wexandproud wrote: » I worked in a factory that used to distribute the beef . The reason it took so long to roast was because it was meant for stewing . Used to come to us frozen and we'd cut it up using a band saw . The amount that was returned to us was unbelievable , too lean , too fat , to hard to cook , could you not dice it up for me , today doesn't suit i'd prefer to have it some other day. While some people were glad of it the amount of it wasted was criminal . Although the people in the factory didn't qualify for it , because there was so much being returned and wasted we all ended up with freezer's full of it . Before that in the early 80's i worked in a wholesaler and publicans redeemed the vast majority of butter vouchers . Eventually the manager had to enforce the proper policy that they could only be redeemed against butter so the publicans had to start to buy butter and arrange with a shop to take it off them . This was a time when most pubs were not serving food and even if they were the vouchers were not accepted against ''catering'' packed butter .
dxhound2005 wrote: » I see somebody on eBay is asking for €800 for a book of "rare butter vouchers".
Gregor Samsa wrote: » The Butter Vouchers were just to get rid of the Butter Mountain (the large oversupply of butter that existed because of EEC/EU Common Agricultural Policy at the time). It wasn't a case that anyone thought that people on low income particularly needed butter, it was more that there was a vast amount of it sitting in expensive storage that no-one had any use for, so they may as well give it away. There was a wine lake, cheese mountain and a milk lake too. Probably a chocolate forest.
Pawwed Rig wrote: » My Dad was working too but I remember people arriving at the door handing out free butter from the EEC.
Stovepipe wrote: » I recall seeing a large box of butter at a neighbour's house and it was literally a couple of cubic feet of butter. They had cut bits of and put it in the fridge and the small freezer section was crammed with it and they were giving butter away to any visitor.
dxhound2005 wrote: » Did they get that in a shop?
Stovepipe wrote: » It was called Intervention Beef, as it was bought from the farmers and stored in vast freezing centres (chilling plants) and the EU had millions of tons of it, due to over production. That also applied to wine, cheeses and olive oil as there were grants available to increase production and Europe soon had vast stocks of those products. Huge amounts of the stuff were dumped, as they couldnt all be stored or shipped out. There was a huge amount of scamming going on,with the Mafia profitting hugely with olive oil and wine production in Italy. The stuff was being given away to Eastern European countries for free and one of the scandals that emerged was that beef was given to the Russian Army and found to be rotten, as it had been improperly stored and had gone off,but someone had made a profit from it. Now,the average Russian conscript took a lot of abuse but this tipped the scales, so to speak and caused outrage in Russia and even made the news in the West,as the beef was found to be clearly marked with EU stamps.
Vita nova wrote: » It would have been nice to get wine vouchers, I would have gladly played my part in reducing the wine lake.
Cherry Blossom wrote: » It would have been seen as socially irresponsible of the government to give out wine voucher though 😂
Leg End Reject wrote: » Wasn't there a cheese mountain at some stage too?
Gregor Samsa wrote: » During WWII, Russia gave troops 100ml of vodka a day as part of their rations. 22 hours after Nazi Germany surrendered in May 1945, Russia ran out of vodka due to the celebrations. Talk about a national hangover. The EU was not so flaithulach. The wine was converted into industrial alcohol, until vineyards were eventually paid to reduce the number of vines.
Neames wrote: » I signed on for 3 weeks in my life. It was the 90s. Like the OP I got just over 20 quid. First week I signed on, picked up my money...and was asked did I not want the butter vouchers. No thanks you're grand. Arrived home. Says the mother where's the butter vouchers. Says I didn't bother with them. Says she...tis the only thing you're handing up in this house. Back on the bike for a 3 mile cycle to the dole office to ask for the butter vouchers. Humiliation.
Leg End Reject wrote: » You were unlucky!
Cherry Blossom wrote: » It’s mad isn’t it, how much everything was needed. A few pence on the butter vouchers off the weekly shop and every little counted. It’s not really a very long time ago or at least it doesn’t seem long ago to me. Most days now i have a salad for tea. It was beans on toast in those days, couldn’t afford a fancy salad every day then.
begbysback wrote: » Not sure exactly where you were living mate, but where I lived butter vouchers had multiple purposes, everything from buying cider to insurance discs in car windows
Cherry Blossom wrote: » So in the 90’s for a summer in between two third level courses I signed on. After my parents income was means tested I got twenty something punts a week from social welfare. Thank dog for the butter vouchers though. A few pence off a tub of butter once a month or so. What was the point of them though? Why was butter so important to everyone’s diet that the government gave special money off vouchers for this product to the unemployed? Why not bread vouchers for example? When and why did these vouchers start and why did they stop? It seemed totally random to me as a young adult at the time. I was expected to live off 20 odd quid a week but at least I had plenty of butter.
wexandproud wrote: » I worked in a factory that used to distribute the beef . The reason it took so long to roast was because it was meant for stewing . Used to come to us frozen and we'd cut it up using a band saw . The amount that was returned to us was unbelievable , too lean , too fat , to hard to cook , could you not dice it up for me , today doesn't suit i'd prefer to have it some other day. While some people were glad of it the amount of it wasted was criminal .
