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Supermarkets - Cheap Food at a High Price
Environmental campaigners such as the great George Monbiot regularly tell us there are three things we should do to save the planet - "Don't' shop in supermarkets, don't shop in supermarkets and don't shop in supermarkets." They're right, of course. But in today's western countries it's a pretty tall order. Why? Because they are so convenient, have loads of choice and above all they are cheap (and getting cheaper).
We all love a bargain and so seeing attractive products in such abundance is hard to resist. But behind the cheery (now eco-friendly) faade supermarket companies are savagely capitalist and they are damaging predators. They exterminate competition and they squeeze their suppliers so hard that they can easily put small businesses out of action. I was talking to the wonderful people who run Beanies Health Foods the other day. They supply us at The Barn with Frys vegetarian products and B'Nice Ice Cream. They told me that the conditions they would have to meet to get their products into any major supermarket would simply bankrupt them. To get stocked in a national Health Food Shop chain (no names to protect the guilty) they had to send out 44,000 worth of goods to them for every one of their store managers to try. And even then it was a case of only ordering at the individual manager's discretion.
Elsewhere to satisfy our desire for perfect vegetables the supermarkets pay the growers next to nothing then spend a lot of money making them look good. There was the case recently of Prince Charles' organic carrots being rejected because they were too irregularly shaped. He blew the whistle on what they were doing. Before they stopped buying from him the supermarket in question would buy the carrots in Gloucester, then ship them to Peterborough for 'polishing'(!!) then truck them back to a distribution centre in Bristol where they would be sent to shops in the area labelled 'local produce'.
This entry could turn into a major thesis/rant so I must stop now. Maybe I'll writer another piece about the environmental cost of supermarkets another time. But I'll finish with a plea. I wouldn't expect anyone to boycott supermarkets completely (I don't) but do please try to reduce your reliance on them. If there's a local greengrocer or independent health food shop then support them all you can otherwise they might not be there long. Do let me know your thoughts on this issue please.....thanks.
Comments (5)
Interestingly there was a piece in The Guardian on Monday 20 August about the bullying tactics of Asda and Tesco. I was speaking to Jim who runs Oat Supreme last week and he said he'd had to withdraw his products from Asda because of the appauling and bullying way they dealt with him. Grrrrr!
I Have been trying to find Carob 4 my vegan husband 4 christmas. It seems 2 have vanished from the shelves. I live in the Weston Super Mare area if anyone knows where i can get it. thanks
You moan and whinge every time your local Butcher,Baker,Greengrocer and Post office gives up the battle with the supermarket, but you don't support them when they are open. You prefer to buy and eat produce that has gone around the world twice, instead of buying local produce that is on average, 16 cheaper for a basket of six fruit and five vegetables. You let supermarkets get away with charging far more for fruit and vegetables than they should.
You have helped lose nearly 3,000 independent greengrocers in the last 10 years, forcing you to pay more for your fruit and vegetables. The closure of greengrocers comes on top of 2,700 local independent butchers and fishmongers that have closed since 2001. You are paying more for your vegetables. Daily Telegraph research found that a basket of six fruit and five vegetables from Tesco and Sainsbury's costs 37.20, compared to just 21.01 on average from four different independent greengrocers around the country.
Don't blame the strong supermarket versus dodgy planners and their "week" regulations - "tis you". Add the cost of driving your car to the supermarket on top of the extra 16 you are paying for your fruit and vegetables. It's no wonder your winging about food inflation, instead, start saving money on food by buying better and cheaper local produce from your local greengrocer,butcher,baker and candlestick maker. I don't own or are in anyway involved with a local shop, just wondering why we pay more. Tis you.
Previously
Supermarkets do destroy smaller businesses; I know this through personal experience. In my small town we have fought very hard to keep a superstore at bay but it is only a matter of time before the very shop we are trying to prevent will be the ironic saviour of the town, in the eyes of many. We have no grocer, no greengrocer, no bakers, no cake shop and three butchers have gone and our fishmonger. We have no independent food shops left at all.
Posted by Debbie | August 15, 2007 4:28 PM