Pink Goo and Bute

The very day I posted regarding Horse Meat, the media started reporting that instead of wasting food, a German minister had said “it should be given to the poor”

While I agree that good food should not be wasted, not least because of the environmental costs, the real reason this “Food” is being thrown away is that it is not fit for human consumption.

If it had just been a case of mislabelling, then I would not personally have any issue with eating the food myself, even if I were playing a lottery of; Is it Beef or Horse? But this substitution has come from dubious sources and may not be legally fit for human consumption. Be that because of disease or chemicals from veterinary treatments.

Therefore this was not food fit to eat. So feeding this Crap to the poor would be adding insult to injury. As it was the major Retailers and Food Processors insisting on products being made at a price where no one can make them from decent ingredients at these prices.

The supermarkets have shot themselves in the foot over this as the public just do not believe their claims any more. They, the supermarkets, are playing a blame game at the moment and are now saying they will source from closer to home. It gives me a Deja vu feeling, all over again to hear that. They have been saying they would do time after time, in fact every time an issue comes to light.

However there could be other issues that are yet to come to light here. As the reassurances from government(s) remind me of the other major “Substitution to reduce Costs” issue; That of BSE. Long before BSE even emerged, I read a book that spoke of the issue of animal protein going into cattle feed. As they pointed out this was the meat and animals that were unfit for human food and they even said the most frequent of the fallen stock that was going into this was sheep suffering from Scrapie. This was back in 1977 and made me decide to become a vegetarian. I remained one for 25 years too, until sectors of farming started producing and selling meat that was not fed on crap and could prove it too.

So the reassurances made by Government and the food industry, ring rather dull. As we do not know for how long this has been going on, as no one was actually looking. It remains true that had not the Irish Food Standards people carrying out a thought experiment where they would try to think like a criminal that this came to light. As the standard tests would not have revealed this adulteration. Hence the equine veterinary compounds were never looked for until this came to light. So it could be and is even likely that chemicals that are banned from human food has been eaten by the people least able to refuse.

Add to these empty reassurances are criticisms made of European Union policies. Particularly the ban that was introduced, in regard to the DSM Desinewed Meat or Pink Goo. As it has emerged that some are getting around the ban by using other methods to continue to produce this rubbish and by calling it 3mm mince or Baader meat (named after the machine that is used to produce this rubbish). This looks more like a few trying to find loopholes and do more of the same. Even though Europe banned Pink Goo for heath reasons.

If the supermarkets had been buying on short supply chains, then none of this would have happened. Government has a very important role here in making these retail giants provide good nutrition for all and not just those that can afford it.

Stop the scapegoating and get to grip with real issues.

Can We Trust our Food?

Working in the food industry, I am very aware of the potential for adulteration of foods. With the herbs and spices I supply, I check and test the products I buy, and will reject anything that is suspect. I know that my suppliers feel that I am a pain in the Butt for being fussy, but currant scandal highlights, problems that are actually rather common in the food industry.

Also the reaction by the press, especially in the early stages of the story emerging, was little more than a joke.

While eating Horse meat is not the taboo across Europe, in the UK it is rather rare. Thus most of the coverage has been rather jokey and ignoring the real issue of unfit meat being added to the food chain.

Additionally the press has predominantly pointed the finger at who ever was their pet prejudice. For example when it emerged that Romania had been where the horse meat that was in the Findus products, the press blamed the Foreigners Equally the British press pointed the finger to the European Union because they had banned the use of “Desinued Meat” (a form of mechanically recovered meat) from foods. Again blame the Foreigners and Europe.

The reality is that its the Cheap Food Culture in Britain that has allowed this criminal activity to flourish. The real problem is the the retailers and the food processors turning a blind eye to where the product comes from, as long as its cheap and profitable.

Yet it is a myth that the major supermarkets perpetuate that they are cheap, as often on a like for like basis, a local high street shop will be cheaper. Yet because the quality is often better on products like Meat, Fish and some Fruit and Vegetables in local high street stores, for the same level of spend the consumer gets better quality away from the supermarkets. The problem is that most people are very time poor and do not have the time to shop around nor spend the time cooking.

