It's easy for a coward to be a hero at a distance .... every little helps :)

[HWL1973]

If you think having a Tesco in Marple is a good thing, please just read this - most of the text is taken from the Tescopoly website.

http://www.tescopoly.org



Who is paying the real cost of supermarket price wars?
Thanks to rapid growth in recent years, Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury’s and Morrisons now control over 70% of the UK groceries market. Increasingly, if producers overseas want to get into the UK market, they have to deal with supermarkets. Supermarkets are using the enormous buying power that comes with their dominant position to force farms and factories in poor countries to lower their prices, deliver goods ever faster and at shorter notice. The pressure on suppliers to deliver more for less is passed on to workers in the form of low wages, job insecurity and poor working conditions.

"Having travelled to many countries to meet farmers it was very clear that supermarkets treated all farmers equally  - unfortunately that is equally badly and it was the name of Tesco which came up time and time again. If we are to have a future as farmers and sustainable agriculture then we need to control supermarket power."
Michael Hart, chairman of Small and Family Farms Alliance

Supermarkets fail to pay farmers a fair share of  retail prices

Farmers have to bear the burden of unfair trading practices imposed by supermarkets.

Bananas
Worldwide Tesco buys and sells around 20 million boxes of bananas a year from Latin America, the Caribbean and West Africa. Most of these are from plantations where workers do not earn a living wage and where workers have inadequate protection from the toxic chemical hazards that are endemic to industrial-scale production.

 
Research by the Clean Clothes Campaign
reveals that while supermarkets are seeing massive profits from their cheap fast fashion lines, workers in their supply chains face increasing poverty, appalling conditions, and serious workers rights violations. The “Cashing In” report conducted research in Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka and Thailand, interviewing factory workers for Tesco, Walmart, Aldi and Lidl. It showed that major supermarkets' price breaking approach to garment retail created major labour rights issues for garment workers in their supply chains:


Take action for Tesco chickens.

Viva!'s investigations into animal welfare
In 2006 Viva! made a complaint, supported by the Food Standards Agency, about Tesco packaging on own-label duck products, which were misleading customers. The packaging suggested that the birds were reared free-range, but Viva! provided evidence that the they were housed in industrial sheds with no outdoor access. Trading Standards upheld the complaint. For further information please see Viva!'s press release.

In 2003, Viva! undertook an undercover investigation into Bowes of Norfolk, a pig farm supplying Tesco, which revealed severe animal suffering. According to an article in The Observer, the company, which employs more than 600 people and has an annual turnover of over £30 million, is Tesco's major UK-based pork supplier, providing pork cuts for all of the chain's 'Finest' range, processing 50 per cent of its 'Organic' and 'Tender Select' ranges and a substantial part of its 'Standard' range, as well as providing meat for sale at the chain's over-the-counter service. The investigation made clear that responsibility for these standards lay with Tesco -Viva! said “As Bowes' main customer, Tesco is indirectly responsible for those conditions. Of course, other major supermarkets also sell meat from pigs reared intensively - Tesco just got caught - but that does not excuse Tesco from responsibility.”
A follow-up investigation in 2004 revealed continued animal suffering including sows still confined to farrowing crates, overcrowding and lame pigs. Despite suggesting that a meeting might be useful, Tesco apparently found “one excuse after another not to actually hold one.” In response Viva! Held a Day of Action in August 2004 with demonstrations at 90 Tesco stores.

Tesco selling live turtles and frogs abroad
According to the Tortoise Trust Tesco is involved in selling live turtles and live frogs at its branches in China. The Trust state that “the suffering inflicted on these animals is so extreme that were it to take place in the UK, Tesco directors would undoubtedly face criminal charges. In addition to the most horrendous cruelty, the live turtle and frog trade is acutely environmentally destructive, and is contributing to the rapid extinction of a number of species. Campaigners have launched a petition to campaign against the sale of live turtles in Tesco stores in China petition.

Tesco now controls over 30% of the grocery market in the UK is that a good thing?


There are over 400 local campaigns against supermarkets listed on the Tescopoly website, thats just in the UK on one website!!!

Tesco are cowards, we need a change, we need something new... let Marple be the first to buck the trend and SAY NO TO TESCO

How many times can a man turn his head pretending he just doesn't see???

Ask yourself this, do you get a balanced view of Tesco from an anti Tesco website? 

[My login is Henrietta]

However, for some people they have to go where is cheapest. It's all well and good being ethical if you can afford it. One small example is I buy free range eggs etc. but they are alot dearer. Not everyone can afford that.

But are Tesco et al all that much cheaper over all? I have milk delivered and pay less (including delivery) than Tesco charge over the counter. I buy free range eggs produced locally which are cheaper than all Tesco eggs except their value eggs.

And of course, there is the over spend aspect of self-service shopping. A straw poll among my friends who use Morrisons, Tesco, Sainsburys, etc., indicates that they all buy more than they intend even when they go shopping with a list.

Often quality is cheaper than "value" in the long run as you get what you pay for and can buy less of it. I usually buy my meat in a local butcher who is perceived as being expensive. I recently unexpectedly needed to make a big casserole when the independents were closed and had to buy from an un-named s/market. I was initially quite impressed by the price which was considerably cheaper than the same cut in the local butcher UNTIL I got it home and started trimming off the grotty bits. I had to throw away A QUARTER of the weight in gristle and inedible bits with the result that the "cheap" s/market meet was actually more expensive than the meat I would have bought from the "proper" butcher. At least with the "expensive" butcher we could have eaten all that came in the package from the shop.

