Home Ec Summer Flashcards
What is a consumer
A person who purchases goods and services for personal use.
What five rights does a consumer have
The right to safety The right to value for money The right to information The right to choose The right to complain
Goods vs Services
Goods are a physical items
Service lacks a physical identity and cannot be owned, it can only be utilised
The Consumer Rights Act 2015
The consumer has a right to a refund, price reduction, repair or replace if a product is faulty
Consumer Organisations
Environment health department Which? Trading Standards Services Citizen Advice Bureau The Consumer Council Consumer Line
Food miles
Food Miles is the term which refers to the distance food is
transported from the time of its production until it reaches the
consumer
Advantages to Food Travelling
A variety of foods are made available to consumers.
Prices for foods are more competitive for consumers
Disadvantages to Food Travelling
Environmental issues – Pollution is caused which contributes to
global warming.
Less employment in the local economy where foods are being
exported from.
What are Organic Foods
Organic food is the product of a farming system which avoids the use of man-made fertilisers, pesticides; growth regulators and livestock feed additives
How does organic farming differ from conventional farming?
•Fewer pesticides are used •No artificial fertilisers •Higher animal welfare standards •No genetic modification (GM) •No artificial colours and preservatives
Why do some people choose to eat organic foods?
•Good for the environment
• Free from chemicals and pesticides
• Taste better
• Considered healthier
• It is believed that many illnesses and conditions (cancers) are the result
of a build-up of chemicals such as fertilisers and pesticides in our food
Why do some people choose not to eat organic foods?
- More expensive
- Farmers grow less because they can’t use fertilisers etc
- Food does not last as long (no preservatives)
- Exposed to natural contaminants
- Animals produce more methane
What is Fairtrade?
Fairtrade aimed to improve the conditions, community facilities and pay for certain farmers and workers mainly in poorer countries.
Disadvantages of Fairtrade:
There isn’t a wide range of products available.
It is also said that there are very high fees associated with the
Fairtrade model as the product must undergo a costly and rigorous
examination period
Some people have argued that Fairtrade has a negative effect on what is called the ‘free market’, where products are produced when they are needed and farms can grow in size and grow different crops as well as use new mechanical equipment, if the
demand for their product increases.
What is Animal Testing
An animal test is any scientific experiment or test in which a live animal is forced to undergo
something that is likely to cause them pain, suffering, distress or lasting harm.
Advantages of animal testing
o Animal testing has helped to develop vaccines against diseases like rabies, polio, measles, mumps, rubella and TB o Antibiotics, HIV drugs, insulin and cancer treatments rely on animal tests. Other testing methods aren't advanced enough o Scientists claim there are no differences in lab animals and humans that cannot be factored into tests o Operations on animals helped to develop organ transplant and open-heart surgery techniques
Disadvantages to animal testing:
oAnimal experiments can be misleading. An animal's response to a drug can be different to a human's o Successful alternatives include test tube studies on human tissue cultures, statistics and computer models o The stress that animals endure in labs can affect experiments, making the results meaningless o Animals are still used to test items like cleaning products, which benefit mankind less than medicines or surgery
Recycling means
Recycling means taking objects and using the materials they are made from to make something new and useful.
Advantages to online shopping
saves petrol You can shop 24 x 7, 365 days a year You don’t have to queue at the checkout You can see all the special offers in one place You don’t need a car Previous shopping lists are stored so you don’t forget essentials It’s easy to compare prices You don’t have to go out in bad weather You get free delivery Less likely to impulse buy
Disadvantages to online shopping
Returning items can require a lot of hassle
You have to be at home for the delivery
Sometimes items get substituted and you have to rely on their
judgement
You can’t choose the longest ‘use by’ date
There is sometime a delivery charge
You can’t touch and feel before you buy
You don’t get to try on the items