[Closed] Huge corporations trying to be nice and kind to the communities they dominate?

owever they are packed in a box at the growers, shipped in the same box to the fruit and veg market, sold to the retailer who displays them and sells them in the same box. They are ripe and flavourful
because they are not handled so much once picked they don't have to be picked underripe to accept repackaging. Because the supply chain is quicker they are not picked underripe to last longer. thus they have flavour which you cannot get in a supermarket tomato. Its not a premium product as such and the price is comparable with the supermarket ones.

You really do have a misguided rosy view of the world. Still no evidence you know the first thing about supply chains, methods of agriculture, where your small shop veg comes from or anything else relating to international transport and commerce. Supermarkets will carry several types of tomato, varying from no flavour to lots. You want less intensive veg, you pay for it.

TandemJeremy - Member

At the risk of repeating myself it was very noticable in the netherlands that the town centres were thriving compared to here with independent shops - why - in main because the supermarkets have been restricted - no out of town shopping and no huge megastores.

All supposition. There could be any number of factors to explain the difference.

OK, an observation. I used to buy my apples and pears from a fruit farm in Hampshire. They used to sell some 'old established' varieties that are not normally seen in a supermarket. This was good. I don't want to be forced to eat Cox's, Gala, etc etc.

But they obviously could not grow sufficient quantities of these to sell to the supermarket. Win win for me - tasty apples with flavour provided I travelled some distance to purchase.

I did notice however in their packing area that they did in fact supply the supermarkets. But of course we had no idea of how long these would be sitting in a warehouse somewhere before being transported to a supermarket.

I've got too low a tolerance for whining and moaning on here tonight. However:

1) Supermarkets shaft farmers to make their stuff cheaper. You shop there (yes, YOU), and because it's cheap you have more disposable income that you can spend on bikes. I don't hear you complaining about that.

2)

Teh main reason why our town centres are such dismal place with no variation in the shopping

Our town centres are not all dismal places, by any stretch.

tootall - You will never see a tomato like that in a supermarket. Nothing to do with misguided view of the world everything to do with being able to taste.

Druidh - Of course there will be more factors but it is a fact they have a deliberate policy to restrict the supermarkets with the intention of keeping diversity in the town centres and they have vibrant town centres - there must be some link.

Been out riding for 2 days here have a post related to the OP title.
Our work has a company charity. It consists of basically the staff giving their time and money for the charity so the company can look good. The company does nothing for this. We did a charity bike ride last year - raising 85% of the entire amount raised and the MD would not even give us 50% of the time off for the trip and made us take our own hols for the trip. MD then threatened us that we were contractually obliged to pose for publicity shots for the local papers.
I dont think many companies do much that does not affect the bottom line of profits.

The result is LESS choice for the consumer. I have a choice of tesco, asda or Lidl - there are no virtually no independent food shops thus the small producer is also squeezed out. No cheese shops so I can only buy plastic wrapped mass produced cheese, no independent bakeries so no real bread is available. My local shopping area is poorer for the supermarkets. Choice is reduced

I have a choice of loads of locally produced cheeses and butters, and lots of local fruit and veg, meat and especially eggs. Where? Asda.

and fruit and veg and cheese that tastes of something

I love cheese, and I've had it from all over the place - markets, dairies, shops of all sizes. One of the very best cheeses I have ever had was made by a small dairy up in the valleys near me. I bought it from Asda wrapped in plastic.

You are coming up with some major rubbish on this thread. Let me point out something: Not all Tescos etc are the same. They sell different stuff depending on where they are. Scotland is famous for its population eating poorly, so perhaps the contents of your local big chains reflect this? (serious suggestion, not being arsey)

Molgrips - you must have some hell of an asda. Never seen one like that.

fresh local produce? My you are lucky.

my local asda has the same generic plastic wrapped stuff as every other supermarket. Very limited range of cheese as well. =

Edit - every supermarket UK wide I have been in is the same.
Double edit - I think it is probably about expectations and taste. I can tell teh difference.

