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Cost of living: if you can’t afford as much fresh produce, are canned veggies or frozen fruit just as good?

<div class="theconversation-article-body"> <p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/evangeline-mantzioris-153250">Evangeline Mantzioris</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-south-australia-1180"><em>University of South Australia</em></a></em></p> <p>The cost of living crisis is affecting how we spend our money. For many people, this means tightening the budget on the weekly supermarket shop.</p> <p>One victim may be fresh fruit and vegetables. Data from the <a href="https://www.abs.gov.au/media-centre/media-releases/australians-consuming-fewer-vegetables-fruit-and-less-milk#:%7E:text=Paul%20Atyeo%2C%20ABS%20health%20statistics,278%20to%20267%20to%20grams.%E2%80%9D">Australian Bureau of Statistics</a> (ABS) suggests Australians were consuming fewer fruit and vegetables in 2022–23 than the year before.</p> <p>The cost of living is likely compounding a problem that exists already – on the whole, Australians don’t eat enough fruit and vegetables. <a href="https://www.eatforhealth.gov.au/guidelines/australian-guide-healthy-eating">Australian dietary guidelines</a> recommend people aged nine and older should consume <a href="https://www.eatforhealth.gov.au/food-essentials/five-food-groups/fruit">two</a> serves of fruit and <a href="https://www.eatforhealth.gov.au/food-essentials/five-food-groups/vegetables-and-legumes-beans">five</a> serves of vegetables each day for optimal health. But in 2022 the <a href="https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/health/health-conditions-and-risks/dietary-behaviour/latest-release">ABS reported</a> only 4% of Australians met the recommendations for both fruit and vegetable consumption.</p> <p>Fruit and vegetables are crucial for a healthy, balanced diet, providing a range of <a href="https://theconversation.com/were-told-to-eat-a-rainbow-of-fruit-and-vegetables-heres-what-each-colour-does-in-our-body-191337">vitamins</a> and minerals as well as fibre.</p> <p>If you can’t afford as much fresh produce at the moment, there are other ways to ensure you still get the benefits of these food groups. You might even be able to increase your intake of fruit and vegetables.</p> <h2>Frozen</h2> <p>Fresh produce is often touted as being the most nutritious (think of the old adage “fresh is best”). But this is not necessarily true.</p> <p>Nutrients can decline in transit from the paddock to your kitchen, and while the produce is stored in your fridge. Frozen vegetables may actually be higher in some nutrients such as <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25526594/">vitamin C and E</a> as they are snap frozen very close to the time of harvest. Variations in transport and storage can affect this slightly.</p> <p><a href="https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/jf504890k">Minerals</a> such as calcium, iron and magnesium stay at similar levels in frozen produce compared to fresh.</p> <p>Another advantage to frozen vegetables and fruit is the potential to reduce food waste, as you can use only what you need at the time.</p> <p>As well as buying frozen fruit and vegetables from the supermarket, you can freeze produce yourself at home if you have an oversupply from the garden, or when produce may be cheaper.</p> <p>A <a href="https://www.growveg.com.au/guides/freezing-vegetables-and-herbs-the-garden-foodie-version/">quick blanching</a> prior to freezing can improve the safety and quality of the produce. This is when food is briefly submerged in boiling water or steamed for a short time.</p> <p>Frozen vegetables won’t be suitable for salads but can be eaten roasted or steamed and used for soups, stews, casseroles, curries, pies and quiches. Frozen fruits can be added to breakfast dishes (with cereal or youghurt) or used in cooking for fruit pies and cakes, for example.</p> <h2>Canned</h2> <p>Canned vegetables and fruit similarly often offer a cheaper alternative to fresh produce. They’re also very convenient to have on hand. The <a href="https://nchfp.uga.edu/how/can#gsc.tab=0">canning process</a> is the preservation technique, so there’s no need to add any additional preservatives, including salt.</p> <p>Due to the cooking process, levels of heat-sensitive nutrients <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/jsfa.2825">such as vitamin C</a> will decline a little compared to fresh produce. When you’re using canned vegetables in a hot dish, you can add them later in the cooking process to reduce the amount of nutrient loss.</p> <p>To minimise waste, you can freeze the portion you don’t need.</p> <h2>Fermented</h2> <p><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6723656/">Fermentation</a> has recently come into fashion, but it’s actually one of the oldest food processing and preservation techniques.</p> <p>Fermentation largely retains the vitamins and minerals in fresh vegetables. But fermentation may also enhance the food’s nutritional profile by creating new nutrients and allowing existing ones to be <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9352655/">absorbed more easily</a>.</p> <p>Further, fermented foods contain probiotics, which are beneficial for our <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10051273/">gut microbiome</a>.</p> <h2>5 other tips to get your fresh fix</h2> <p>Although alternatives to fresh such as canned or frozen fruit and vegetables are good substitutes, if you’re looking to get more fresh produce into your diet on a tight budget, here are some things you can do.</p> <p><strong>1. Buy in season</strong></p> <p>Based on supply and demand principles, buying local seasonal vegetables and fruit will always be cheaper than those that are imported out of season from other countries.</p> <p><strong>2. Don’t shun the ugly fruit and vegetables</strong></p> <p>Most supermarkets now sell “ugly” fruit and vegetables, that are not physically perfect in some way. This does not affect the levels of nutrients in them at all, or their taste.</p> <p><strong>3. Reduce waste</strong></p> <p>On average, an Australian household throws out <a href="https://www.ozharvest.org/food-waste-facts/">A$2,000–$2,500</a> worth of food every year. Fruit, vegetables and bagged salad are the <a href="https://www.ozharvest.org/food-waste-facts/">three of the top five foods</a> thrown out in our homes. So properly managing fresh produce could help you save money (and benefit <a href="https://endfoodwaste.com.au/why-end-food-waste/">the environment</a>).</p> <p>To minimise waste, plan your meals and shopping ahead of time. And if you don’t think you’re going to get to eat the fruit and vegetables you have before they go off, freeze them.</p> <p><strong>4. Swap and share</strong></p> <p>There are many websites and apps which offer the opportunity to swap or even pick up free fresh produce if people have more than they need. Some <a href="https://www.charlessturt.sa.gov.au/environment/sustainable-lifestyles/community-fruit-and-vege-swaps">local councils are also encouraging</a> swaps on their websites, so dig around and see what you can find in your local area.</p> <p><strong>5. Gardening</strong></p> <p>Regardless of how small your garden is you can always <a href="https://www.gardeningaustraliamag.com.au/best-vegies-grow-pots/">plant produce in pots</a>. Herbs, rocket, cherry tomatoes, chillies and strawberries all grow well. In the long run, these will offset some of your cost on fresh produce.</p> <p>Plus, when you have put the effort in to grow your own produce, <a href="https://mdpi-res.com/sustainability/sustainability-07-02695/article_deploy/sustainability-07-02695.pdf?version=1425549154">you are less likely to waste it</a>.<!-- Below is The Conversation's page counter tag. Please DO NOT REMOVE. --><img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/229724/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /><!-- End of code. If you don't see any code above, please get new code from the Advanced tab after you click the republish button. The page counter does not collect any personal data. More info: https://theconversation.com/republishing-guidelines --></p> <p><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/evangeline-mantzioris-153250"><em>Evangeline Mantzioris</em></a><em>, Program Director of Nutrition and Food Sciences, Accredited Practising Dietitian, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-south-australia-1180">University of South Australia</a></em></p> <p><em>Image credits: Shutterstock</em></p> <p><em>This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/cost-of-living-if-you-cant-afford-as-much-fresh-produce-are-canned-veggies-or-frozen-fruit-just-as-good-229724">original article</a>.</em></p> </div>

Food & Wine

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Mamma Mia! 3 receives confident update from producer

