I have just had a request from BBC West about the rise of supermarkets as they are doing a programme on the subject. To me it is far more than the supermarket it is about the food we eat and the way we relate to food. I think the turning point came in the 1970’s when shools stopped teaching cooking as an art form and turned it into a technology style lesson and approach.

My response to the journalist

Hi Rachel

I am more than happy to talk to you about supermarkets. However in my view the issue is wider than just who sells the food. It covers what we eat, why we eat like we do and how we produce the food we eat.

If you read through my aldc blog you will see for instance that I am opposing the new super dairy cattle farms in Lincolnshire. This is bad farming and bad for the environment. It is driven by the obsession to produce the lowest cost food rather than the quality of food we eat. This in turn is driven by the American Governement’s obsession to grow ever more corn which is heavily subsidised by the government and which, in my view, in turn is distorting the entire world food production and is a key factor in the rise of the instant food we eat now which in turn I think generates the obesity epidemic. (a simplistic starter for 10 of a very complex debate).

There is not a food shortage in the world and there is not a shortage of space to grow food to feed the world population. What we have is pressure to consume innapproriately and to consume more than is needed. What we have is a system that does not deliver food to people in a sustainable manner. We have too much food in certain areas and too little food in others.

One third of all food purchased in the UK is thrown away. That is a crime against humanity when people are going without food in so many areas.

The supermarkets are part of this commodification process. The concentration of power into a few retailers and producers dominated by chemical firms is not good for food or for people.

This concentration of power works against wholesome food producers, prioritises GM and agribusiness and is predicated on a mass delivery system which requires supermarkets. This in turn drives out the small suppliers in traditional high streets and force more people to travel by car and do big weekly shops to maximise savings on the 2-4-1 offers.

To answer your question more specifically on planning issues. The Lidl application has been approved I think and the Tesco application is not yet determined. In planning terms the Tesco application has many questions to answer covering the traffic impact, the impact on Moorland Road, the issue about its closeness to the gas holders and others. From a design point of view it is fine and I would like to see all the housing units in the scheme reserved for affodable purchase or social rented schemes.

I have called round local people to the Tesco site with Cllr Sharon Ball on several occaissions. Talking to residents about the issue, whilst they have concerns about traffic they are broadly supportive of the application. One comment from a committed environmentalist and cyclist is instructive “I know I should not say this Paul but whilst I oppose Tesco, if it opens I will be shopping there as it is so convenient and it will be open when I get back from work.”

To turn this trend round we as a society need to rethink our attitude to food and what we eat and how. Less meat, more fruit and veg. By eating less meat and more veg then we can afford the cost of properly farmed food. We can allow farming to return to a less petrol/energy intensive mode of production. Returning to the corn issue at the start of the response. The mass corn production is amazingly energy intensive. What happens to the world food chain, which is becoming increasingly dependent on corn, as we reach peak oil and the price of energy soars?

Not a simple subject and I look forward to the interview.

Paul