Buying Sea Bream Straight from the Fisherman on Tabechoku
Translated from my original Japanese post (2020). 日本語の原文を読む →
Salut!
It's Yoko, a food blogger who's loosely vegan, or maybe pescatarian?
I just bought a whole sea bream online, and it was a steal: one farmed sea bream of about 1.2 kg with free shipping for just ¥1,600...
It's a limited run of 500 fish, so if you want one, hurry over to Tabechoku.
Tabechoku, a site for farm-direct food
Until now, whenever I bought fresh food online I used Rakuten or online supermarkets, but this time I tried Tabechoku for the first time.
It turns out to be quite different from similar online shops.
A system that returns more of the profit to producers
Normally, food passes through many middlemen, such as agricultural cooperatives, before it reaches ordinary consumers.
Source: Tabechoku
On Tabechoku, producers such as farmers and fishermen list their products directly with no middlemen, and they can set their own prices,
so producers keep a larger share of the profit than usual.
Normal sales channels leave producers with thin margins, and on top of that,
this might help a little the producers who are struggling with lower demand because of COVID... or so I feel!
Clear standards for the food they handle
There are clear standards for how vegetables, meat, and so on are produced and how pesticides are used,
and only producers who meet those standards can list their products.
We only handle products grown with care for the natural environment, with reduced or managed use of pesticides and chemical fertilizers.
- Only producers who farm with care not to pollute the environment excessively can register.
- If they use pesticides or chemical fertilizers, only producers who can disclose the amount, frequency, and type in advance can register.
The standard is whether care is taken with the crops and the pesticides.
On the search page, it looks like you can search by growing method, such as no pesticides or chemical fertilizers, or organic.
We only handle products raised as close to nature as possible.
- We confirm that the barns let animals freely carry out natural behaviors such as standing, lying down, turning around, grooming, and flapping their wings.
- Only producers who manage their animals properly can register.
- We only handle products that use growth promoters and antibiotics as little as possible.
- Only producers who use as few chemical ingredients in feed as possible and can disclose the feed composition in advance can register.
It's reassuring that Tabechoku checks things like antibiotic use and what the animals are fed.
With meat, the use of hormones and antibiotics is considered a problem in the US,
and in Japan too, ordinary supermarket meat doesn't carry any labeling about it, does it...
I also think barns where animals can freely carry out natural behaviors are wonderful from an animal rights point of view.
We only handle products from producers who practice sustainable fishing.
- Only producers who practice sustainable, environmentally conscious fishing can register.
- Only producers who use as little chemical treatment as possible after landing the catch can register.
- Only producers who use as few chemical ingredients in feed as possible and can disclose the feed composition in advance can register.
Some fish are declining in numbers these days, too...
Thinking about environmental impact, I really want to support people who fish in a sustainable way!
Free shipping on some items as COVID recovery support
Lots of products from farms and other producers who ended up with surplus because of COVID are listed with free shipping.
Counting regular items, Tabechoku currently lists 7,466 products! That's quite a lot. There are real finds in there, and it's hard to know where to look, lol
Regular vegetable delivery: "Tabechoku Concierge"
There's also a subscription service called Tabechoku Concierge that delivers morning-harvested vegetables grown without pesticides or chemical fertilizers.
You can only rarely buy morning-picked vegetables at a supermarket, and they sell out right away!
Getting fresh vegetables regularly is very appealing. And the first delivery is ¥1,000 off.
I've been eating more vegetables lately, so once the sea bream arrives, I'll try the vegetable subscription next...
See you next time!