<p dir="ltr">Mamma Mia! Here we go again!</p> <p dir="ltr">Judy Craymer, the creator and producer of the beloved musical comedies, has revealed there could be a third instalment. </p> <p dir="ltr">In an interview with Deadline, discussing the<em> Mamma Mia! I have a Dream</em> talent show on ITV, Craymer shared a confident <em>Mamma Mia! 3</em> update.</p> <p dir="ltr">"It’s in its earliest stages... I don’t want to over-egg it, but I know there’s a trilogy there. There is a story there, and I do think Meryl should come back — and if the script is right, she would, I think, because she really loved playing Donna,” she said.</p> <p dir="ltr">Craymer’s comments come after a long line of remarks made about a possible third movie, with her saying in 2020 that it was always "meant to be a trilogy." </p> <p dir="ltr">Even though the producer said it's in the early stages of development, it’s unclear when there will be an official announcement from Universal.</p> <p dir="ltr">Familiar faces Stellan Skarsgård, Christine Baranski, Lily James, Dominic Cooper, Colin Firth, and Pierce Brosnan have all expressed interest in returning to reprise their respective roles. </p> <p dir="ltr">Craymer also revealed in her interview that she has come up with a way to bring back all the franchise’s favourite characters, including the iconic Meryl Streep. </p> <p> </p> <p dir="ltr">Bringing back every member of the franchise’s massive ensemble cast might be why the third instalment has made little progress in recent years, but Craymer remains confident that the next instalment will go ahead.</p> <p><em><span id="docs-internal-guid-235424ae-7fff-7d35-6b4e-a1a42085a6b1">Image credit: Getty/Instagram</span></em><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #0e101a; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p>

Movies

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Ground-breaking change coming to grocery stores

<p>While Australians are still copping the effects of supply chain issues in supermarkets, many shoppers are faced with the frustration of empty shelves at their local grocer. </p> <p>But now, a ground-breaking initiative could solve those issues for good.</p> <p>IGA's Local Grocer initiative will allow customers to actually decide what is in stores, in what is the biggest brand rollout in the country. </p> <p>With the use of technology, supermarket data and old school customer interaction, a bespoke offering will be created for locals, with no two Local Grocers will be the same, and each of the 400 stores set to open within months will cater to the specific wants and needs of their community.</p> <p>IGA’s flagship Local Grocer store has just opened in the Sydney northwest suburb of Epping, and the concept is already a hit with local shoppers.</p> <p>Run by brothers Antoine and Richard Rizk under the Mint Fresh banner, the Epping store is the pair’s fifth venture after working in the sector for more than a decade.</p> <p>Antoine told <a href="https://www.news.com.au/finance/business/retail/massive-changes-coming-to-hundreds-of-australian-supermarkets/news-story/0e07af390f34ed331689ee607ee31d55" target="_blank" rel="noopener">news.com.au</a> it was designed so that “locals can get pretty much everything they need in one place”, and he said they had even chosen not to install self-service checkouts “so that we can truly get to know our local shoppers”.</p> <p>He explained they had used an app and focus group to get feedback about the types of products customers wanted to see in store before the launch.</p> <p>“There’s a lot of customisation for the local Asian community, and we have quite a big range in the grocery, dairy, freezer and fruit and vegetable aisles,” he said.</p> <p>“Being locals within the geographical area, we spoke to a lot of people and looked at a lot of competitors, and we also used an app … to recruit customers for a focus group."</p> <p>“The survey provided us with a bunch of feedback about how frequently they cook and what kinds of products they require."</p> <p>“We’ve had customers come in nearly every day since we opened, and that’s a good sign. Our customisation is a huge point of difference and it gives us a competitive advantage. Having that local knowledge is critical."</p> <p><em>Image credits: Getty Images</em></p>

Food & Wine

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Why ‘best before’ food labelling is not best for the planet or your budget

<p>UK supermarkets have <a href="https://metro.co.uk/2022/08/03/which-supermarkets-are-scrapping-best-before-dates-and-why-17117556/">removed “best before” dates</a> on thousands of fresh food products in an effort to reduce food waste.</p> <p>One of the major supermarket chains, Sainsbury’s, is replacing these labels with product messaging that says “<a href="https://www.fruitnet.com/fresh-produce-journal/sainsburys-axes-best-before-dates-on-more-fruit-and-veg/247057.article">no date helps reduce waste</a>”.</p> <p>Apples, bananas, potatoes, cucumbers and broccoli are among the most wasted foods. Removing “best before” labels from these foods alone will reduce waste by an estimated <a href="https://wrap.org.uk/taking-action/food-drink/initiatives/food-waste-reduction-roadmap">50,000 tonnes a year</a>.</p> <p>In Australia we produce <a href="https://www.fial.com.au/sharing-knowledge/food-waste">7.6 million tonnes of food waste every year</a> – about 300kg per person. <a href="https://workdrive.zohopublic.com.au/external/ba011474a921ef40d77287a482fc9b257083a646708e3b38b6debeea81cdf81b">About 70%</a> of what we throw out is still edible. Why aren’t we following the UK’s example?</p> <p> </p> <p>Some might worry about food safety. But two types of date labels – “best before” and “use by” – are used in Australia. “Use by” labels would still alert us to when food can no longer be regarded as safe to eat.</p> <p>And consumers will still be able to assess the state of fresh produce for themselves.</p> <h2>Food waste has huge impacts</h2> <p>Food waste costs Australia <a href="https://workdrive.zohopublic.com.au/external/ba011474a921ef40d77287a482fc9b257083a646708e3b38b6debeea81cdf81b">A$36.6 billion a year</a>.</p> <p>This waste occurs right across the supply chain, including primary production, manufacturing, distribution, retail and hospitality. However, households produce more than half of the waste, at an average cost per household of A$2,000 to $2,500 a year.</p> <p> </p> <p>In 2017, the Australian government <a href="https://www.dcceew.gov.au/environment/protection/waste/food-waste?state=tas#national-food-waste-strategy">pledged to halve food waste</a> by 2030 when it launched the <a href="https://www.dcceew.gov.au/environment/protection/waste/publications/national-food-waste-strategy">National Food Waste Strategy</a>.</p> <p>This is a complex issue, but one simple solution could be to follow the UK and remove “best before” dates.</p> <h2>How will you know if food is still safe?</h2> <p>Our labelling system is fairly straightforward, but many consumers don’t understand the difference between “best before” and “use by”. This confusion leads them to throw away tonnes of food that’s still suitable for eating.</p> <p>In Australia, the regulatory authority <a href="https://www.foodstandards.gov.au/consumer/labelling/dates/Pages/default.aspx">Food Standards</a> provides guidance for manufacturers, retailers and consumers on using dates on product labels. These dates indicate how long food products can be sold, and kept, before they deteriorate or become unsafe to eat.</p> <p>Food with a “best before” date can be legally sold and consumed after that date. These products should be safe, but may have lost some of their quality.</p> <p>Products past their “use by date” are considered not safe.</p> <p>The food supplier is responsible for placing date labels on the product.</p> <p>Differences in packaging and date labelling can be subtle. For example, lettuce sold loose or in an open plastic sleeve does not have a “best before” date. The same lettuce packaged in a sealed bag does.</p> <p>Bread is the only fresh food that uses a different system with “baked on” or “baked for” date labels.</p> <p>Some foods, such as canned goods and food with a shelf life of two years or more, don’t have to be labelled with “best before” dates because they usually retain their quality for many years. They are typically eaten well before they deteriorate.</p> <p>Food producers and retailers are keen to keep the labelling status quo, because it makes it easier to <a href="https://www.vox.com/22559293/food-waste-expiration-label-best-before">manage stock</a> and <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1509/jppm.14.095">encourages turnover</a>.</p> <h2>The case for packaging</h2> <p>Some packaging is used to separate branded products such as fruit varieties protected by <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-case-of-the-pirated-blueberries-courts-flex-new-muscle-to-protect-plant-breeders-intellectual-property-126763">plant breeders’ rights</a>, organic products and imperfect vegetable ranges. Once packaged, these products require a “best before” date.</p> <p>Plastic packaging can greatly increase the shelf life of some vegetables. In these cases, it effectively reduces food waste. A striking example is cucumbers. Plastic wrap can extend their shelf life from a <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-some-plastic-packaging-is-necessary-to-prevent-food-waste-and-protect-the-environment-117479">few days to two weeks</a>.</p> <p>Vegetables such as broccoli and cauliflower contain beneficial anti-cancer compounds called <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnut.2016.00024/full">glucosinolates</a>. Plastic packaging that seals in <a href="https://www.food-safety.com/articles/1324-naturally-preserving-food-with-gases">specialty gas</a> preserves these longer. However, overcooking quickly erases this packaging benefit.</p> <figure class="align-center "></figure> <h2>Dead or alive?</h2> <p>The chemistry of a fruit or vegetable starts changing the moment it is picked. Some types of produce, such as bananas and pears, are picked early so they ripen in the shop and at home. Other produce, such as sweet corn and peas, rapidly decline in the quality and quantity of flavours and nutrients once they’re picked. Snap freezing is an excellent way to preserve this produce.</p> <p>Fresh fruits and vegetables are still alive. Their cells remain full of chemical reactions and enzymatic activity.</p> <p>This is why a cut apple turns brown. It’s also why ethylene gas released from bananas and other fruits can shorten the life of their neighbours in the fruit bowl.</p> <p>Potatoes, one of the most wasted products, are sold with “best before” dates when packaged in plastic bags. But if stored correctly in low light and in a “breathable” bag (paper or hessian), potatoes stay “alive” and edible for months. Just make sure you cut away any green parts, which <a href="https://theconversation.com/can-you-really-be-poisoned-by-green-or-sprouting-potatoes-63437">contain toxic solanine</a>.</p> <p>As well as fresh produce’s own cellular activity, there is microbial activity in the form of bacteria and fungi.</p> <p>Fortunately, we come equipped with a number of evolved chemical sensors. We can <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-to-avoid-food-borne-illness-a-nutritionist-explains-153185">feel, see, sniff and taste</a> the state of fruits, vegetables and other products. Trust (and train) your instincts.</p> <h2>Questions to ask yourself</h2> <p>To reduce food waste, we need a combination of approaches, including appropriate packaging, sensible labelling and consumer awareness.</p> <p>Ideally, the <a href="https://www.foodstandards.gov.au/code/pages/default.aspx">Australian and New Zealand Food Standards Code</a> would be updated to reflect a more nuanced view of packaged fresh foods.</p> <p>In the short term, consumer awareness and buying power are the best drivers of change. Ask yourself questions like:</p> <ul> <li> <p>Do I need a packaged product?</p> </li> <li> <p>Does the packaging enhance shelf life?</p> </li> <li> <p>Would I buy less if it wasn’t packaged?</p> </li> </ul> <p>Thinking about these questions will help us reduce the impacts of food waste.<!-- Below is The Conversation's page counter tag. Please DO NOT REMOVE. --><img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/189686/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /><!-- End of code. If you don't see any code above, please get new code from the Advanced tab after you click the republish button. The page counter does not collect any personal data. More info: https://theconversation.com/republishing-guidelines --></p> <p><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/louise-grimmer-212082">Louise Grimmer</a>, Senior Lecturer in Retail Marketing, <em><a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-tasmania-888">University of Tasmania</a></em> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/nathan-kilah-599082">Nathan Kilah</a>, Senior Lecturer in Chemistry, <em><a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-tasmania-888">University of Tasmania</a></em></p> <p>This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation.</a> Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-best-before-food-labelling-is-not-best-for-the-planet-or-your-budget-189686">original article</a>.</p> <p><em>Images: Getty</em></p>