This applies to the poor especially, the main market for these cheap food products. As they can not

afford the decent food, they has been the real victims in this whole scandal.

This whole situation of cutting food costs to the bone has left us with just the bone, and it turns out not to be a beef bone either. While the Supermarkets and Food Producers are victims to a lesser extent, they are also just as guilty as the criminals who adulterated these cheap foods. As these major retailers have imposed low cost, low quality food on the consumer for so long that the rest of the nation is paying the costs of health problems such as obesity.

There will be plenty of other ways that the Supermarkets are adulterating our food, it is just that most will be legal and hidden. This is not the first time that we have had dubious items in our food, nor will it be the last. There has been a serious failing by this government when they cut back on the funding of policing food production. Further this government and previous ones, have left food and health policy to the supermarkets.

If it had not been for the Irish Food Safety folks trying to think like criminals, non of this would have been discovered. It is likely that this has been going on for at least a year before it was discovered. Although there were people flagging this up even before then.

So how can we trust our food? There are no simple answers to this. Ideally I would say boycott the Supermarkets, especially those caught with their pants down. But that is only realistic for people that can afford to do that and have other choices. The reality is that most people do not have that choice. So actually the real way of solving this issue and preventing it happening again is to break up and limit the size of these retail giants. Then there will be real competition and the consumer will have real and genuine choice. While it may mean that cheapest rubbish will disappear from the shopping baskets, making food prices rise a little, it has only been the fact that making cheap rubbish has been profitable that made this scandal happen in the first place.

If this government can only see beyond its ideology, then they will see the benefits of greater competition, better quality food and better health, and more jobs created. The only short term down side will be that the poorest people may need support for a small increase in prices as the cheapest rubbish is removed from the shelves and support in learning how to cook using real food rather than pre-packed junk.

Strangling the Economy

I know that I have been rather quiet for a while, but I did not want to add to the hysteria that built up regarding the end of the Mayan calender. As while many of the topics I wanted to discus, debate, were and are critical of the currant status quo, I personally see the future as potentially very positive. If we can all learn to start adjusting the way we carry out our economic activities.

The news yesterday is a rather apposite illustration of problems with the currant economic model, the video rental business Blockbuster going into Administration. This follows on the heels of HMV the record retailer, and Jessops the photographic retailer. Had each of the nearly 1000 stores been smaller independently run shops, rather than big chains, then there would not have been the sudden loss of ten thousand jobs.

While I am genuinely sorry for the people who will loss their jobs, these companies were quite ruthless in eliminating the smaller competition when they were growing to become dominant players. Now each complain that it was competition from online retailers that undermined their businesses.

While this is true, it is far from the whole picture or story. Back in the late 80s I worked for Jessops, and even then I could see that there were aspects where the business was not that well run. For example the shops stock carried in store was dictated by head office but with no real flexibility. Thus when institutions such as the two Universities in the city wanted premium equipment, it became a fight to let them get their hands on it, even though these items were carried in stock within the flagship stores. Therefore sales were lost to a small independent retailer. I know of £50,000 worth of sales that were lost in that manner while I worked their.

However the biggest factor that is seriously damaging all retail businesses is the level of rents. Last year another regional business went bust (Into Administration), and in the local press a couple of months latter the administrator was trying to pass on the leases of some of the shops that were closed. Others were sold on. What shocked me was the rents that the business had been paying for the shops. Many were not exactly in premium locations, yet the average rent had been £800 to £1000 per week. It was clear why the bakery business failed if they had to pay those sorts of rents.

It seems to me that when it comes to rents, Business Managers just seem blinkered about the levels that are reasonable. Often just accepting what ever demands a landlord asks. This is the real reason why our high streets are full of empty shops. The unrealistically high and unreasonable rents for retail premises have also been adding to inflation as well as cutting jobs and more importantly preventing new jobs from being created.

In far to many High Streets there are empty shops. Yet when you look at the rents being asked, they are totally unrealistic. In most cases the quoted rents are 75% to 100% higher than any business can be be expected to pay and sustain the business.

There is the need for a reality check regarding rents. As this factor more than any other is stopping new businesses start, existing businesses from growing and jobs being created.