Here you go TJ.

http://www.tesco.com/regionalsourcing/region/?page=scotland

Well now I know why we are like this with the supermarkets dominating everything and killing our town centres and killing diversity in food retail

We get what we deserve and expect and peoples expectations on this thread are so low. Lowesrt common denominator food you ask for and thats what you get

Do any of you remember tasty ripe fruit and veg?

TandemJeremy - Member
Well now I know why we are like this with the supermarkets dominating everything and killing our town centres and killing diversity in food retail

Less opinion, more evidence!

We get what we deserve and expect and peoples expectations on this thread are so low. Lowesrt common denominator food you ask for and thats what you get

TJ - I still don't see your point - one moment you're saying that the Supermarkets only sell bland, unripe shite - then the next you complain that they are killing the small retailers who only sell tasty ripe food,

well, its a free market mate, what the customer wants, the customer can choose to go and buy, and if they cannot get ripe tasty food at the supermarket, then the little guys who sell the good stuff should be booming.

Now, I laid down a very pertinent reason why town centres are struggling - opening hours! I gave you France as an example of how different opening hours can make a town centre thrive, yet you choose to ignore it, and go on about supermarkets killing small retailers.

The only reason supermarkets are killing town centres are because the supermarkets are open when people want to shop - go into any ASDA at 19:00h on a weekday and you'll see my point - if small shops are unwilling to change their opening hours to suit the customer demand, then they, and town centres, will die!

I'll give you another example - theres a farm shop about 3 miles from my house, on my way home - its open every day from 10 till 5, and closed at weekends. I work till 5

When exactly do they expect me to visit and buy stuff from them? Talk about limiting your own customer base!

Less opinion, more evidence!

Well it seems druidh, that the Tory Party, which I believe you are a small fan of, has seen the evidence and is of the same opinion as TJ.

And for that reason they want to create a new quango called the 'supermarket ombudsman'

[url= http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2010/jan/04/supermarkets-ombudusman-competition-suppliers ]Conservatives to create supermarket ombudsman to protect farmers[/url]

Quote :

[i]"The Tories will pledge tomorrow to set up a new supermarket ombudsman charged with powers to prevent leading retailers from using their size and influence to squeeze the profit margins of farmers and other suppliers."[/i]

And : [url= http://www.mailonsunday.co.uk/news/article-1299816/Now-watchdog-help-curb-antics-bully-supermarkets.html ]Now a watchdog to help curb antics of bully supermarkets[/url]

Quote :

[i]"Chief Executive of the Association of Convenience Stores, [b]which speaks for small outlets[/b], James Lowman, said: 'We welcome the supermarket adjudicator as a pro-competitive step that will prevent the worst abuses of buyer power in a market place that is so consolidated that it presents a real risk to consumer interests."[/i]

Bearing in mind that the Tories probably don't relish the thought of being labelled "quango happy", one has to assume that the creation of this new quango is seen as absolutely vital by them.

Whaddya reckon druidh ?

ernie_lynch - Member
Less opinion, more evidence!
Well it seems druidh, that the Tory Party, which I believe you are a small fan of,

That's the best laugh I've had all week. Thanks - I really needed it.

Well when your laughter has subsided, what are your views on the creation of a supermarket ombudsman ?

Or would you simply prefer to totally ignore the whole question ?

BTW, did I get that wrong........not so much a "small fan", more a case of being rather a "big fan" eh ?

No, I've just checked druidh, I was right first time........you are just a "small fan" of the Tories :

druidh - Member

As I've said before, I might vote Tory this year.

Posted 6 months

So what were you laughing at ?

Ernie - Having met Druidh in real life I think he plays his cards very close. I don't know his politics.

I don't know his politics.

Well by his own admission, he has said several times on here that he might vote Tory.

Tell me TJ, what sort of drongo would vote for a party that they are not even a small fan of ?

Clearly Druidh is some sort of fan of the Tories. I would be interested in knowing why me pointing that out caused so much mirth and hilarity.

My guess Ernie?