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Give this AI a few words of description and it produces a stunning image – but is it art?

<p>A picture may be worth a thousand words, but thanks to an artificial intelligence program called <a href="https://fortune.com/2022/04/06/openai-dall-e-2-photorealistic-images-from-text-descriptions/">DALL-E 2</a>, you can have a professional-looking image with far fewer.</p> <p>DALL-E 2 is <a href="http://adityaramesh.com/posts/dalle2/dalle2.html">a new neural network</a> algorithm that creates a picture from a short phrase or sentence that you provide. <a href="https://openai.com/dall-e-2/">The program</a>, which was announced by the artificial intelligence research laboratory OpenAI in April 2022, hasn’t been released to the public. But a small and growing number of people – myself included – have been given access to experiment with it.</p> <p><a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=ZcWO2AEAAAAJ&amp;hl=en">As a researcher studying the nexus of technology and art</a>, I was keen to see how well the program worked. After hours of experimentation, it’s clear that DALL-E – while not without shortcomings – is leaps and bounds ahead of existing image generation technology. It raises immediate questions about how these technologies will change how art is made and consumed. It also raises questions about what it means to be creative when DALL-E 2 seems to automate so much of the creative process itself.</p> <h2>A staggering range of style and subjects</h2> <p>OpenAI researchers built DALL-E 2 <a href="https://github.com/openai/dalle-2-preview/blob/main/system-card.md#model">from an enormous collection of images</a> with captions. They gathered some of the images online and licensed others.</p> <p>Using DALL-E 2 looks a lot like searching for an image on the web: you type in a short phrase into a text box, and it gives back six images.</p> <p>But instead of being culled from the web, the program creates six brand-new images, each of which reflect some version of the entered phrase. (Until recently, the program produced 10 images per prompt.) For example, when some friends and I gave DALL-E 2 the text prompt “cats in devo hats,” <a href="https://twitter.com/AaronHertzmann/status/1534947118053355522">it produced 10 images</a> that came in different styles.</p> <p>Nearly all of them could plausibly pass for professional photographs or drawings. While the algorithm did not quite grasp “Devo hat” – <a href="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/5761baff746fb9f420bb3ffc/1495765600043-HHVOESOJR2LLK7B820SS/?content-type=image%2Fjpeg">the strange helmets</a> worn by the New Wave band Devo – the headgear in the images it produced came close. </p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr" lang="en">"cats in devo hats" <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/dalle?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#dalle</a> <a href="https://t.co/kkFaKF0zUJ">pic.twitter.com/kkFaKF0zUJ</a></p> <p>— Aaron Hertzmann (@AaronHertzmann) <a href="https://twitter.com/AaronHertzmann/status/1534947118053355522?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 9, 2022</a></p></blockquote> <p>Over the past few years, a small community of artists have been using neural network algorithms to produce art. Many of these artworks have distinctive qualities that almost look like real images, <a href="https://theconversation.com/new-ai-art-has-artists-collaborators-wondering-who-gets-the-credit-112661">but with odd distortions of space</a> – a sort of cyberpunk Cubism. The most recent text-to-image systems <a href="https://www.rightclicksave.com/article/clip-art-and-the-new-aesthetics-of-ai">often produce dreamy, fantastical imagery</a> that can be delightful but rarely looks real.</p> <p>DALL-E 2 offers a significant leap in the quality and realism of the images. It can also mimic specific styles with remarkable accuracy. If you want images that look like actual photographs, it’ll produce six life-like images. If you want prehistoric cave paintings of Shrek, it’ll generate six pictures of Shrek as if they’d been drawn by a prehistoric artist.</p> <p>It’s staggering that an algorithm can do this. Each set of images takes less than a minute to generate. Not all of the images will look pleasing to the eye, nor do they necessarily reflect what you had in mind. But, even with the need to sift through many outputs or try different text prompts, there’s no other existing way to pump out so many great results so quickly – not even by hiring an artist. And, sometimes, the unexpected results are the best.</p> <p>In principle, <a href="http://adityaramesh.com/posts/dalle2/dalle2.html">anyone with enough resources and expertise can make a system like this</a>. Google Research <a href="https://imagen.research.google/">recently announced an impressive, similar text-to-image system</a>, and one independent developer is publicly developing their own version that <a href="https://huggingface.co/spaces/dalle-mini/dalle-mini">anyone can try right now on the web</a>, although it’s not yet as good as DALL-E or Google’s system.</p> <p>It’s easy to imagine these tools transforming the way people make images and communicate, whether via memes, greeting cards, advertising – and, yes, art.</p> <h2>Where’s the art in that?</h2> <p>I had a moment early on while using DALL-E 2 to generate different kinds of paintings, in all different styles – like “<a href="https://www.odilon-redon.org/">Odilon Redon</a> painting of Seattle” – when it hit me that this was better than any painting algorithm I’ve ever developed. Then I realized that it is, in a way, a better painter than I am.</p> <p>In fact, no human can do what DALL-E 2 does: create such a high-quality, varied range of images in mere seconds. If someone told you that a person made all these images, of course you’d say they were creative.</p> <p>But <a href="https://cacm.acm.org/magazines/2020/5/244330-computers-do-not-make-art-people-do/fulltext">this does not make DALL-E 2 an artist</a>. Even though it sometimes feels like magic, under the hood it is still a computer algorithm, rigidly following instructions from the algorithm’s authors at OpenAI. </p> <p>If these images succeed as art, they are products of how the algorithm was designed, the images it was trained on, and – most importantly – how artists use it. </p> <p>You might be inclined to say there’s little artistic merit in an image produced by a few keystrokes. But in my view, this line of thinking echoes <a href="https://cacm.acm.org/magazines/2020/5/244330-computers-do-not-make-art-people-do/fulltext">the classic take</a> that photography cannot be art because a machine did all the work. Today the human authorship and craft involved in artistic photography are recognized, and critics understand that the best photography involves much more than just pushing a button. </p> <p>Even so, we often discuss works of art as if they directly came from the artist’s intent. The artist intended to show a thing, or express an emotion, and so they made this image. DALL-E 2 does seem to shortcut this process entirely: you have an idea and type it in, and you’re done.</p> <p>But when I paint the old-fashioned way, I’ve found that my paintings come from the exploratory process, not just from executing my initial goals. And this is true for many artists.</p> <p>Take Paul McCartney, who came up with the track “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rUvZA5AYhB4&amp;t=35s">Get Back</a>” during a jam session. He didn’t start with a plan for the song; he just started fiddling and experimenting <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Get_Back#Early_protest_lyrics">and the band developed it from there</a>. </p> <p>Picasso <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=dZyPAAAAQBAJ&amp;lpg=PA2&amp;ots=xYVek5tbjg&amp;dq=%22I%20don%27t%20know%20in%20advance%20what%20I%20am%20going%20to%20put%20on%20canvas%20any%20more%20than%20I%20decide%20beforehand%20what%20colors%20I%20am%20going%20to%20use&amp;pg=PA2#v=onepage&amp;q&amp;f=false">described his process similarly</a>: “I don’t know in advance what I am going to put on canvas any more than I decide beforehand what colors I am going to use … Each time I undertake to paint a picture I have a sensation of leaping into space.”