Zambolis apartments

Zambolis apartments
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Thursday 18 April 2013

Blood strawberries

It's trending fast: #bloodstrawberries is the latest food scandal. The first Greek strawberries to hit the market come from the area of Manolada in the Peloponese. Today, they were produced not just by the sweat of migrant workers (mainly Bangladeshi), but also with their blood.

The latest Greek joke: what's Ancient Greece got to do with Modern Greece? Slavery.



Yes, the government condemns the attack, yes, arrests have been made concerning the shootings, yes, Greece is in the news again for the wrong reasons. But this is not the first time that the same area has been in the public eye for similar reasons. Is this the face of a country in a serious economic crisis?

Greek strawberries are exported to Northern Europe. Do me a favour: please don't buy Manolada strawberries from the region of Ileias in the Peloponese. Beware also of the relabelling of goods, and I don't mean horse for beef: remember what happened during the time that Israeli military forces gunned down a ship carrying aid to Gaza and killed Turkish citizens? Israeli produce was relabelled as Dutch produce here in Crete. Don't ask me the exact reason why Crete, which can produce nearly everything, imports fresh produce from Israel: that's a political issue. Just beware that you are not duped into buying what you didn't expect to get.

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1 comment:

  1. I once bought Manolada strawberries from Lidl drawn by their strong aroma. Unfortunately they were bitter in taste which for me suggested pesticides or other preservation chemicals and bad agricultural practice. So I never buy them and I stay away from early season strawberries altogether. I usually buy them in late May/June when they are in season.

    I don't think the crisis has much to do with the epidose. There have been many reports of immigrants' abuse in Manolada. When there is no punishment it was bound to get out of control taking into account the number of guns in rural Ileia and the tough macho behaviour of the male polulation.

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