He said that partly to cause reaction and partly he was thinking about it as a tactical vote.

his constituency has a labour minister he thought little of - the tories were the only party able to beat them. Then there is the idea that a tory government might make scottish independence more likely. So vote tory in a westminster election

I think he is probably a tartan tory - from the right of the SNP but I wouldn't put too high a probability on that

well, its a free market mate, what the customer wants, the customer can choose to go and buy, and if they cannot get ripe tasty food at the supermarket, then the little guys who sell the good stuff should be booming.

Perhaps it is just the fact that they can buy everything from supermarkets that make people shop there? you have to accept that once a retailer has the buying power and the customer base of all the large supermarkets they both reflect and affect customer choices. I am sure if a large supermarket decided to give your produce prominent position and marketting resources that the product would sell better than an unsupported one. They have market power - see why politicians [all parties] rarely have ago at newspaper owners - they both reflect and affect opinion
It is equally true to say if no one bought the fruit /veg they would provide other stuff.
Reality is somewhere between these two positions.

Double edit - I think it is probably about expectations and taste. I can tell teh difference.

Hah.. classic TJ - you come up with evidence to back up your claims and he just tells you you're wrong without knowing anything 🙂

Trust me, when it comes to Uk hard cheese specifically, I have a pretty educated palette. As for the fruit and veg, I don't really know how much better or worse it is than any other stuff, but it's definitely from local farms. It's not as good as the stuff from my garden but no shop bought food ever will be.

It could well be that it's in Wales, and there's mileage to be made in selling Welsh stuff to Welsh people.

But definitely +1000 for Z11's comment about opening hours. Mrs Grips was amazed to see shops closing at 5.30 in town. Her first question was 'how tf are you meant to shop there?' and it's a damn good question, is it not?

I noticed that too when I came over here re shop hours - would love to shop in local butchers etc, but I have a job.

I guess that is a hangover from the era when women stayed at home, and were thus available to make trips to 17 different shops everyday. Once they had finished handwashing all the laundry and scrubbing all the floors.

Molgrips - you think supermarket refrigerated and plastic wrapped cheese tastes the same as unrefrigerated non plastic wrapped?

You think the super market fruit and veg tastes the same as non?

My palate tells me very different.

Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

proper cheeseshop storing cheese properly
[img] [/img]

Molgrips - you think supermarket refrigerated and plastic wrapped cheese tastes the same as unrefrigerated non plastic wrapped?

No.

I think that a brilliant cheese doesn't suddenly become crap as soon as it enters the door of an Asda. Have you ever had Cadog cheese btw?

Re the fruit and veg, all I can say is that it seems to taste the same if it comes from a supermarket or a local grocer. I've not been to any gourmet greengrocers. But then I am not a veg connoisseur.

ernie_lynch - Member

Well it seems druidh, that the Tory Party, which I believe you are a small fan of, has seen the evidence and is of the same opinion as TJ.

And for that reason they want to create a new quango called the 'supermarket ombudsman'

Conservatives to create supermarket ombudsman to protect farmers

Quote :

"The Tories will pledge tomorrow to set up a new supermarket ombudsman charged with powers to prevent leading retailers from using their size and influence to squeeze the profit margins of farmers and other suppliers."

And : Now a watchdog to help curb antics of bully supermarkets

Quote :

"Chief Executive of the Association of Convenience Stores, which speaks for small outlets, James Lowman, said: 'We welcome the supermarket adjudicator as a pro-competitive step that will prevent the worst abuses of buyer power in a market place that is so consolidated that it presents a real risk to consumer interests."

Bearing in mind that the Tories probably don't relish the thought of being labelled "quango happy", one has to assume that the creation of this new quango is seen as absolutely vital by them.

Whaddya reckon druidh ?

I reckon that any party which was being lobbied by retailers and supported financially by farmers and landowners should make sure it is at least seen to be standing up for them. I trust this Supermarket Ombudsman will be as successful as the Banking one.

TandemJeremy - Member

You think the super market fruit and veg tastes the same as non?

My palate tells me very different.

Less feelings, more facts. You have not come up with one iota of anything to back your claims - poor form even for you.

BTW - that cheese shop will have a great big fridge out the back. They keep it that way to sell the dream to aspiring middle class like yourself.