</p> <p>In <a href="https://www.instagram.com/aaronhertzmann_aiart/">my own explorations with DALL-E 2</a>, one idea would lead to another which led to another, and eventually I’d find myself in a completely unexpected, magical new terrain, very far from where I’d started. </p> <h2>Prompting as art</h2> <p>I would argue that the art, in using a system like DALL-E 2, comes not just from the final text prompt, but in the entire creative process that led to that prompt. Different artists will follow different processes and end up with different results that reflect their own approaches, skills and obsessions.</p> <p>I began to see my experiments as a set of series, each a consistent dive into a single theme, rather than a set of independent wacky images. </p> <p>Ideas for these images and series came from all around, often linked by a set of <a href="https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-319-15524-1">stepping stones</a>. At one point, while making images based on contemporary artists’ work, I wanted to generate an image of site-specific installation art in the style of the contemporary Japanese artist <a href="http://yayoi-kusama.jp/e/biography/index.html">Yayoi Kusama</a>. After trying a few unsatisfactory locations, I hit on the idea of placing it in <a href="https://mezquita-catedraldecordoba.es/en/">La Mezquita</a>, a former mosque and church in Córdoba, Spain. I sent <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CehcE4DvN1d/">the picture</a> to an architect colleague, Manuel Ladron de Guevara, who is from Córdoba, and we began riffing on other architectural ideas together. </p> <p>This became a series on imaginary new buildings in different architects’ styles.</p> <p>So I’ve started to consider what I do with DALL-E 2 to be both a form of exploration as well as a form of art, even if it’s often amateur art like the drawings I make on my iPad. </p> <p>Indeed some artists, like <a href="https://twitter.com/advadnoun">Ryan Murdoch</a>, have advocated for prompt-based image-making to be recognized as art. He points to the <a href="https://twitter.com/NeuralBricolage">experienced AI artist Helena Sarin</a> as an example. </p> <p>“When I look at most stuff from <a href="https://www.midjourney.com/">Midjourney</a>” – another popular text-to-image system – “a lot of it will be interesting or fun,” Murdoch told me in an interview. “But with [Sarin’s] work, there’s a through line. It’s easy to see that she has put a lot of thought into it, and has worked at the craft, because the output is more visually appealing and interesting, and follows her style in a continuous way.” </p> <p>Working with DALL-E 2, or any of the new text-to-image systems, means learning its quirks and developing strategies for avoiding common pitfalls. It’s also important to know about <a href="https://github.com/openai/dalle-2-preview/blob/main/system-card.md#probes-and-evaluations">its potential harms</a>, such as its reliance on stereotypes, and potential uses for disinformation. Using DALL-E 2, you’ll also discover surprising correlations, like the way everything becomes old-timey when you use an old painter, filmmaker or photographer’s style.</p> <p>When I have something very specific I want to make, DALL-E 2 often can’t do it. The results would require a lot of difficult manual editing afterward. It’s when my goals are vague that the process is most delightful, offering up surprises that lead to new ideas that themselves lead to more ideas and so on.</p> <h2>Crafting new realities</h2> <p>These text-to-image systems can help users imagine new possibilities as well. </p> <p><a href="https://daniellebaskin.com/">Artist-activist Danielle Baskin</a> told me that she always works “to show alternative realities by ‘real’ example: either by setting scenarios up in the physical world or doing meticulous work in Photoshop.” DALL-E 2, however, “is an amazing shortcut because it’s so good at realism. And that’s key to helping others bring possible futures to life – whether its satire, dreams or beauty.” </p> <p>She has used it to imagine <a href="https://twitter.com/djbaskin/status/1519050225297461249">an alternative transportation system</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/djbaskin_images/status/1533970922146648064">plumbing that transports noodles instead of water</a>, both of which reflect <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/jonathonkeats/2021/02/11/is-twitter-really-offering-verified-badges-for-san-francisco-homes-an-artists-satire-nearly-starts-a-civil-war">her artist-provocateur sensibility</a>.</p> <p>Similarly, artist Mario Klingemann’s <a href="https://twitter.com/quasimondo/status/1533877178496163840">architectural renderings with the tents of homeless people</a> could be taken as a rejoinder to <a href="https://twitter.com/AaronHertzmann/status/1526710430751522817">my architectural renderings of fancy dream homes</a>.</p> <p>It’s too early to judge the significance of this art form. I keep thinking of a phrase from the excellent book “<a href="https://www.haymarketbooks.org/books/1662-art-in-the-after-culture">Art in the After-Culture</a>” – “The dominant AI aesthetic is novelty.” </p> <p>Surely this would be true, to some extent, for any new technology used for art. The first films by the <a href="https://iphf.org/inductees/auguste-louis-lumiere/">Lumière brothers</a> in 1890s were novelties, not cinematic masterpieces; it amazed people to see images moving at all. </p> <p>AI art software develops so quickly that there’s continual technical and artistic novelty. It seems as if, each year, there’s an opportunity to explore an exciting new technology – each more powerful than the last, and each seemingly poised to transform art and society.</p> <p><em>Image credits: Shutterstock</em></p> <p><em>This article originally appeared on <a href="https://theconversation.com/give-this-ai-a-few-words-of-description-and-it-produces-a-stunning-image-but-is-it-art-184363" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Conversation</a>. </em></p> <div style="caret-color: #000000; color: #000000; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; text-decoration: none; --tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-color: rgba(51,168,204,0.5); --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; background-color: transparent; border: 0px; font-size: 18px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"> <div style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-color: rgba(51,168,204,0.5); --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; background-color: transparent; border: 0px; font-size: 18px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; caret-color: #000000; color: #000000; font-family: 'Libre Baskerville', Georgia, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; text-decoration: none;"> <div style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-color: rgba(51,168,204,0.5); --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; background-color: transparent; border: 0px; font-size: 18px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </div> </div> </div> <p style="caret-color: #000000; color: #000000; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; text-decoration: none; --tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-color: rgba(51,168,204,0.5); --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; background-color: transparent; border: 0px; font-size: 18px; margin: 0px 0px 18px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </p>

