more that so many animals are reared for eat and then their meat is wasted.  We need to change the concept that it is acceptable to order and waste large amounts and also as I have seen in America eat vastly unnecessary amounts at a time.

Philippa Bond ● 836d

Don't most insects get their vegan meals on our cabbages and kale, etc?

Michael Ixer ● 837d

No, they will all be vegan insect meals  Yuk!

Barbara Shillabeer ● 837d

You do need to walk along the aisles with a magnifying glass nowadays to work out not just the origins of the produce but sometimes even more info - like whether something is cooked and ready to eat. It could be better marked so that we can choose just like we can (or could) with the Union Jack and Red Tractor Logo. Unless we support our farmers and pay them a decent price for their produce we won't have any farmers left.

Philippa Bond ● 837d

It looks like the 1949 the Labour government allowed LEAs to charge 6d according to some sources but missed out on others.https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/comment/do-we-still-need-school-dinners-8577039.htmlhttps://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/david-laws-talks-about-universal-infant-free-school-meals

Ed Robinson ● 837d

I started  school in 1959 and never received free school meals as far as I recall and didnt go home for lunch as no one there both out at work.

Andy Pike ● 837d

Michael you could be right about the 50's and 60's, but free school meals system already exists and is a statutory requirement.Meals are provided and administered by the school/local authority so it is just a budget thing.https://www.gov.uk/apply-free-school-meals

Ed Robinson ● 837d

Correct Matt Tower Hamlets already does this.The Mayor will not be providing the meals the local authorities will, so it is just handing back money that was raised from council tax.Tower Hamlets the poorest London Borough was won back by Lutfur Rahman. Love him or hate him he found that the Labour run borough was not only sitting on large reserves but lending it out to other councils.How much reserves a local authority should have is beyond me but local authorities get most their funding from central government depending upon certain formulae. His view was they were getting the money and not spending it whilst cutting services."London boroughs Newham, Islington, Southwark and Tower Hamlets already offer universal primary school free school meals, and Westminster started offering them for 18 months from last month"https://www.london.gov.uk/mayor-announces-every-london-primary-schoolchild-receive-free-school-mealshttps://www.mylondon.news/news/east-london-news/tower-hamlets-council-loaned-out-23661148

Ed Robinson ● 837d

Ed, just to clarify I think many (most?) children in London in the late 1950s went home for lunch, when I had schools dinners in Essex after 1960 I remember taking "dinner money" to school so I guess free meals were means tested? I also remember many taking their own sandwiches for lunch - a cheaper option, so I'm not sure how one qualified for free meals. I suspect these days, as Matt says, the mechanism for paying for school meals would cost as much as supplying the meals ... just think of the charges if the auditing was done by one of the big four accountancy firms :-)

Michael Ixer ● 837d

Ha, Ha,

Barbara Stevens ● 837d

Well i wondered about that but i'm not sure the mayor has access to that data?"Tower Hamlets already provides universal school meals for all primary schools."so not means tested then?

Matt Palmer ● 837d

Matt,the system already exists for means tested school meals and has done since universal school meals was abolished in the sixties.Tower Hamlets already provides universal school meals for all primary schools.The UK used to at least from post WWII until the 60's.Sweden, China an India and a number of other countries provide universal school meals.Perhaps in the spirit of 'Thatcher the milk snatcher' it will be 'Khan the hot lunch provider' - sorry couldn't think of anything better!

Ed Robinson ● 837d

Presumably the mayor would have had to set up an entire system to means test this if he wanted to limit it to poorer families - at god knows what cost.Why not just spend that money on giving kids free lunches?

Matt Palmer ● 837d

Mayir Khan is not funding lunches. The London tax payer is funding those lunches.I am sure the Rich folk of Wimbledon and other similar places are delighted the Mayor is giving their kids free school meals! What a ridiculous piece of posturing by this man.

Andy Pike ● 837d

We should be eating and understanding the seasons better and the cost of producing food better instead of the false pricing used by supermarkets.

Philippa Bond ● 837d

And so very important for it to be for all instead of causing and increasing divisions.

Philippa Bond ● 837d

"Good to see Mayor Khan is going to fund lunches"Yes completely agree although the Greens go further in their manifesto.

Ed Robinson ● 837d

Lots of tomatoes in Lidl yesterday. Also on the outside tables of the fruit and veg trader. Mind you, the weather in Spain is probably worse than Putney so it may not last. Good to see Mayor Khan is going to fund lunches for all primary school children in London. Nick

Nicholas Evans ● 837d

@AndyLol! 😸

Sue Hammond ● 837d

It will be interesting to see if actual sales of tomatoes has gone up.Similar to toilet rolls or fuel I wonder if people have now started to buy them when they are available rather than when they need them.

Ed Robinson ● 837d

Plenty of fruit and veg including tomatoes in Brighton Sainsbury yesterday.No strawbs though Matt , maybe you and some pals could sit on the shelves to fill the gaps.

Andy Pike ● 837d

"If we had some ham we could have some ham and eggs if we had some eggs."(I think that this was originally a WW1 saying)

David Ainsworth ● 837d

No tomatoes in Sainsburies yesterday.Didnt try the beach.

Matt Palmer ● 837d

Just like the SNP he does do a bit of distraction politics.Perhaps we will have to add tomatoes to the list of items you can be robbed for in broad daylight!

Ed Robinson ● 838d