Are Supermarkets getting too GREEDY

[kazwencol]

HI, i just joined this site today and after reading about a topic on supermarkets, i decided to have my say on the subject. Everything has just got so expensive. that i have found it alot cheaper to shop in the asian shops. when you but say fruit from a supermarket it is always under ripe and eventually never ripens and then ends up in the bin. Which i hate as i do not like to waste food. The other day i went to a asian shop to get 2 lamb chops and 1 red pepper and ( wait for it ) the chops cost 66p and they had all the fat trimmed off also. the red pepper was 30p. I know that mums dont have much time on there hands but shopping around realy does pay off.Markets are much cheaper too than supermarkets. I think the supermarkets make a huge profit out of us....

Article about Tesco sacking an African woman because she complained about being paid 38p an hour.

"http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/this-britain/fruit-picker-confronts-tesco-over-breadline-pay-455357.html link]]

"Differing fortunes

Gertuida Baartman, 39

Paid 38p an hour to collect apples, pears and peaches in Western Cape. She is a widow with three children and works for six months a year when the fruit is in season. If it rains she can not work and has to beg for food. She struggles to feed her family and pay for school fees, books and uniforms. Her family are forced to live on bread and potatos. Gertruida lives in a two-bedroom shack with her children, her parents, disabled brother and sister's children.

Terry Leahy, 51

Appointed chief executive of Tesco in 1997 and is set to receive £11.5m in shares. The annual report revealed his salary rose from £3.9m to £4.6m last year. He grew up on a council estate in Liverpool and was educated at the University of Manchester. He was knighted in 2002 for his service to the food retail industry. Sir Terry lives in Cuffley, Hertfordshire, with his wife and three children where Tesco plans to open a new Tesco Express"

please everyone read Agri-Culture by Jules Pretty

It's all about how people have been duped into thinking the current system of food production is efficient, when in fact it's grossly inefficient.

Flying masses of produce that is grown cheaply in Asia and Africa all across the world to the European market is senseless. Also, the crops grown are not suitable for the local soils, and women especially are being thrown off their sustainable land, which is bought up by supermarkets to mass-produce food.

THe inefficiency of the mass-production of food is going to have massive repercussion on our health and the environment.

IT only benefits those who profit: those who head the supermarket giants and the corrupt governments who are paid off to allow this farce to continue

Yes I read that too Sakura, words are not enough really are they? Compared to the bankers not much for poor Sir Tel though is it?

yes, there are no words for what goes on behind the scenes

Perhaps that explains the silence surrounding the corruption and the absolute power the supermarkets wield!! They're relying on people to be speechless in shock

I've always had a gut feeling about the disgracefulness of globalisation, the majority of producers are NOT paid fairly!!!!

Not to mention G.M foods and the environment, It's good to talk to like minded people though isn't it

yes the Fair Trade mark is just something the supermarkets made up to dupe the customers.

Free trade and free markets are peddled as being a Good Thing hence the word "Free" but what those terms really mean is that rich countries are "free" to exploit the poor with backhanders given to governments in the developed world. poor countries, or even UK farmers are therefore not allowed to protect the local economies.

And don't get me onto dumping food in the third world, putting local farmers out of business, and calling it "Food Aid"

I'm not sure that ALL Fair trade is like that though sakura I have heard a few programmes about it and buy from People Tree who do seem above board.

yes, there may be some above board. BUt for example, if a supermarket advertises on its website that it supports fair trade it's blatantly a lie. It justifies it because it'll have on or two fair trade products on its shelves. It fails to mention that the rest of the products are there because of exploitation and slave labour. So the unsuspecting consumer is misled to believe that supermarket X is ethical, when it's not.

IMO I laugh when I see that in a s.mrket 'cos it just shows up the rest of the stuff sold, as does organic, I s'pose it's better than nothing though!

" it just shows up the rest of the stuff sold" lol

The soaring costs of basic fruit and veg really annoys me. Today I bought a single green pepper that cost about 70p.

that's a mark of the inefficiency of the food production system, Mummy2Bookie . As soon as oil prices rise food costs must rise because it requires massive quantitites of oil to get those peppers from the field, to the airport, onto the plane and halfway accross the world, onto more trucks, and delivered to the supermarket.
That's what the war in Iraq was all about. To get their oil for free.

