Asda goes local

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I've just been pleasantly surprised this morning doing my fortnightly big shop at Asda in Greenhithe (I wasn't supposed to go this week, but last week's trip to Asda in BexleyHeath was such a waste of time as they didn't have the 3 main things I go for, I had to go sooner than normal).

Not only did they have their normal decent range of organic fruit and veg, but they had a good range of local food that was the same, if not cheaper, than the general stock, even the eggs (and they were significantly cheaper than the standard equivalent).

It doesn't make up for the lack of "bags for life" but it helps compensate a bit! I just wish they would hurry up and replace the bags. Asda may not have a great name in terms of healthier / quality foods, but I certainly find them to be one of the better ones (especially for soya milk!) Reply to this

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1. Re: Asda goes local by meeps, 217 days ago

   The supermarkets are now only buying locally due to the dramatic consumer awareness from the climate media attention. Their sudden we buy local marketing is just is reactive and only jumping on the local bandwagon. The supermarkets have not been the market force behind these changes. Please remember the supermarkets have been allowed ruin farming and market outlets for local produce over the last 20 years. Fruit and Veg growers and packers (many other types of suppliers)to the supermarkets have been asked to pay £millions to keep their contracts and local producers/farmers tied to contracts with supermarkets cannot supply any other potential customers.
   The supermarkets dictate what the farmers can grow, and can be subject to prices changes at anytime especially during a 2 for price of 1 campaign. The varieties of produce grown have been developed over the past years for transportation, shelf life and perfect looking for the store shelves. The varieties which taste the best have been been sidelined by the supermarkets. The fruit and veg is tasteless none more so than international fruit picked so green which is unripe and treated for travelling. Fruit will take weeks to ripen then dies after 2 ripe days, just tasteless and so expensive. Iceberg lettuce is the most tasteless variety but easy to grow with a good shelf life, there are over 300 varieties of lettuce and the supermarkets sells 3 or 4 ( except the bagged salads, with gas and chlorine, yuck)
   During the harvesting season we see so many fields of vegetables cultivated back in to the land. Broccoli and Cauliflowers for example grown for the small floret packets are picked leaving 60% -80% of perfectly good vegetables in the fields only too big for the supermarket packets. Since the growers have no alternative markets these normal size perfectly good veg is being ploughed into the soil. On many occasion's I have seen whole fields ploughed simply because the supermarket has enough short-term supply and such perishable goods are either dumped or ploughed.
   The supermarkets have only recently changed to local produce since this has become the latest buzz word. They have dictated the whole food supply chain for years, ruined local farming and communities, built vast horrible retail outlets, influenced local planners and councils, Land banking, sucked employment from other industry sectors, major contributor to obesity, poor food standards, massive amounts of bad fats, additives salts and flavouring in foods, tasteless fruit and veg, chewy meat, large amounts of waste, transport miles and pollution, enforced the straight bean or cucumber, the perfect skin finish on potatoes and the detriment to the better tasting varieties, why? The money has been stripped out from the local community who produce the local produce to the benefit of profits and share price and land banking. Supermarkets can only be described as local community asset stripper. Local producers, shops and the community all benefit and the money was returned into the local area benefiting the local community. This is now not the case the farmers have been squeezed by the supermarkets who soak up a vast amount of employment who earn low retail and supply chain wages to operate the large supermarket control machine overheads which cripples any potential competition and benefit to the consumer and the local community. Local businesses are struggling to find employees due o the pull of the supermarket and its vast supplychain.The whole supermarket and supply chain sector has absorbed a vast amount of people and with no alternatives from competition and suck the life out every area of the UK. Many of the staff do not have the knowledge of local butcher and would not know the best cuts of meat, plus the meat is always too new to taste very bright red when should be a darker red colour. it is the same as the baker fruit veg no one has any knowledge for the consumer and many consumers are fairly clueless what is good or bad.
   The supermarkets tell us they now provide us with cheaper food and a greater choice. There is often a belief that if it sells, it must be bad, or if it sells, it must be good. Neither of those are true since both are a conflict between good things and commercial success. We mainly get one variety of Strawberry, Elsanta, tasteless variety but great variety which can last the time from picking, packing in UK or Spain then by truck to distribution store then by truck to a supermarket store somewhere in the UK. I don't think this is fresh, local and a cheap process for food.
   
   Potatoes have almost been the same price for the last 30 years, it is only the yield which has increased from the new varieties pushed by the supermarkets. The farmer who has all the risk and costs will get £100 for a tonne, then transported to a packer who will get his margin and then by the time it arrives on the shelves it can range from £600 to over £1000 per tonne through out the season. The costs from the farm gate to the consumer is ridiculous. It is all down to price, squeeze everyone down the supply chain, destroy any potential competition by sucking the life out of towns and the local communities. We may grump about the Europeans in particular the French but at least they are knowledgeable about food and by supporting their local producers.
   Lastly, well done to Jamie Oliver's programme on school dinners but is it not really unbelievable that in the year 2005 it needs a chef's TV programme to highlight the crap food in schools. Perhaps a century ago but this was in the year 2005 a modern western G8 country and yet feeding food full of rubbish at schools, beyond belief.
   
   The food standards agency needs a good kicking to sort out all this rubbish from disgusting takeaway places selling everything from kebabs, chinese,Indian, Pizzas, burgers some from all the same place?, supermarkets, food suppliers just too much crap.
   The supermarkets will be the equivalent of the Tobacco companies of the future being the root cause to obesity and many other ill healths now found in many children.

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2. Re: Asda goes local by jane, 217 days ago

   You're right that supermarkets are one of the main culprits for harming local trade and farming and I do only buy certain things from supermarkets (e.g. we have a fruit and veg box delivery, I use the local health food shop) but there are somethings where I just can't justify buying them from smaller traders - paying 2 or 3 times the price just isn't feasible for things we use in large volumes (such as soya milk) and other things aren't available locally.
   
   What would your view be in the Organic v. local discussion we've been having on the site?

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3. Re: Asda goes local by ninikins, 216 days ago

   This is good news though, Jane! It's definitely a step in the right direction.

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