- Location
- Exeter, Devon
Sorry, but you haven’t answered my question. How do we increase something we don’t control?
It's the supermarkets to blame
- Thread starter startinghandle
- Start date
- Location
- Shropshire
Having been in France last week, I can safely say that French hypermarkets/supermarkets price food at farm shop levels. Why? Because French food policy has meant that the nation puts more emphasis on food and less control in the hands of the retailers when it comes to pricing.
I have answered it. We influence Government policy.
"We need to learn from nature. In nature there isn't uniformity, but rather there is diversity. We have allowed our food system to go down a dead end road of ever fewer producers, ever fewer processors and ever fewer retailers. We as an industry have been complicit in this. We acknowledge our failure in supporting a policy of fewer farmers and greater food miles. We will now work with our allies in the environmental and social justice movement to bring about change. We will explain to Government the benefits of a more diverse food system, and lobby hard for the necessary measures"
NFU President.
None of us as individuals have the time or resources for any of this sh!t. We need our representative bodies to extract their digits.
NFU President.
None of us as individuals have the time or resources for any of this sh!t. We need our representative bodies to extract their digits.
- Location
- Exeter, Devon
That’s the end of that then.
- Location
- Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk
Heard a spokesman on the radio this morning about this. Eggs are one of the six "staples" (read commodities) that every supermarket benchmarks against it's rivals (I would imagine bread and milk also feature). How one gets out of this to alleviate the price pressure I don't know . A bit like voters who "agree" to pay extra NI "for the health service" there must be a mechanism to get basic essentials elevated for welfare / altruistic / other reasons , it just might take a good campaign from a Union to achieve it with the right messaging
- Location
- Wormingford, Essex
There's some irony in that post.
- Location
- Shropshire
The issue with supermarkets, as everyone analyst and commentator will tell you, is that they don’t want to be seen to be the first to raise prices for fear of losing market share.
This is almost the opposite to the fuel companies who almost race to see who can put it up first.
The problem is that the govt care more about the supermarkets than anything else. This was fully borne out during the covid lockdown.
This is almost the opposite to the fuel companies who almost race to see who can put it up first.
The problem is that the govt care more about the supermarkets than anything else. This was fully borne out during the covid lockdown.
Go on....
- Location
- Exeter, Devon
No government in the western world is going to involve itself in commercial operations unless they’re going seriously wrong. And as we all know, the supermarkets were the nation’s heroes during the pandemic, so I’m sorry but unless you have an actual plan, nothing will change.
- Location
- LINCOLNSHIRE/KENYA
I’ve sold produce at the house door and I’ve sold potatoes to chip shops and the wholesalers. I’ve sold pigs to happy smiley butchers who would just as soon cut your throat as they would a pigs for an extra five pence a pound and I’ve sold to the Supermarkets I’d say all buyers have their own interests at heart and only care about their profits but I’ve made a lot more money dealing with the supermarkets they provide a service for which they make money. That’s business and that’s life.
- Location
- Leicestershire
Grandad was the same. Very particular about what he ate. Leg at each corner, reared himself, and butchered by local butcher in village. Vegetables grown himself... roast on Sunday, cold meat and tates on Monday... simple culinary life, but knew no different... me, I'm complete opposite, will eat anything...
Times have definitely changed, and continue to change
Every Government in the western world involves itself in every link in the food chain on a daily basis. It's what Governments are for.
I do have an actual plan. Reverse the concentration of market share in food retailing. In the same way as it has been the actual plan over recent decades to increase the concentration of market share.
Except Government - and ag - didn't realize that was the actual plan, we all just walked into it blindly by facilitating it at every turn. (Well not quite all of us; the non-muppets worked it out decades ago.)
It - the food chain - has gone seriously wrong.
We need to talk to Government in the only language Governments understand; Wonga.
In case anyone hadn't noticed, UK plc is insolvent. There are reasons for this.
Make a list of the 100 biggest businesses operating in the UK food chain. Then follow the money. Cayman Islands.
The ELMS budget - £2.4Bn - is smaller than the taxpayer spends topping up the income of folks working in the food chain.
Forget the environment. Forget farmers. Our current food system is financially unsustainable.
Can’t go wrong with breast leg and arseA good percentage of the people that want to change their ways find themselves intimidated when they go into an independent butchers, greengrocers or wet fish shop. Frankly, many don't know what to ask for save a leg of lamb, a chicken or a pair of kippers! Anything else might embarrass them. In a supermarket they can look and choose without pressure. Our local butchers (now a vet) used to tell me that quite a few people would peer in and if asked 'can we help' would say 'no, it's ok' and scurry off
Along with much else, we've lost food education and so many can't be bothered or don't want to learn
HK
- Location
- Carmarthenshire, West Wales
I think the governments think the supermarkets were the heroes as you say, keeping the country fed, meanwhile Nicola Sturgeon let the cat out of the bag, with her real attitude and knowledge about the countryside!
Nicola Sturgeon was outlining her phase one approach to lifting lockdown restrictions which are due to unfurl from Thursday, May 28, and included in her speech that agriculture could resume work from then. Scottish Farmer 22 May 2020.
- Location
- Lorette Manitoba
Government don’t want change from the majority of the public eating processed junk. Jobs are created processing the food. Income tax. Then after eating that sh1t all your life the health issues start and obesity and heart disease and cancer kill off the public earlier so shorter burden on the health service and less pension to pay out. Then more money is inherited by the next generation and squandered and taxed at every point it passes hands. once we reach retirement age and a pension becomes payable we are no longer an asset to the country and expendable.
kiwi pom
Member
- Location
- canterbury NZ
So just retailing that needs to change then, not distribution? Retailers do own large RDC's and in some cases transport operations, what happens to them? Can we keep large processors? Or do they need breaking up too?
Would Arla be allowed to exist under your plan?
How big could a farm get before it had too much market share?
All meaningful change is demand driven. The number of processors and in turn the number of primary producers has contracted in response to the contraction in the number of retailers. Not the other way round.
Tarw Coch
Member
- Location
- Bottom of Wats Dyke
So the number of retailers is a consequence of consumer demand ?