It IS possible to be ethical on a budget and before anyone jumps on me I am on a state pension and a (very) small occupational pension and do as little as possible of my shopping in supermarkets and still manage to eat properly. However in Kenya some years ago I saw vast fruit growing estates owned by a big fruit canning company which exports to the UK and also produces "own brand" products for supermarkets in this country. I also saw the conditions in which the workers live in the company's compound. The difficulty is to know whether it is better to boycott the company's product in the hope of influencing it to behave better or to continue to buy the product for the sake of the employees.

[Duke Fame]

It is interesting and I will look more into it. However, for some people they have to go where is cheapest. It's all well and good being ethical if you can afford it. One small example is I buy free range eggs etc. but they are alot dearer. Not everyone can afford that. People have to think of their own families above everything if they are on the breadline.

Free range eggs are available at 80p cheaper than Tesco from a lady at the top of Hibbert Lane. A similar deal is available at the greengrocers.

The Co-op costs more because they market themselves as fair-trade. They have a better record than most with regard the supply chain.

If everyone chose to eat in season, there would not be a problem but we're a lazy bunch.

[JMC]

It is interesting and I will look more into it. However, for some people they have to go where is cheapest. It's all well and good being ethical if you can afford it. One small example is I buy free range eggs etc. but they are alot dearer. Not everyone can afford that. People have to think of their own families above everything if they are on the breadline.

[artcatdog]

Thank you 

[Miss Marple]

What a fantastic post !

[Smithy166]

Sir (or madam) That is one well thought out post, with a very, very good argument!

[artcatdog]

If you think having a Tesco in Marple is a good thing, please just read this - most of the text is taken from the Tescopoly website.

http://www.tescopoly.org



Who is paying the real cost of supermarket price wars?
Thanks to rapid growth in recent years, Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury’s and Morrisons now control over 70% of the UK groceries market. Increasingly, if producers overseas want to get into the UK market, they have to deal with supermarkets. Supermarkets are using the enormous buying power that comes with their dominant position to force farms and factories in poor countries to lower their prices, deliver goods ever faster and at shorter notice. The pressure on suppliers to deliver more for less is passed on to workers in the form of low wages, job insecurity and poor working conditions.

"Having travelled to many countries to meet farmers it was very clear that supermarkets treated all farmers equally  - unfortunately that is equally badly and it was the name of Tesco which came up time and time again. If we are to have a future as farmers and sustainable agriculture then we need to control supermarket power."
Michael Hart, chairman of Small and Family Farms Alliance

Supermarkets fail to pay farmers a fair share of  retail prices

Farmers have to bear the burden of unfair trading practices imposed by supermarkets.

Bananas
Worldwide Tesco buys and sells around 20 million boxes of bananas a year from Latin America, the Caribbean and West Africa. Most of these are from plantations where workers do not earn a living wage and where workers have inadequate protection from the toxic chemical hazards that are endemic to industrial-scale production.

 
Research by the Clean Clothes Campaign
reveals that while supermarkets are seeing massive profits from their cheap fast fashion lines, workers in their supply chains face increasing poverty, appalling conditions, and serious workers rights violations. The “Cashing In” report conducted research in Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka and Thailand, interviewing factory workers for Tesco, Walmart, Aldi and Lidl. It showed that major supermarkets' price breaking approach to garment retail created major labour rights issues for garment workers in their supply chains:


Take action for Tesco chickens.

Viva!'s investigations into animal welfare
In 2006 Viva! made a complaint, supported by the Food Standards Agency, about Tesco packaging on own-label duck products, which were misleading customers. The packaging suggested that the birds were reared free-range, but Viva! provided evidence that the they were housed in industrial sheds with no outdoor access. Trading Standards upheld the complaint. For further information please see Viva!'s press release.

In 2003, Viva! undertook an undercover investigation into Bowes of Norfolk, a pig farm supplying Tesco, which revealed severe animal suffering. According to an article in The Observer, the company, which employs more than 600 people and has an annual turnover of over £30 million, is Tesco's major UK-based pork supplier, providing pork cuts for all of the chain's 'Finest' range, processing 50 per cent of its 'Organic' and 'Tender Select' ranges and a substantial part of its 'Standard' range, as well as providing meat for sale at the chain's over-the-counter service. The investigation made clear that responsibility for these standards lay with Tesco -Viva! said “As Bowes' main customer, Tesco is indirectly responsible for those conditions. Of course, other major supermarkets also sell meat from pigs reared intensively - Tesco just got caught - but that does not excuse Tesco from responsibility.”
A follow-up investigation in 2004 revealed continued animal suffering including sows still confined to farrowing crates, overcrowding and lame pigs. Despite suggesting that a meeting might be useful, Tesco apparently found “one excuse after another not to actually hold one.” In response Viva! Held a Day of Action in August 2004 with demonstrations at 90 Tesco stores.

Tesco selling live turtles and frogs abroad
According to the Tortoise Trust Tesco is involved in selling live turtles and live frogs at its branches in China. The Trust state that “the suffering inflicted on these animals is so extreme that were it to take place in the UK, Tesco directors would undoubtedly face criminal charges. In addition to the most horrendous cruelty, the live turtle and frog trade is acutely environmentally destructive, and is contributing to the rapid extinction of a number of species. Campaigners have launched a petition to campaign against the sale of live turtles in Tesco stores in China petition.

Tesco now controls over 30% of the grocery market in the UK is that a good thing?


There are over 400 local campaigns against supermarkets listed on the Tescopoly website, thats just in the UK on one website!!!

Tesco are cowards, we need a change, we need something new... let Marple be the first to buck the trend and SAY NO TO TESCO

How many times can a man turn his head pretending he just doesn't see???