Art

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Major change being trialled in Coles to reduce waste

<p dir="ltr">Coles has announced that they will be removing plastic bags from their fruits and vegetables section in a bid to reduce the use of single plastic.</p> <p dir="ltr">The supermarket will trial the removal of plastic bags at their ACT stores from 31 August until 13 September.</p> <p dir="ltr">Customers will be required to bring their own bags from home or can otherwise purchase reusable mesh fresh produce bags.</p> <p dir="ltr">In a bid to help customers, shoppers who spend $5 in store on fruit and veggies will receive a free 3-pack of reusable mesh fresh produce bags that is made from 90 per cent recycled materials. </p> <p dir="ltr">Once the trial is over, all 12 Coles stores will have single use bags for fresh produce removed from September 14.</p> <p dir="ltr">Coles Chief Operations and Sustainability Officer Matt Swindells explained that the initiative is one of the many ways the supermarket is looking to reduce waste.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Under our Together to Zero waste ambition, we are always looking for ways to reduce reliance on unnecessary and problematic single-use plastics packaging and provide sustainable solutions to our customers,” he said. </p> <p dir="ltr">“This will be the first time a major Australian supermarket will trial a completely reusable method of helping customers purchase their fresh fruit and veggies. </p> <p dir="ltr">“We will be looking closely at how our ACT customers respond. These insights will inform our consideration for potentially rolling this out to our customers nationally.”</p> <p dir="ltr">It comes as Coles rolled out fresh produce bags nationally that are made from 50 per cent recycled plastic.</p> <p dir="ltr">The bags can be returned to REDcycle bins at Coles supermarkets to be recycled. </p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Image: Supplied</em></p>

Food & Wine

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Producing electricity from your sweat might be key to next wearable technology

<p>Imagine a world where the smart watch on your wrist never ran out of charge, because it used your sweat to power itself.</p> <p>It sounds like science fiction but researchers have figured out how to engineer a <a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/science/biology/bacterial-biofilm/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">bacterial biofilm</a> to be able to produce continuous <a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/science/electricity-from-sweaty-fingertips/">electricity fr</a><a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/science/electricity-from-sweaty-fingertips/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">o</a><a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/science/electricity-from-sweaty-fingertips/">m perspiration</a>.</p> <p>They can harvest energy in evaporation and convert it to electricity which could revolutionise wearable electronic devices from personal medical sensors to electronics.</p> <p>The science is in a <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-022-32105-6#ref-CR7" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">new study</a> published in <em>Nature Communications.</em></p> <p>“The limiting factor of wearable electronics has always been the power supply,” says senior author Jun Yoa, professor of electrical and computer engineering at the University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass),  in the US. “Batteries run down and have to be changed or charged. They are also bulky, heavy, and uncomfortable.”</p> <p>But the surface of our skin is constantly moist with sweat, so a small, thin, clear and flexible biofilm worn like a Band-Aid could provide a much more convenient alternative.</p> <p>The biofilm is made up of a sheet of bacterial cells approximately 40 micrometres thick or about the thickness of a sheet of paper. It’s made up a genetically engineered version of the bacteria <em>Geobacter sulfurreducens</em> to be exact.</p> <p><em>G. sulfurreducens</em> is a microorganism known to <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3209890/#:~:text=Interestingly%2C%20Geobacter%20sulfurreducens%20also%20called,electron%20transfer%20through%20the%20biofilms." target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">produce electricity</a> and has been used previously in “<a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41579-019-0173-x" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">microbial fuel cells</a>”. These require the bacteria to be alive, necessitating proper care and constant feeding, but this new biofilm can work continuously because the bacteria are already dead.</p> <p>“It’s much more efficient,” says senior author Derek Lovley, distinguished professor of Microbiology at UMass Amherst. “We’ve simplified the process of generating electricity by radically cutting back on the amount of processing needed.</p> <p>“We sustainably grow the cells in a biofilm, and then use that agglomeration of cells. This cuts the energy inputs, makes everything simpler and widens the potential applications.”</p> <p>The process relies on evaporation-based electricity production – the <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41565-018-0228-6" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">hydrovoltaic effect</a>. Water flow is driven by evaporation between the solid biofilm and the liquid water, which drives the transport of electrical charges to generate an electrical current.</p> <p><em>G. sulfurreducens</em> colonies are grown in thin mats which are harvested and then have small circuits etched into them using a laser. Then they are sandwiched between mesh electrodes and finally sealed in a soft, sticky, breathable polymer which can be applied directly onto the skin without irritation.</p> <p>Initially, the researchers tested it by placing the device directly on a water surface, which produced approximately 0.45 volts of electricity continuously. When worn on sweaty skin it produced power for 18 hours, and even non-sweating skin generated a substantial electric output – indicating that the continuous low-level secretion of moisture from the skin is enough to drive the effect.</p> <p>“Our next step is to increase the size of our films to power more sophisticated skin-wearable electronics,” concludes Yao.</p> <p>The team aim to one day be able to power not only single devices, but entire electronic systems, using this biofilm. And because microorganisms can be mass produced with renewable feedstocks, it’s an exciting alternative for producing renewable materials for clean energy powered devices.</p> <p><!-- Start of tracking content syndication. Please do not remove this section as it allows us to keep track of republished articles --></p> <p><img id="cosmos-post-tracker" style="opacity: 0; height: 1px!important; width: 1px!important; border: 0!important; position: absolute!important; z-index: -1!important;" src="https://syndication.cosmosmagazine.com/?id=200509&amp;title=Producing+electricity+from+your+sweat+might+be+key+to+next+wearable+technology" width="1" height="1" /></p> <p><!-- End of tracking content syndication --></p> <div id="contributors"> <p><em><a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/technology/electricity-from-sweat-biofilm/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">This article</a> was originally published on <a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Cosmos Magazine</a> and was written by <a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/contributor/imma-perfetto" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Imma Perfetto</a>. Imma Perfetto is a science writer at Cosmos. She has a Bachelor of Science with Honours in Science Communication from the University of Adelaide.</em></p> <p><em>Image: </em><em>Liu et al., doi.org/10.1038/s41467-022-32105-6</em></p> </div>

Technology

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‘You Can’t Ask That’ producer shares the most difficult question he’s ever asked

<p dir="ltr">The co-creator and producer of the ABC’s show, <em>You Can’t Ask That</em>, has answered some tough questions of his own, revealing which were the most confronting questions to ask guests.</p> <p dir="ltr">Sydneysider Kirk Docker has interviewed “misunderstood, marginalised” Australians for seven seasons of the ABC show, with the latest season seeing him speak to bogans, models and porn stars across the 30-minute episodes.</p> <p><span id="docs-internal-guid-f0d45c06-7fff-b311-655b-92d8d2f13d14"></span></p> <p dir="ltr">While reflecting on his time on the show, Mr Docker said the “most confronting question” he’s asked was during the season seven episode on dementia.</p> <blockquote class="instagram-media" style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/CUJ66MSFi_m/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"> </div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <div style="padding: 12.5% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;"> <div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: 8px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: auto;"> <div style="width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;"> </div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CUJ66MSFi_m/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A post shared by Kirk Docker (@kirkdocker)</a></p> </div> </blockquote> <p dir="ltr">The question posed to guests with the incurable condition was: “Do you want to kill yourself before you become a vegetable?”, which Mr Docker described as “insensitive”.</p> <p dir="ltr">“This person knows that they’re deteriorating and the idea of calling them a vegetable, which is what they are going to become, and that you ultimately want to end your life before you become this thing that no one wants, that’s the most horrible thought,” he told the <em><a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/backstory/2022-06-01/making-you-cant-ask-that-kirk-docker-brutal-questions/101115280" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ABC</a></em>.</p> <p dir="ltr">“I was nervous about asking that, because I knew that it’s a delicate subject matter and it was hard, too, because of the coronavirus, I had to do some of those interviews via the internet, which I don’t really like doing because with those sorts of questions they can’t feel my energy in the room.”</p> <p dir="ltr">The episode tackling postnatal depression, also in season seven, was another difficult one for Mr Docker to get through due to the topic’s sensitive nature.</p> <p dir="ltr">“In this year’s episode on postnatal depression the question, ‘Did you want to hurt your baby?’ I think was a particularly tough question, but the answer, overwhelmingly, was: ‘I was expecting this one to be in there and here’s the truth’,” he explained.</p> <p dir="ltr">Despite the harsh nature of the show, which spans asking bogans “what’s with the mullet?” to questioning overweight people about why they’re fat or don’t exercise, the guests - who are open to sharing their experiences and their stories are treated with respect.</p> <p dir="ltr"><span id="docs-internal-guid-55ab82fa-7fff-cc0e-ecfa-da96bd2a0246"></span></p> <p dir="ltr">Season seven of <em>You Can’t Ask That</em> airs on ABC TV every Wednesday night and is available to watch in its entirety on ABC <a href="https://iview.abc.net.au/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">iView</a>.</p> <p><iframe title="YouTube video player" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/jm8dxs8yRbY" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p> <p dir="ltr"><em><span id="docs-internal-guid-d0a61166-7fff-e1f7-eecd-695065ce9455">Image: ABC TV</span></em></p>

