Not on the Label

I’ve just finished reading Not on the Label by Felicity Lawrence. A journalist working on the food section of the Guardian newspaper, this book is an account of the food industry – what really goes into our foods, the working conditions of the people who produce it and the economics of the systems that drive it. And it’s not comfortable reading. The supermarkets are destroying not only local agriculture but even the quality of our food itself, with their emphasis on appearance and keeping qualities over taste and nutrition. They drive growers to pay below legal wages to immigrant workers (the only people who will suffer the conditions and pay offered) in order to meet the demands the supermarkets make. I was staggered to learn that not only do supermarkets expect the farmer to pay for all the labelling of the food and feel free to change the sizes of order right up until delivery but that they even expect the supplier to fund all those “three for the price of two” offers that the supermarkets run. Worse even than that, they often expect their suppliers to pay for the supermarket’s marketing!

If you care anything for the food you eat, you should read this book. If you don’t care about the food you eat then you should really read this book! You’ll never look at a supermarket chicken in the same way again.

pax et bonum

Article posted at 11:35am on 23 May 2005
Category: Books, Food, Politics, Struggling, General