The Irony of Healthy Eating

Most of us want to eat well. We try to make healthy choices. But when you look at how we do it, something doesn’t quite add up.

We work long hours and stretch our budgets to buy supermarket blueberries, pre-washed salad, and turmeric shots. We carry them home in plastic packaging, often from thousands of miles away, in the hope of improving our health.

Meanwhile, the soil in our own gardens sits quietly—perfectly capable of producing the similar food with more flavour, more nutrients, and none of the environmental cost.

Let’s look at what’s really going on:

• Nutrient levels decline rapidly after harvest. Leafy greens can lose up to 50% of their vitamin C within 24 hours. Homegrown means freshly picked, full-strength nutrition.

• Food miles are astonishing. A single punnet of supermarket blueberries can travel over 4,000 miles to reach your fridge. That’s a lot of fuel for a handful of fruit.

• Cost doesn’t always reflect value.
  – A 150g tub of supermarket raspberries: around £2.50–£3.00
  – A single raspberry plant in your garden: under £5 and produces fruit for 10+ years
  – Plus: no plastic, no shipping, no weekly cost.

It’s easy to forget that healthy food doesn’t need to be exotic or expensive. A few simple plants in your garden can offer flavour, nutrition, and a sense of independence that no supermarket shelf can match.

You don’t need to grow everything. But growing something is a smart, satisfying step in the right direction.