TV

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Coles warns customers after two separate redback finds in produce

<p>Coles has issued an urgent warning for customers to double check their fresh produce after redback spiders were found in bags of grapes.</p><p>This claim comes after two customers reportedly found the deadly spider in a fruit bag. One was purchased at Runaway Bay on the Gold Coast and the other from Tweed City, just south of the Queensland border.</p><p>A Coles spokesperson told news.com.au redback spiders hiding in crops is an industry-wide issue and its working closely with its suppliers and industry bodies to remove any risk.</p><p>“All Coles suppliers are required to keep their fields clean and have pest control systems in place to prevent product contamination during packaging,” the spokesperson explained.</p><p>“Coles takes the quality of all our products seriously and all grapes are visually inspected at harvest and packing for any pest presence. Retired policeman Andrew Bell told Nine News his daughter was eating grapes when she came across the “very much alive” spider.</p><p>“She was just munching away at them, and she just saw this redback,” he said.</p><p>“The last thing you’re expecting is a goddamn redback in the grapes.”</p><p>Mr Bell expressed his concerns about what would happen if a child came across such a venomous spider and the potential dangers it may impose.</p><p>Mr Marshel said while it “wasn’t huge”, it was “probably big enough to give a nip”.</p><p>He told Nine News the spider had survived a wash as well as a night in the fridge.</p><p>“This’d be more or less a hazard of the industry with fresh produce,” he said.</p><p>“I think it could happen anywhere.”</p><p>The reports serve as a warning to Australians to double check their fresh produce, with the issue of finding bugs and live creatures in groceries occurring every summer. It’s also believed Australia’s wet summer caused by La Nina has sparked an increase in insect and animal infestations across the country, experts warned.</p><p><em>Image: 9 News</em></p>

Food & Wine

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Strictly Ballroom producer’s hottest property hits the market

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Just two years after dropping a record-setting $10.25 million on a Rose Bay apartment, film producer Antoinette “Popsy” Albert has put her historic Bellevue Hill property up for sale in Sydney’s Eastern suburbs.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The asking price is expected to be a high one, with </span><a rel="noopener" href="https://www.domain.com.au/news/film-producer-popsy-albert-lists-bellevue-hill-house-inhigh-20-million-range-1106705/" target="_blank"><span style="font-weight: 400;">some sources</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> saying it could be within the “high $20 million range”.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Designed by architect Espie Dods in the 1980s, the five-bedroom home features five bathrooms, several formal and informal living rooms, dining areas and a loggia (a covered seated area) that spills out into the garden.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The home also boasts a custom theatre, next door to a wine cellar, and one of its bedrooms acts as a self-contained apartment.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The 1400-square-metre property is nestled among some of Bellevue’s most famed homes, all found on Ginahgulla Road. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The co-producer of Baz Luhrman’s </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">Strictly Ballroom</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"> has </span><a rel="noopener" href="https://www.domain.com.au/10-ginahgulla-road-bellevue-hill-nsw-2023-2017435033" target="_blank"><span style="font-weight: 400;">listed</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> the home with Christie’s realtor Ken Jacobs.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Albert and her late husband, music producer Ted Albert, purchased the home in 1982 for $825,000 from the estate of late racehorse owner Allan Lewis.</span></p> <p><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Images: Getty Images, Domain</span></em></p>

Real Estate

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Kyle Sandilands rips into producer for anti-vax stance

<p><em>Image: Instagram </em></p> <p><span>Kyle Sandilands has outed his radio producer on-air for refusing the Covid-19 vaccination.</span></p> <p>During Monday morning’s Kyle and Jackie O Show, the 50-year-old shock jock asked why one of his producers, Pedro, wasn’t in the studio.</p> <p>“Where’s Pedro?” Kyle asked, with someone telling him, “He’s working from home.”</p> <p>Sandilands said, “Oh, because he’s still ‘I’m not vaccinated’. Stupid prick. What a bloody pain in the arse.”</p> <p>His brutal statement prompted his co-host, Jackie ‘O’ Henderson, to defend Pedro, saying, “You can’t say that!”</p> <p>But Kyle doubled down on Pedro the next day on air, declaring he wouldn’t attend his colleague’s funeral if he died from the virus.</p> <p>“He’s made his stance. What does he do now? Look like the fool?” he said. “Or he gets the virus. He’ll probably be the one that dies of it.</p> <p>“Will I show up to the funeral? No, I will not. Will I send a message? No, I will not.”</p> <p>Pedro lives in an LGA of concern in Sydney’s west and has been forced to work from home due to his decision to not get the jab.</p> <p>In late July, Pedro opened up on-air about his anti-vaccine views and being “into conspiracies.”</p> <p>Sandilands asked him if he was an “anti-vaxxer”, to which Pedro replied, “I am, but I won’t be discussing it.”</p> <p>The radio host has been a fierce advocate for getting vaccinated, even writing his own “vaccine anthem” in July, Get Vaxxed Baby, set to the music of Vanilla Ice’s<span> </span><em>Ice Ice Baby</em>.</p> <p>An ARN spokesperson released a statement saying the company understood vaccination was a “personal choice”.</p> <p>“ARN are keen to do our part in helping Australian businesses get back on their feet and for everyone to reconnect face-to-face in the community,” a spokesperson said.</p> <p>“Vaccination is the pathway to getting there. To make it easy for people to vaccinated, everyone at ARN can receive paid vaccination leave to ensure more flexibility when scheduling and attending their vaccination appointment.</p> <p>“While we understand vaccination is a personal choice, in line with NSW government health orders people who are from the LGAs of concern and are not vaccinated are required to work from home.”</p>

News

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"She was NOT holding back": Former Ellen producer's parting shot

