LAST year, the wet market near my home was closed for nine months for renovation.
As a result, I had to turn to supermarkets for my grocery shopping. I experienced many inconveniences and have many grouses to share:
1. Supermarkets are not environment friendly. Wet markets pack their food in newspapers and give you one plastic bag for all your purchases (unless you buy a lot). Supermarkets pack theirs in styrofoam and cling wrap, and offer a plastic bag for each food item. So one trip to the supermarket can result in at least five plastic bags going to waste (not forgetting the receipts they will print even if you buy just one lollipop). The air-conditioners, chillers and freezers in a supermarket are also bad for our environment. I walked past an NTUC FairPrice supermarket one morning and could see through the shutters that the aircon, lights and even cashier systems were left running even after operating hours.
2. Supermarkets sell items in larger quantities. You cannot buy a quarter of a cauliflower, or just one stalk of celery or five pieces of shallots. But as a member of a small family, I really do not need big amounts of produce. The result is greater wastage and greater contribution to the pollution of the environment.
3. Supermarket prices may equal those at wet markets in weight, but we still end up paying more. The Sunday Times compared the prices of food items in wet markets and supermarkets and concluded that they were about the same. However, as supermarkets pack their food in bigger amounts than needed, we still end up paying more overall. For example, I can buy a few stalks of chilli for 20 cents at the wet market, but would need to pay a dollar for a packet in the supermarket.
4. There is less choice in a supermarket, not because they have fewer varieties, but because they do not sell them in the quantity we need. Also, at the wet markets, it is not difficult to find some stalls specialising in food items favoured by some ethnic groups, but because the demand is very low, supermarkets will not carry them.
5. When a supermarket chain takes over, the result is wealth accumulation in the hands of one. Many years back, people like my grandmother, with no skills nor education, could rent a stall and earn a decent living. They were their own bosses, they lived on the motto of hard work. Today, this is becoming history as society has allowed capitalism to take over and only the big boys have the muscle to wrangle their way to success. Yes, jobs may be created when the supermarkets open, but many families who have for decades relied on their stalls for a livelihood will find themselves at a crossroad in their lives, or even facing financial crisis.
For the above reasons, the wet market is always my first choice. It is not only my way of saving the earth, but it also allows me to give my family a greater variety in their diet. Ten years ago, when I started my own family, I had no experience of shopping in a wet market, I did not know how to choose fish or fruit. But these hawkers have taught me along the way. They can teach the future generation a lot, if we give them a chance.
Lai Wai Mun (Ms)
Source : Straits Times – 16 Oct 2009
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