Time To Boycott Tesco?

melted welly

Member
Arable Farmer
Location
DD9.
But they’re still selling more British meat than their competitors, and many times more than Aldi & Lidl, just by virtue of size/sales volume.

You guys all want to boycott our biggest customer just because they’re some sort of bogeyman? :scratchhead:

I stopped shopping there from a consumers point of view.
Late finished from work, no food in cupboards, into shops to get shopping.
Bought 2 packs of the pre-cooked “ready to eat” chicken thighs and drumsticks out of the chiller. Got home, sat down to eat and they were frozen in the middle. Sticker on the back “suitable for home freezing”. Went in the week after and sought out the customer help to tell them and they were obnoxious and rude even when I pointed out the lakes of water emanating from the very fridges I took the packs of chickens from .
I’m no Gordon Ramsey but I know freezing, defrosting and refreezing is a fast ride to a day or 2 on the shitter.
couple that with not getting our produce price up because there was now a £30k “shelf levy” (or some bollox) charged to our customer to allow them shelf space, Tesco can sod off, so can Asda and Sainsbury’s for that matter. I’ll not use them.
 

Jackov Altraids

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
Devon
But they’re still selling more British meat than their competitors, and many times more than Aldi & Lidl, just by virtue of size/sales volume.

You guys all want to boycott our biggest customer just because they’re some sort of bogeyman? :scratchhead:

I think we should be positively support those businesses who best support our businesses. That may not mean boycotting Tesco but simply going elsewhere.....in fact anywhere else.
 

delilah

Member
I'd say anywhere that I can go and do my weekly food shop and get everything i need, including cleaning products.

Doesn't work.
We've a shop round the corner from us that does all of that. It's a farm shop. I haven't seen anyone on here complaining about them.
Need a better definition.
 

kiwi pom

Member
Location
canterbury NZ
i know a vegan who eats bacon, still lioves to claim hes a vegan rhough

honestly its mostly rubbish

I think I only know one, a second cousin and I didn't realise he was vegan. He takes it seriously and knows a lot about it but certainly doesn't fit the stereotype. He doesn't talk about it unless you ask questions, doesn't try to convert anyone and isn't offended by those that eat a more traditional diet.
He's also maybe the fittest member of the family:oops:
If all vegans were like him I don't think most people would even notice, let alone have a problem with it.
 

kiwi pom

Member
Location
canterbury NZ
Doesn't work.
We've a shop round the corner from us that does all of that. It's a farm shop. I haven't seen anyone on here complaining about them.
Need a better definition.

Well it works for me, that's how I think of a supermarket and Booth's seem to be classed as one.
Most supermarkets here have a fresh fruit and veg section, a butchers, a bakery and a frozen food section, as well as all the usual packets and tins, cleaning products, washing powder etc. One visit done, be it once a week or once a month. I go past our smaller supermarket to a bigger one in town as there is more variety and they work out cheaper. I use the local one for a few bits- mostly milk- between shops but will use local shops (known as dairies here) if its easier.
 

Bald n Grumpy

Member
Livestock Farmer
Was told by a farmer that he wouldn't let his wife shop in tescos she did all the shopping in a small local shop which is very commendable.
He didn't know what to say when I asked him how many of his 1000 lambs and 400 cattle they sold in that shop each year
Supermarkets are part of life and I doubt tescos will care or even notice if we all stop buying in their stores ( Mrs Bng uses Morrison's and I'm not keen to interfere)
 

neilo

Member
Mixed Farmer
Location
Montgomeryshire
I stopped shopping there from a consumers point of view.
Late finished from work, no food in cupboards, into shops to get shopping.
Bought 2 packs of the pre-cooked “ready to eat” chicken thighs and drumsticks out of the chiller. Got home, sat down to eat and they were frozen in the middle. Sticker on the back “suitable for home freezing”. Went in the week after and sought out the customer help to tell them and they were obnoxious and rude even when I pointed out the lakes of water emanating from the very fridges I took the packs of chickens from .
I’m no Gordon Ramsey but I know freezing, defrosting and refreezing is a fast ride to a day or 2 on the shitter.
couple that with not getting our produce price up because there was now a £30k “shelf levy” (or some bollox) charged to our customer to allow them shelf space, Tesco can sod off, so can Asda and Sainsbury’s for that matter. I’ll not use them.

And that’s fair enough. To ‘boycott’ (as if farmers are a huge customer base for them🤐) Tesco on the basis of them not supporting UK ag is just nuts though, imo.
 
What they stock is purely driven by demand. If people want to buy meat they will stock it. They have no political agenda, they will follow the coin.
Getting angry about the vegan thing isn't going to change anything. I wish people would stop banging on about f*cking vegans.
 
I've not been in Aldi or Lidl for years. Last time I went I couldn't find what I wanted, half the stuff was foreign or weird sounding branded goods like 'Heenze' beans and I gave up. I've thought ever since that I'll get what I want from a supermarket and that the very last thing to economise on will be the food we eat. I get the odd bit of stuff from local farm shops (which a helpful TFFer then informed me was mostly imported stuff- though very nice) to supplement what we buy from Tesco.

Say what you like, the Tesco fruit and veg offer in this neck of the woods is unbelievably good and when you have 2 kids who are plenty fussy when they want to be, the ability to give them good quality fruit and veg irrespective of the time of year is very valuable to us.
 

Jackov Altraids

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
Devon
But they do support our businesses. Tesco sell more British meat than any other outlet.

Selling is not the same as supporting.
A critical and independent review of the buying/ selling of British produce in the last few decades would show that Tesco has done more to damage profitability than anything else.
They have abused their market share to cut the percentage of value to the producer and simultaneously exercised increasing control over those producers. They also abuse their market position to manipulate markets and control pricing.
They were also the primary driver behind devaluing our produce. They stopped hanging meat and presenting it to its full potential. They pioneered the bright red, uniform size, fits a packet model in which taste and quality becomes less relevant.
When 'Grocers adjudicator' started, I believe about 80% of Tesco suppliers complained about their treatment. When the now chairman of RT, Christine Tacon left as adjudicator, she was please to say it was now about 50%.
They are now trying to make amends and I believe they are improving in the way they treat farmers but that comes from a pretty low starting point.
Not shafting as badly is still not quite the same as supporting.
 

delilah

Member
Well it works for me,

At the level of the individual - the micro level - yes, that definition works. A supermarket is a building where you can do all of your weekly shop.
However, we aren't talking about the micro level. Whenever someone puts a post up on here complaining about 'supermarkets', they aren't complaining about a building that sells stuff. They are referring to supermarkets at a national/ societal/ industry level - the macro level.
At a macro level: Define 'supermarket'.
 

delilah

Member
To ‘boycott’ (as if farmers are a huge customer base for them🤐) Tesco on the basis of them not supporting UK ag is just nuts though, imo.

Why did the suffragettes stand in front of horses ?
Because they wanted to encourage the rest of the population to stand in front of horses ?
Or because they wanted to attract publicity to their call for change ?

I will agree with you that it is pointless farmers boycotting Tesco if they don't know what change they are calling for.
 

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Red Tractor drops launch of green farming scheme amid anger from farmers

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As reported in Independent


quote: “Red Tractor has confirmed it is dropping plans to launch its green farming assurance standard in April“

read the TFF thread here: https://thefarmingforum.co.uk/index.php?threads/gfc-was-to-go-ahead-now-not-going-ahead.405234/
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