Supermarket Powers/shame
I saw the tv program on supermarkets a while back, bought the book but have only recently read it from cover to cover…its a compelling read and has made me quite angry in the fact that they now seem to have jumped on the air miles bandwagon( do we look that gullible) Iv got into the habit of looking at prices while out shopping.. I use my local green grocer “They are rare these days” and Veg boxes (Have done for a few years) Recently i have noticed the buy British, with the little union jack and where it was grown in supermarkets. The price of these are more than whats grown abroad and, i remember a time when veg that was in season was cheaper…Ok I’m all for supporting our farmers but the cynic that i am with all the interest in carbon footprints. (There wasn’t any interest a few years back, neither were there little union jacks on food that had been grown here). Seems like its just another marketing ploy. I doubt the farmers are gaining from this but the shareholders are! Ill carry on supporting my little green grocer “I stopped buying my fruit and veg from supermarkets a few years back because the quality was crap and only edible for 2 days at the most; i was throwing a lot out” .. Even if some of his produce has come a fair way, passing through covent garden to him. I don’t have to buy it. I don’t like being taken for a mug! The little union jacks may stand for locally sourced food but there’s not a fair price for all concerned…
I have swiped this review of the book from amazon
Like I’ve done, if you ever wondered who paid for those ‘buy one, get one free’ offers in your local supermarket, this book is ideal. I’m not going to spoil it, it’s worth buying the book, but here’s a taster:
It explodes the myth that supermarkets offer the customer real ‘choice’ in the products they offer and that they are being more environmentally friendly, as they waste vasts amounts of fuel with their transportation policies, both at home and abroad. They also throw away perfectly edible fruit and vegetables because they don’t meet ‘their’ standards and ‘fine’ suppliers £25 for each product returned to them by customers, even if the bag (such as on potatoes) splits by accident.
Stories of apples that are stored for up to a year in special bunkers, which diminish their nutritional value. Fruit and veg farmers paid virtually nothing for their labours and having the prices agreed for their produce cut by the supermarkets even after a price is agreed and they’ve gone ahead and planted them. Appears to be for no reason at all other than the bottom line….profit and sheer naked greed, although the supermarkets claim this is ‘necessary’ because of ‘competitors’ forcing them to lower their prices, which (of course) they must pass on.
Ever thought about the effect of those tiny trays of mangetout imported from Kenya and other distant places have on the environment? The packaging is transported by air from the UK. Packing sheds of poorly paid local labour tie beans into neat little bundles, seal them in trays and which are then flown back to the UK. That’s 2,000 miles for the vegetables and 4,000 miles for the packaging! All that travel can be claimed as a ‘business expense’.
After reading this, I stopped buying fruit and veg from supermarkets and use my local high street grocers more. Better quality, lower prices and they haven’t traveled so far. I’m sure you’ll think about doing the same.
November 14th, 2007 at 8:29 am
Quite right. The staggering nonchalance with which we are destroying our world blows my mind. It’s mostly ignorance, of course, but it’s also apathy. Everyone’s waiting for somebody else to do something about it. Quite, quite pathetic.