<div class="post_body_wrapper"> <div class="post_body"> <div class="body_text redactor-styles redactor-in element-type-p"> <p>A former producer on<span> </span><em>The Ellen Show</em><span> </span>didn't hold back and slammed Ellen on a breakfast talk show just hours after Ellen announced her final season.</p> <p>Ellen confirmed that she is ending her talk show after an intense year of bullying claims and toxic workplace allegations.</p> <p>Former producer Hedda Muskat said that the show's demise came because viewers have "woken up" to Ellen's true nature.</p> <p>“The viewers have spoken. Her ratings have been in the toilet for a long time now. Her show has not been fun, it has not been interesting, and she’s not really ‘stepping down’ - the viewers fired her.”</p> <p>Muskat said she was one of the show's first hires back in 2003, claiming that Ellen loved "kissing ass with celebrities" and "despised" the non-celebrity human interest guests that Muskat provided.</p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr">"She’s not really stepping down, the viewers fired her"<br /><br />Former The Ellen DeGeneres Show Producer <a href="https://twitter.com/heddamuskat?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@HeddaMuskat</a> delivers a fiery spray against the comedian after she announced the end of her long-running talk show. <a href="https://t.co/Co7wOUAkkj">pic.twitter.com/Co7wOUAkkj</a></p> — Sunrise (@sunriseon7) <a href="https://twitter.com/sunriseon7/status/1392607321293869060?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 12, 2021</a></blockquote> <p>“She really was not in a position to interview real people because she really couldn’t carry a conversation with them,” she said.</p> <p>“This is not ‘bah humbug’ on my end, because I just did my job and went home, but I feel that for the guests it was bad goodwill for them. They just really were not able to connect with her.”</p> <p>Ellen plans on sitting down with talk show titan Oprah Winfrey on tomorrow's episode of<span> </span><em>The Ellen Show</em><span> </span>to discuss her decision to quit, which is another move Muskat slammed.</p> <p>“Frankly, I am very disappointed that Oprah is lowering herself to interview Ellen,” she told the hosts.</p> <p>“Oprah can interview kings and queens, I love Oprah … and for her to interview Ellen, it’s like, why? Who cares about Ellen anymore?”</p> <p>The talk show hosts were left in shock, with David Koch and Natalie Barr asking the former producer what she thought Ellen had planned next.</p> <p>“I’d like to see her work on a farm where she can relate with all of the animals and the pets and the dogs and the cows and the pigs because if you can relate to animals far more than she does with people,” she said, prompting shocked laughter from the<span> </span><em>Sunrise</em><span> </span>hosts.</p> <p>“I was not able to have any connection with her, make any eye contact, and here is the thing: It’s not just me or three of us, there were over 100 employees over the 19 years that walk away with this sickened feeling about working there.</p> <p>“As much as I loved my job as a booker and producer, I was almost relieved when I got fired... I wanted to take a shower, it was like a whole new dawn. I don’t feel like she has the trust anymore of the viewers, and so I don’t think she is going to come back anytime soon.”</p> <p>Barr joked that Muskat didn't hold back, saying "she went for it then".</p> </div> </div> </div>

TV

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"How is this possible?": Woolworths delivery leaves family in shock

<p>A family from NSW has taken to Facebook after they unpacked their Woolworths home delivery to find "dodgy" carrots, rotting onions and missing items.</p> <p>“These were part of our home delivery tonight. The bag of carrots is use by tomorrow - even if it wasn’t already dodgy, I couldn’t eat a bag of carrots in one night... Also a whole bag worth of frozen groceries missing,” the frustrated customer wrote on the store's Facebook page on Tuesday.</p> <p>The customer posted photos of a bag of carrots with some that appear to have turned into mush and two rotting red onions.</p> <p>The customers said the "dodgy" delivery wasn't a one-off incident that they received deliveries with missing items quite often.</p> <p>“I think this is about our fourth delivery in a row where items that were supposed to be delivered were not,” the man said.</p> <p>“We never get an apology, just a refund,” the woman replied.</p> <p>Facebook users were appalled at the state of the delivery and took to the comments to condemn the supermarket giant.</p> <p>“How is this even possible? WTF,” one person commented.</p> <p>A few people were concerned that those who relied on home deliveries for groceries were not receiving products of the highest quality.</p> <p>“I guess it’s their way of getting rid of produce they can't sell. Taking advantage of those who can't get to shops. Covid has certainly not helped,” one user insisted.</p> <p>“The other thing that breaks my heart is what about the poor elderly that rely on delivery services like these? They can't use a whole loaf of bread for example in a day... (that's even if it's in date),” another person replied.</p> <p>“Care factor for customer health? Zero. Care factor for profit margins? 100 per cent,” the original poster wrote.</p> <p>A spokesperson for Woolworths said the supermarket was aware of the customer's complaint and apologised "for missing the mark on this occasion".</p> <p>“We know it's frustrating when the quality of some products in our online orders aren’t up to our usual standard,” the spokesperson said in a statement.</p> <p>“We’re keen to follow up with our in-store team and are awaiting more information from the customer to do so.</p> <p>“If our customers have any concerns about the quality of the product they receive, we always encourage them to return the product back to their local store for a refund or replacement.”</p>

Food & Wine

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Jackie O reveals how she annoyed Masked Singer producers

<p>Jackie O has revealed what she did to upset producers on<span> </span><em>The Mask Singer</em>.</p> <p>The radio star is a judge on the Channel 10 show alongside Dannii Minogue, Hughesy and Urzila Carlson.</p> <p>Speaking to<span> </span><a rel="noopener" href="http://news.com.au/" target="_blank"><em>news.com.au</em></a>, Jackie said producers prefer the judges to guess incorrectly when it comes to the identity of the masked singers.</p> <p>“They really don’t want us to guess,” she said. “Producers are so terrified of us guessing, so they do make it hard for us.”</p> <p>Last week, Jackie figured out that it was tennis star Mark Philippoussis hiding behind the echidna mask, and producers were not happy about it.</p> <p>“I did get a call the next day saying, ‘Tell me honestly, did you somehow know he was on the show?’ I said, ‘No! I swear to you. I knew from the clue package it would be a sportsperson and what I did is I googled famous Australian sportspeople and I saw his picture come up and I looked into him.’</p> <p>“I think they were a little thrown that I got that one,” she said.</p> <p>But one person Jackie and the rest of the judging panel didn’t guess correctly was Michael Bevan who was unveiled as the Hammerhead on Tuesday night.</p> <p>Viewers couldn’t believe their eyes when the cricket champ pulled off his mask and Jackie was just as surprised.</p> <p>“I’m not big on cricket, so I’m never going to be name checking cricket people unless it’s Shane Warne,” she told<span> </span><em>news.com.au</em>. “They’re my favourite reveals though, the ones that no one has name checked once.”</p> <p>But did Jackie actually recognise who he was once he removed his costume?</p> <p>“Yeah, I did,” she said. “I know Michael Bevan, well, I know his face, but I don’t really know much else about him,” she laughed.</p>

Music

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Arnott’s makes Tim Tam using “beautiful” Australian strawberries supermarkets rejected

<p>A new Tim Tam biscuit is boosting a Queensland couple’s bid to save tens of thousands of tonnes of Australian fruit rejected by supermarkets at the peak of growing seasons.</p> <p>Stuart and Allison McGruddy have launched an initiative that fights against the war on waste by freezing fruit. But after further research, they were disheartened to know that many major companies use imported, rather than local Aussie ingredients.</p> <p>But that’s slowly changing, as biscuit maker Arnott’s has used 20 tonnes of the fruit the couple saved in their new limited-edition Sunshine Coast Strawberries and Cream Tim Tam.</p> <p>Mr McGruddy who is a chef, and wife Allison left London eight years ago to work on his family’s farm, and were taken aback at the amount of perfectly ripe Australian fruit being rejected because it didn’t live up to supermarket standards.</p> <p>According to FoodWise, approximately 20 to 40 per cent of fruit and vegetables are rejected before it even reaches supermarket shelves due to not meeting aesthetic requirements.</p> <p style="text-align: center;"><iframe src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/post.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Featmyberries%2Fposts%2F2877213695663865&amp;width=500" width="500" height="390" style="border: none; overflow: hidden;" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowtransparency="true" allow="encrypted-media"></iframe></p> <p>“I’ve been to farms in the local area with strawberries that dump multiple tonnes a day, and I take photos of it, and it just blows me away,” said Mr McGruddy.</p> <p>“Like after the needle incident a couple of years ago, people got to see just how much strawberry waste happens in the industry, and it is the same with bananas and mangoes.”</p> <p>Ms McGruddy added: “We were seeing lots of beautiful raspberries that might be rejected by supermarkets at the time, and Stuart’s dad said, ‘What can you do with these beautiful berries, Stuart – c’mon, you can do something with them’.</p> <p>“Not long after that we had the 2015 outbreak of hepatitis A that was caused by contaminated berries produced in China, and we thought we need to do something about this, let’s get an Australian offering, so that’s basically the premise behind our business.”</p> <p>They founded My Berries, and freeze and bag a growing range of Australian-farmed fruit in a small factory near Bribie Island.</p>

Home & Garden

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TV producers name the most difficult celebrities to interview

