More and more concerns have been raised about the impact of the supermarket giants both on food production as well as on workers rights.
A recent report by War on Want and the British GMB, investigating the case of Wal-Mart (ASDA), shows how the relentless pursuit of supermarkets of the lowest possible prices has a negative impact on the supermarkets local communities as well as their suppliers, often based in the poorest countries of the world.
A few years ago, the supermarket retailer Safeway (now owned by Asda AKA Wal-mart) sent letters to their farmer suppliers asking for a contribution of 20,000 per product line, in order to improve marketing of the products. They went on to invoice their suppliers for these sums. Supermarkets have tended to only do business with the largest scale suppliers at the lowest cost wherever they may be located. Next time you go to the supermarket take a closer look at the food labels, you will see New Zealand lamb and vegetables from Israel. But this is not what most shoppers would choose – when asked, they say they prefer British farm food. Supermarkets are moving towards this as many are now offering vegetable and meat box...