P
R E S S R E L E A S E
26
June 2000
SHOPPERS ASK SUPERMARKETS TO TAKE UP
THE
REAL FOOD CHALLENGE
On Saturday 24 June,
Friends of the Earth's Real Food Campaign was on the street to ask Luton
shoppers to challenge their local supermarket to provide them with food they
can trust. Songs about food were played
to attract passers-by, who were provided with information about what actions
their local supermarkets have taken to provide them with -
·
GM free foods
·
Food free from
chemical residues
·
Organic alternatives
Friends of the Earth
put supermarkets to the test by conducting a survey of their policies on these
three key aspects of Real Food (1).
FoE found that,
overall, Iceland and Waitrose are doing the most to provide shoppers with Real
Food, followed by Asda in 3rd place and Co-op in 4th. (2)
Disappointingly,
despite being the biggest supermarkets in the UK, Sainsbury and Tesco only
ranked 5th and 8th respectively, showing that big is not
always best. There is clearly scope for
these companies to listen more closely to what its customers want and take
action accordingly.
Shoppers will
demonstrate their increasing concern about the quality and safety of the food
they eat by handing in a challenge to their supermarket. The challenge asks supermarkets to work with
suppliers to ensure there are no pesticide residues on the food they sell; to
stop selling any meat and dairy products which come from animals fed GM crops,
and to provide more organic food at an affordable price.
Consumer power has
already influenced supermarket policy for the better, having succeeded in
getting supermarkets to remove GM ingredients from most of their own brand
products.
Julie Furnivall of
Luton FoE said:
"People don't want a diet of GM
ingredients and toxic residues - they want food that comes from real farms, not
factories, and protects wildlife as well as their health.
We want to see our supermarkets take
action to improve the food they sell and reach for the top of our league
table. Their present performance is not
good enough when it comes to health and the environment."
(Notes and contact details on page 2)
Notes to FoE Press Release on
Supermarkets 26 June 2000
(1)
FoE conducted a
survey which asked the following questions of the top 12 supermarkets -
·
Do you have
agreements with your suppliers which prohibit the use of any of the following
pesticides: Lindane, Carbendazim, Vinclozalin, Aldicarb?
·
What percentage (by
volume) of each of the following of your food stock is organic - fresh fruit
and vegetables, dairy products, meat products, processed foods?
·
Are you taking
action to ensure that animal feed used in the production of your own brand
dairy and meat products does not include GM ingredients? If so, by which date do you anticipate
compliance from your suppliers for the following - dairy products, poultry,
other meats?
·
Where you have not
been able to enusre that animal feed does not contain GM ingredients, do you
intend to label your meat and dairy products to inform customers that GM animal
feed was used in their production?
Supermarkets were
given bonus points for supporting new laws to make sure that more organic food
is grown in the UK and sold at a more affordable price.
(2)
The ranking of
supermarket policies were based on a rating system according to their replies
to the above questions. The results
were -
1
Iceland and Waitrose
3
Asda
4
Marks & Spencer
5
Co-op and Sainsbury
7
Safeway
8
Tesco, Somerfield
and Morrisons
11 Aldi
12 Netto
CONTACT -
Julie Furnivall, Luton FoE Food
Campaigner 01582 721907
David Oakley-Hill, Luton FoE
Co-ordinator 01582 724257
Luton FoE 99 Manton Drive, Luton LU2 7DL
Email
doh @mcmail.com