<p>Mornings can bring out the worst in people – even celebrities, apparently! After chatting to past and present breakfast TV producers, <a href="http://www.news.com.au/entertainment/tv/morning-shows/breakfast-tv-producers-name-and-shame-diva-celebrities/news-story/ffe33983c0b2abf5216bc77a37e81b24"><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">news.com.au</span></strong></a> has revealed some of the most difficult-to-handle celebrities, and you may be surprised by the results.</p> <p><strong>1. Elle Macpherson</strong> reportedly had to approve all the camera angles, lighting and focus settings. The supermodel even knew all the right technical terms. “She was a very nice person, just super controlling.”</p> <p><strong>2. Ricky Martin</strong> demanded his dressing room had the same lighting as the program’s set. He also had other very specific lighting requests. “His PR person […] discovered that Ricky would be exposed to fluorescent lights during his 50 metre walk from his dressing room to the studio and she told us that Ricky doesn’t do fluorescent lights.”</p> <p><strong>3. Lady Gaga</strong> said she would only drink tea out of antique china. “My colleague went down to Vega and got a floral Royal Doulton teacup,” one producer said. “Gaga had no idea.”</p> <p><strong>4. Michael Richards</strong> (who played Kramer on Seinfeld) was the total opposite of his famous character. “He sat, slumped in a dressing gown, looking like he didn’t want to be there. He wouldn’t chime in on any Seinfeld stories, he just wanted to talk about his tour.”</p> <p><strong>5. The Kardashians</strong> were actually “super nice”, but their support team were quite the handful. “They said the Kardashians weren’t allowed to be addressed in a certain way and they were only allowed to have certain fruit on the platter. But Kim and Khloe couldn’t care less about any of that.”</p> <p><strong>6. Jessica Alba</strong> was surprisingly difficult both on and off-screen. “She made us shut down the air-conditioning to the whole floor before she’d go in the studio. During the interview she made no eye contact and gave, at best, two syllable answers.”</p> <p>Have you ever met a celebrity? Were you pleasantly surprised by them or somewhat disappointed? Share your experience with us in the comments below.</p> <p><em>Source: <strong><a href="http://www.news.com.au/entertainment/tv/morning-shows/breakfast-tv-producers-name-and-shame-diva-celebrities/news-story/ffe33983c0b2abf5216bc77a37e81b24"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">news.com.au.</span></a> </strong></em></p> <p><strong>Related links:</strong></p> <p><a href="http://www.oversixty.co.nz/entertainment/tv/2016/12/secrets-from-your-favourite-reality-tv-shows/"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><strong>Secrets from your favourite reality TV shows</strong></em></span></a></p> <p><a href="http://www.oversixty.co.nz/entertainment/tv/2016/11/reality-tv-and-narcissism/"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><strong>Reality TV is related to narcissism</strong></em></span></a></p> <p><a href="http://www.oversixty.co.nz/entertainment/tv/2016/11/rolling-stone-list-top-100-tv-shows/"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><strong>Rolling Stone releases list of the top 100 TV shows of all time</strong></em></span></a></p>

TV

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How to make the most of an onion

<p><strong><em>Better Homes and Gardens’ resident landscaper, Jason Hodges, shares his top tips to make the most out of an onion and prevent unnecessary waste.</em></strong></p> <p>I hate wasting anything. It’s not just the frittering of money that annoys me. It’s the wasted energy and effort of production and transport that has an effect on our planet. Every little bit helps.</p> <p>Take the humble brown onion. How often do you have the one at the bottom of the bowl, fridge or bag that has sprouted? You’re not sure whether you can still eat it, or eat parts of it, so you steer clear and go without.</p> <p>The good news is you can still use the outer layers and keep the shoots and roots to grow another onion. That means you can eat the same onion twice and I’m not talking about it repeating on you.</p> <p>If you plant the whole onion without removing the outer layers you will grow shoots (and they are useful) but no onion. They can flower and you can grow onions from the seeds but by removing the outer layers you encourage the bulb to reform giving you your next onion.</p> <p><strong>So here’s what I’ve done in the past and I know works.</strong></p> <p>Leave your onions out in a bowl and let them sprout naturally.</p> <p>Once sprouted, place them on a scrunched-up wet paper towel in a bowl. Leave them for a few days to hydrate the root system and encourage the shoots to stand up straight.</p> <p>I use a steak knife with a pointy end to cut through the outer layers. Make sure you don’t cut too deep and damage the shoots.</p> <p>Peel the layers back by hand until you’ve got a clean shoots and root system. Clean between the shoots to remove any soft or wet residue. It’s a little like flossing.</p> <p><img width="498" height="280" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/29207/onion_498x280.jpg" alt="Onion" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"/></p> <p>This onion (pictured) has three individual shoots so I can cut down between them and provided I get roots with all three, I should produce three onions.</p> <p>Plant them into a pot for the next few weeks as they are going to be sun-sensitive after being inside for so long. A protected patio or verandah is the perfect spot.</p> <p>As the plant grows you can harvest some of the shoots (sometimes called spring onions or scallions). By removing them you will affect the growth of the bulb but they are delicious sprinkled fresh over salads and they are a common ingredient in stir-fried meals.</p> <p>Within a few weeks you can move the plant out of the shade still in its pot or plant it into your vegie patch. Water them, talk to them and they will grow.</p> <p>They grow easily in well-drained soil and you can keep them in the ground for a long time, meaning you don’t have to harvest them all at the same time.</p> <p>Once you see the bulb emerging from the soil it’s ready to pick but you can leave it there for months until the green shoots start to brown off. That will extend your harvest.</p> <p>A barbecue isn’t a barbecue without onions. Imagine the bragging rights if you’ve grown them yourself.</p> <p>While I’m talking about barbecues, an onion is an excellent way to keep your hot plate clean. I clean off my barbecue after I’ve used it but leave it oily until next time. The oil protects the hot-plate from rusting. When I go to use it again, I fire it up, get it really, really hot and then rub an onion half over the hot plate. It works a treat, smells great and doesn’t cost a cent. You can still cook the remaining onion after cutting off the side that cleaned the barbecue.</p> <p>Save an onion, grow an onion, clean the barbecue and cook up a storm.</p> <p>There you go – weekend planned.</p> <p><em>Written by Jason Hodges. First appeared on <a href="http://www.domain.com.au/" target="_blank"><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Domain.com.au.</span></strong></a></em></p> <p><strong>Related links:</strong></p> <p><a href="/lifestyle/home-garden/2016/08/the-trick-to-growing-herbs-in-a-pot/"><em><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>The trick to growing herbs in a pot</strong></span></em></a></p> <p><a href="/lifestyle/home-garden/2016/07/how-to-make-a-no-dig-garden/"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><strong>How to make a no dig garden</strong></em></span></a></p> <p><a href="/lifestyle/home-garden/2016/05/garden-fixes-after-heavy-rain/"><strong><em><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Garden fixes after heavy rain</span></em></strong></a></p>

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Aldi announcement that could push it to number-one supermarket

<p>German retailer Aldi is about to up its game in the one area that its trailing behind its competitors: fresh produce.</p> <p>Aldi has become the supermarket of choice for many Aussies looking for to score bargain groceries but most would agree that the cut-price retailer doesn’t offer much in the range of fresh fruit and veggies. That’s about to change though.</p> <p>The company announced on Tuesday new centralised buying model will allow Aldi to improve the quality of its fruit and vegetables.</p> <p>“The supply chain overhaul, which will take between six and 12 months to complete, will transform Aldi’s sourcing of fresh fruit and vegetables to something similar to its heavyweight competitors Woolworths and Coles,” according to a report in <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a href="http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/companies/aldi-refreshes-fruit-and-veg-supply-chain/news-story/1f358be2082b333ee9c20cf18f1c9722">The Australian.</a></strong></span></p> <p>It looks like Aldi could soon become the one-stop supermarket destination for Australians.</p> <p>Do you shop at Aldi? Share with us in the comments below. </p> <p><strong>Related links: </strong></p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a href="/finance/money-banking/2016/08/what-to-do-if-you-struggle-to-pay-utility-bills/"><em>What to do if you’re struggling to pay utility bills</em></a></strong></span></p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a href="/finance/money-banking/2016/07/20-small-ways-to-reduce-your-monthly-spend/"><em>20 small ways to reduce your monthly spend</em></a></strong></span></p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a href="/finance/money-banking/2016/08/10-more-items-you-must-never-buy-at-the-supermarket/"><em>10 more items you must never buy at the supermarket</em></a></strong></span></p>

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