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Plenty of attention of late on the role of supermarkets in society of late. The attention can become somewhat hysterical but a couple of recent interventions have been interesting. The Sustainable Development Commission's new report Green, Healthy and Fair looks like a useful addition to the debate.
"Government cannot resolve the problems of obesity, waste or climate change alone. Given the enormous influence wielded by supermarkets, working with them effectively is essential," is the conclusion of Tim Lang and SDC Commissioner.
Such a sentiment chimes with a couple of things: a piece in Sunday's Observer by food writer Jay Rayner defending the Tescos and Sainsburys of the world, which has sparked several trolley-loads worth of comment. To extrapolate from all the bad things about the behemoths and conclude "that supermarket equals bad is not only a mistake, but dishonest," he writes. "Almost all of us use them and for one simple reason: they are bloody convenient."
The second thing for me was a chat with a delegate at last week's Think tank meeting (which I'll be blogging a bit more on this week). He pointed out that rather than industry experts whingeing on about how poorly the government is performing in relation to sustainability the industry should engage further with the greatest influencers of public procurement, consumption and behaviour - the Tescos and the Ikeas of the world. So instead of demonising them we should be engaging with them.
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