That's what I mean by saying the system appears efficient, but it's not. It would actually be roughly the same price if we began concentrating on supporting UK farmers, because you'd cut out all the red tape, import tax and food miles.

The reason European farms are not supported is because the WTO doesn't allow countries to protect their own farmers.

WhY? Because the people who are making profits out of the current system (government figures, CEOs of supermarkets) are too powerful and want to keep things the way they are.

Hi Sakura. Makes me glad dp, dd and I plan to leave Europe. Unfortunetly not for a few Years though.

Hi ya guys,
Just to let you know that i saw a programe called Rip-Of-Britan this morning with Angela Rippon and two other women whose names doesnt come to mind at the moment. This topic today was about the elderly and mobile homes and elderly peoples homes. I thought they may be worth sending an e-mail too and see if i get a reply. Its worth ago though i dont know when i will get on here but will try to as often as possible. Talk to you soon.KAZ

Good idea Kaz did you watch The History of the High Street? That was fascinating especially yesterdays' about the S.M.s abolishing resale price maintenance.

Hi Guys, I hope you are all well and looking forward to the holiday season. I have my computer back but not sure how it long it will last but i will still be getting a new one in the January sales.( Thank God for hard-as-nails, wonderful stuff.
ppeatfruit, no i didn't see that programme but wish i had.
fifichef, how are you doing ? I have today sent an e-mail to Rip-Off-Britain so lets see if they reply. Anyway have to go now so will pop back on later, bye for now Kaz

Oh hi Kaz and ppeat - been on a mercy mission to my sisters - she's wheelchair bound after an op. Pleased to see that the thread is still on the move.
Read a good letter in my newspaper today written by a shaker and mover in the farming world - a Richard Lutwyche. He is calling for an ombudsman to regulate the buying practices of supermarkets and the major processing companies. Aparently the last government was discussing the possibilities of this before the election. When oh when oh when !! the no.10 petition site is up and running I think that his wording would suit the bill!! I have and email address for him so will make contact and see if he minds us quoting him.
Thank you to all the recent contributers to this thread - there are some really good comments and obviously alot of feeling on the subject.

What I have to remind myself is that they are there to make money. I need to be as ruthless as they are, and not to drive down prices. They DO NOT GIVE A DAMN ABOUT US. All they want is our money.

Man, I had forgotten how strongly I felt about supermarkets and have realised I have completely sold out. I even have a temporary tesco clubcard that I haven't actually signed up for and now I remember, I'm not going to. I am not being reeled in.
I had also stopped getting Riverford boxes since the summer, as I had been growing some of my own veg in the garden. I ordered a couple of boxes for Christmas and have remembered why we had been getting them in the first place. I want my choices to count, I want to support farmers, think about the impact I have on the world both locally and globally and I suppose, to stick 2 fingers up to Tesco et al in my own little way.

Choosing differently will mean I will have to be wise with my money again but I want to stand by what I believe to be right.

I am really interested in reading some of the books mentioned and will be going to the library with a list.

Kaz - I'm just catching up on reading all on here. I'm also sorry to hear about your computer and was just recently looking at adverts for some and was amazed to see that since I bought mine about 4 years ago they seem to have got more expensive for some reason. Usually this sort of gear gets more reasonable in price as time goes on!! I do hope you find a good bargain in the New Year.

Also Kaz - it would be good if you got some response about Rip off Britain. The Supermarket Rip Off is such a big subject to handle. If they could cover the major 'SINS' it would be a start.

Interesting programme coming up next week on Wednesday - Panorama - Supermarkets - what price cheap food?

Yes Fifi i noticed that programme is coming up; the sad thing is they tend to talk to the converted. welcome roonil i totally agree with you.

Yes ppea we are in the minority - it is hard to stomach but that is the truth. Most are looking for cheapness and convenience. As you say programmes like this are talking to the converted and many couldn't care less where their food comes from or how it is produced. Apart from this I think there is a little cheer on the horizon as there are more people seeing the light for as 'roonil' says ' the supermarkets aren't there for our benefit but simply for their own ends'.

Hi Fifi what i find so sad is the little town centres here (in mid west France) are dying and the local town halls are allowing more and more out of town supermkts.