Unjust ... unhealthy
Government agency delivers damning verdict on the dominance of supermarkets.
By Rob Edwards, Environment Editor
BIG SUPERMARKETS are selling food that is unhealthy, unjust and unsustainable - and they should be tackled head on by the Scottish government. That is the uncompromising message being delivered to ministers this weekend by their high-level environmental adviser, the Sustainable Development Commission. Otherwise, it warns, key targets to combat obesity, reduce waste and cut pollution will be frustrated.
The supermarkets are accused of being retail leviathans''. Their alleged offences include offers of two for the price of one'', the promotion of foods loaded with fat and salt, pointless packaging, excessive plastic bags, food waste and an over-dependence on cars and lorries.
The criticisms come in the wake of Friday's report from the government's Competition Commission, which urged extra curbs on the power of supermarkets - although not enough to satisfy those worried about the unrelenting spread of Tesco towns''.
Tesco is the biggest supermarket chain, selling more than 30% of the UK's groceries. Along with three other supermarket giants - Sainsbury's, Asda and Morrisons - it controls more than 70% of the British grocery market.
The job of the Sustainable Development Commission (SDC) is to advise the prime minister, Gordon Brown, and the first minister, Alex Salmond, how best to live up to their green credentials. The SDC's UK chairman is the environmentalist, Sir Jonathon Porritt, and it has a distinct Scottish organisation.
One of the SDC's Scottish commissioners, Hugh Raven, said supermarkets had a huge impact on Scotland's environment and public health. The Scottish government deals with them daily - on planning policy, transport infrastructure, public health and countless other matters,'' he said.
Yet we always hear that supermarkets' contributions to obesity, to farmers going bankrupt, to greenhouse gas emissions, is down to consumer choice and the free play of the market. These things are too important to be left to unchecked market forces.''
Raven urged ministers to not to shy away from intervention. If the Scottish government wants to intervene - as, with its proposed food policy, it says it does - this report tells them how,'' he told the Sunday Herald.
The SDC's 110-page report, published yesterday, calls on ministers in Edinburgh and London to provide strong leadership'' to supermarkets.
Many peoples' livelihoods in rural communities, in towns and in the developing world, depend upon getting a fair deal from the UK's food system.
Obesity costs the economy £10 billion a year, a sum which is is forecast to reach £50bn by 2050, the SDC says. The food chain contributes around a fifth of UK climate pollution and is a major source of waste.
But the SDC report attacks supermarkets for making the problems worse. Obesity and waste are being fuelled by multi-buy promotions, over-packaging and non-recyclable packaging, it says.
It warns that public health messages cannot succeed while high-calorie, low nutrient processed foods are aggressively promoted, making fresh produce look expensive and unattractive.
Supermarket policies aimed at cutting the pollution that causes global warming fail to adequately address transport issues, including goods transportation and the effect of planning laws on customers' car use'', the SDC argues.
Although the government maintains an official hands-off'' approach to supermarkets, the SDC identifies more than 20 Scottish government policy responsibilities on supermarkets and food, and almost a hundred in Whitehall. Scottish ministers have launched a public discussion'' with the aim of developing a national food policy.
The SDC's report urges the Scottish government to come up with a strategic plan for cutting greenhouse gas emissions from the food supply system. Ministers should work with farmers and suppliers to develop a long-term vision for low-carbon farming'', it says.
The power of supermarkets to influence consumer choice should be used to improve diet, the report argues. Rail freight and other low-carbon transport for food should be enhanced.
Supermarkets should be encouraged to reduce packaging and to phase out single-use bags, the report recommends. Ministers should develop planning policies which reduce the need to travel, particularly to out-of-town complexes.
The SDC commissioner, Tim Lang, says obesity, waste and climate change cannot be solved without harnessing the power of the supermarkets. Working with them effectively is essential,'' he said. With public scrutiny of retailers' behaviour increasing, many supermarkets are keen to work with government to develop a green, healthy and fair food system.''
Conflicts between government policies make it impossible to achieve some targets, SDC says. Advice to eat more fish contradicts attempts to preserve endangered fish stocks.
The SDC report urges the government to promote fair-trade schemes which incorporate environmental sustainability. It demands a single, front-of-pack system for nutrient labelling to eliminate the confusion caused by existing schemes.
Supermarkets like to pretend they are green and ethical champions, but this report confirms that they are not,'' said Joanna Blythman, Sunday Herald food critic and the author of a book on the power of Britain's supermarkets. They are bad for the environment, bad for food producers, bad for consumers and bad for our diet. Collectively they have run rings around successive governments because they are so powerful.
No-one has had the courage to confront them,'' she stated. Their dominance now needs to be challenged.''
But the supermarkets defended their environmental aspirations.
"We passionately believe that the most effective way of encouraging a more sustainable food system is to engage consumers by making green, healthy and fair trade products more accessible and affordable," said a Tesco spokeswoman.
Tesco is aiming to halve its pollution by 2020 and cut its packaging by a quarter by 2010. It used freight trains and barges to ship some products, as well as "zero-emission" delivery vans."
ASDA stressed its sustainability commitments: to be supplied 100% by renewable energy, zero waste to landfill and "selling products that sustain the environment".
ASDA is reducing packaging, shifting freight from road to rail and cutting salt in foods, said a spokesman. "We would be happy to sit down with the Sustainable Development Commission to discuss further the work we are undertaking."
Morrisons referred inquiries to a report it published on corporate social responsibility a year ago. Sainsbury's did not respond to a request for comments.
Scotland's environment secretary, Richard Lochhead, promised to carefully consider the SDC's recommendations. "We have developed a positive working relationship with leading supermarkets in Scotland," he said.
"We have met with supermarket chief executives and plan to hold a discussion event with retailers on the national food policy in April and also a supermarket summit later this year to continue the good work already under way."
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