Foxy, now you're comparing food production, or rather value adding food that is usually wasted, with manufacturing.

Manufacturing is not something you can just take people off the dole and expect them to perform, whereas processing otherwise wasted foods is to a large extent. You are o comparing apples with apples there Foxy.

As I see it there are two ways we can reduce unemployment without effecting those already employed. One is to increase consumer spending/demand, not likely to happen in the near future and two is to take something we import now, that we can value add here rather than import. Berries is one such item. We have Golden Circle about to exit the country, (if they have not already) so we don't even need to build a factory to at least trial the concept.

Besides, China is hardly in a position at the moment to pull the victim card.

Dear rehctub,

I quoted Dick Smith simply to make a point that we should
produce locally and label locally and not produce overseas
and label locally.

I agree with you on food production.

Point taken Foxy.

The food labeling laws are a joke. Made in Australia from local and imported goods. So, if ingredients laws are any indication, these labels should at least read 'made.....from IMPORTED and local ingredients' because food ingredient labels require ingredients to be listed in order of quantities.

The other problem is what is the percentage of local/imported as it's never mentioned. And of cause the grey area legally is, does this refer to the contents, or just the packaging because after all it's the package that contains the info.

Another one to be wary of is NZ foods, as China imports foods indirectly to Oz via NZ.

I think the best way is to buy from small local suppliers who sell fresh produce as you can buy berries at times when they have passed their best then freeze them. $12 per kilo is $2.75 per pun net for strawberries, not allowing for the seems of cause.

Dear rehctub,

I am very fussy about my food products.

I have a local green-grocer that I buy from.
I have my own butcher, and even my fish I
buy from someone I've known and trusted for
years. This is something I was taught to do by my
parents.

If you buy any imported food you are a nutcase and you are harming the Australian producers.
Those berries were grown in South America and shipped to China where they were processed and then shipped to Australia.
Can you imagine the crap income the growers in SA are getting.

It's funny you should say that Foxy, because I have just purchased a small country butcher shop as I'm a firm believer that the small guys are about to make a come back so I'm going back in after a few years break.

It's small and also attached to a busy fruit shop along with vans selling seafood and coffee. Looking forward to getting back on the horse, or should I say cow!