A video purporting to show two ladies loading their trolley with ‘free’ stray lettuce leaves has sparked debate on the internet, with some upset and others defending their behavior.
James Longstaff, a TikTok user, shared the video, describing it, “actually plucking off the green portions of every iceberg lettuce…”
The women were shown on the video working at a lettuce stand in a Coles store in Western Australia.
Some supermarkets have recently been selling iceberg lettuce for as much as $12 per head.
When the video started, the women’s trolley was already full of lettuce leaves.
While one woman removed the outer leaves from the heads of iceberg lettuce and placed them in the trolley, the other bagged the leaves.
She was then seen taking another bag off to use while a passerby looked at her, perplexed.
Since it was posted on TikTok on Sunday, the video has received over 180,000 views.
‘Lettuce is sold by “each” not weight, so they’re actually stealing from everyone who buys a lettuce after them.’
One woman said she would not have been able to hold her tongue if she had witnessed it.
‘I would have had to say something. They just have no regard for anyone,’ she said.
However, some users defended them, claiming that the outer, typically wilted leaves of lettuce are free to eat.
People who keep rabbits and guinea pigs as pets frequently use the outside leaves to feed their pets, and grocery stores regularly give away the shredded, worthless pieces for free.
‘I mean does anyone actually eat that first layer anyway,’ one wrote.
‘I know some stores will just give away the big outside leaves from the bin as they are rubbish. Is that what they are doing here?’, a second wrote.
But others said, even with the allowance from the grocery store, the women had taken it too far.
‘Was going to say.. I go to Aldi and get all the stuff that has fallen off for free for my guniea pigs, but they out here ripping them off,’ one said.
‘You’re allowed to take the lettuce scraps from the bins for free at most grocery stores but you can’t fill a trolley taking it off the lettuces,’ another added.
The individual filming the scene turned the phone back to himself at the end of the 24-second video and said, “That’s really hygienic,” in a tone that suggested he believed the exact opposite.
The rising cost of living is wreaking havoc on Australians’ wallets, with the cost of food, electricity, and gasoline putting millions of people out of work.
However, the price of lettuce, in particular, has risen dramatically.
A head of lettuce cost roughly $2.80 just a few weeks ago. It’s now simple to find it for as much as $12 in some supermarkets.
A photo of chilled iceberg lettuces on sale for $11.99 each at a suburban Brisbane supermarket generated outrage and disappointment online, with suppliers blaming the weather.
‘That’s a bloody outrage, it is!’ wrote Reddit user BrissieSandy of the photo, which was taken at the Seasons IGA Redcliffe in Brisbane’s north.
According to the National Farmers Federation, the price of lettuce was an exception, but there were other factors driving increased food prices.
‘We need to remember the price of one single item is not indicative of a general trend,’ NFF CEO Tony Mahar told Daily Mail Australia.
‘While an iceberg lettuce might be $12 at a particular store, I can buy a kilo of avocados for $6 from Coles.
‘In April CPI data showed vegetable prices went up 6.6 per cent and fruit 4.9 per cent with further increases expected, and we are seeing this with some items.
‘Farmers too are facing huge increases in input costs like fuel and fertiliser but the farmgate price is only a small percentage of the final price people pay at the checkout.’
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