To purchase with purpose can have a beneficial effect not only on the environment but local business and its community. Take today’s simple task of purchasing some salmon steaks for lunch on a beautiful summer day.

Option 1 – I could pop into Woolworths, Coles or Aldi and look to buy some relatively cheaper priced Atlantic Salmon from Norway or prepackaged Tassal / Huon Atlantic Salmon from Tasmania. From Norway is obviously quite costly from a transport situation into Australia plus apart from local transport and retail costs the product costs are leaving our shores for Norway. The Tasmanian bred Atlantic Salmon would I assume be forwarded to a centralised holding facility and then road transported to the local store. The total purchase costings would be shared between local transport & retail and cost of goods remaining in Australia ie Tasmania

Option 2 – Our local fish market at Stocklands Shellharbour which also operates as a co-op purchasing local produce as well as bringing additional stock from Australia and Imported. They also stock the Tassal / Huon Atlantic Salmon. The transports costs would be similar to the first option although the transport may have slight variation depending on travel route. The total purchase costings would be shared between local transport & retail and cost of goods remaining in Australia ie Tasmania

Option 3 – Purchasing local Australian Salmon from the local Fish markets. Purchasing local is always better as there is a minimal amount of transport costs and the entire product cost stays in the local area from fisherman to fish markets (Paddock/Ocean to plate). Australian salmon is not similar to Atlantic Salmon as the species is more closely aligned to the Perch family

It is very easy to underestimate the economic benefits of purchasing locally produced. The cost of the product going back to local communities can see the money be circulated 4 – 5 times when consider that the monies spent by Fisherman in local business which is then passed by them through profit and wages to other locals who then purchase again etc

Unfortunately in this exercise the local Fish markets did not have any locally caught salmon so my decision to purchase the Tasmainian based Atlantic salmon from the Fish market at Stocklands Shellharbour is my best decision as I know that by supporting their business now they have a commitment to buying local and supporting the local communities and the sustainability of the Industry

Our salads and dressing is made from locally sauced product so all in all I am extremely happy with this outcome. 

With todays technologies it is an interesting observation that the research required to make these decisions took less than 25% of the time it took to write this post