September 17, 2007
Guiding Opinions
By Bernice Hurst, Managing Director, Fine Food Network
The Co-operative, the U.K. supermarket group, is balloting its four million members in the development of an ethical food policy. This is the largest poll of ethics ever undertaken in the U.K., and will guide the business’ future responsible retailing strategy.
Following
initial engagement with members, via focus groups and in-depth discussions,
a comprehensive
questionnaire has been produced in which members are asked
to prioritize issues such as food quality, diet and health matters, animal
welfare, community retailing, ethical sourcing, climate change and recycling.
As reported in The Guardian, the purpose is not only to find out which issues are most important to customers but also to “make it clear that some seemingly sensible changes had negative repercussions that it could not support.” In other words, the group is asking members to consider the adoption of truly sustainable positions, and to not consider issues in isolation.
Paul Monaghan, the Co-op’s head of ethics, designed the survey and told The Guardian that the Co-op wants shoppers to understand that things are not always as clear-cut as they may seem. As an example, he points to how the drive to reduce food miles and carbon emissions could have real social impact on third world growers.
“There is a whole series of decisions…being taken which are wrong because people aren’t joining the issues up,” said Mr. Monaghan. Clarifying, he added, “We will try to reduce carbon but never at the expense of the world’s poorest.”
Other examples cited were shipping wine to the U.K. in bulk for bottling rather than importing bottles, which means winemakers in countries such as South Africa receive less for their output. Mr. Monaghan also pointed out that switching to lightweight packaging might mean abandoning glass, which is more environmentally friendly.
Peter Marks, chief executive of the Co-operative Trading Group, said: “We are determined not to pursue lazy thinking, such as airplane logos on air freighted produce, and instead take a more considered approach – one consistent with a business that was founded to tackle responsible retailing from the outset. Our members will help establish our ethical priorities for the next three to five years and will be a constant means of obtaining a mandate for our actions.”
The Co-operative Group describes itself as “the
world’s largest consumer co-operative with a turnover of more than £9 billion,
4.5 million members and 87,500 employees.” In the past, it has earned credit for leading the switch to green electricity in 1988 and it became the first retailer in the U.K. to switch all its mainland outlets to green electricity. Over the past year, it was won awards for its work around climate change.
Discussion Questions: What do you think of the Co-op’s attempt to develop
an ethical food policy? Do you think consumers need more help fully understanding
how their purchasing decisions around ethical and environmental issues are
impacting society? Do you think it will work?
BrainTrust
Recent Discussions
Discussion Questions
Poll
It’s unlikely that sustainability can be reduced to a single graded measure. Everything is a tradeoff. Just as a nutrition label shows several standard measures (vitamins, calories, fat, etc.), so can a sustainability label. It’s unlikely that shoppers will be confused, if the material is presented in a consistent straightforward fashion. Best example: the Timberland shoe box.
I think the Co-Op’s office is probably located near the Ministry Of Silly Walks–please pardon the Python. (Does anyone know what the U.K. is most famous for in the practice of animal husbandry? Confined animals. Raising hogs in a highly constricted space to increase growth and yield, and to decrease total food consumption and the age at which the beastie can be “harvested.”) Hopefully the Co-Op’s conscientious members will put an end to THAT. And winning awards for “its work around climate change?” What, exactly, in measured terms, has this Co-Op’s efforts–or ANY manmade efforts–done to affect climate change?
Here’s some stuff to think about if you’re in a thinking mood: 1.) In the Southern Hemisphere the climate is actually cooling. 2.) Hundreds of cold-weather temperature monitoring stations were taken offline permanently when the Soviet Union dissolved–thus eliminating a huge number of cold-weather measurements from the so-called “average global temperature.” 3.) A reliable global temperature has never been measured, so the baseline measurements of climate change alarmists are scattered all over the place–usually to help them qualify for additional government funding. 4.) Less than 3% of GHGs (greenhouse gases) have been determined to be created by man, thus making it impossible for us to affect the temperature of the globe. 5.) Until the mid-70s, scientists were warning of “global cooling.” 6.) Of more than 11,000 available scientific papers on the factors that affect weather and temperature, only 928 were consulted in the so-called “scientific consensus” that climate alarmists point to (by Naomi Oreskes). And, of the 928, less than 2% actually argue the purported “consensus” view of global warming. That’s 13 studies out of more than 11,000.
Involving co-op members in determining ethical priorities on food policy for the next three to five years will be a constant mandate for actions of The Co-operative. That is a noble pursuit of involvement. Let’s trust what The Co-operative is attempting to do will succeed and last. Past accomplishments of The Co-operative have been noteworthy–but it is the End not the Beginning that will matter most in The Co-operative’s current effort. There is always the possibility that some new phenomenon will occur to replace the concept of ethics on food policy in later years.
I am reminded of what Kierkegaard once wrote, “In the end, physics will replace ethics just as metaphysics displaced theology. The modern statistical view of ethics contributes to that.” Whether or not that is true, it tends to show the wisdom of The Co-operative in making this a three to five year effort–and I applaud them.
This survey may work for a Co-operative. However, I don’t think it will work for retailers in other channels. For example, consumers will tell you how important it is to support fair trade before they pass over fare trade brands to save five cents on a pound of coffee. The market is the best way to determine what is important to the consumer.
Ms. Hurst and I must have been thinking similar industry thoughts a few days ago.
I wrote a piece on this issue in my newsletter/blog and published it yesterday. You can read it at this link….
I will let the piece do most of the talking but I do think a key point is that while ethical policies whole-hog will not be something every (or even maybe many) adopt in the interim, they are still powerful “first mover” tools. And co-ops are trend setters. Natural and organic foods, bulk, hand-cut cheese sections in-store, reusable canvas shopping bags, green store policies, major community activity, bike racks in front of the store, community bulletin boards, organic fresh produce and other perishables…these were just a few things the local co-op supermarket had as commonplace in a town where I went to University in the late 1970s-early 1980s. there was a Safeway, Albertsons and other chains in town, along with a few independents. None of them had any of these with the exception of a few organic groceries at the Safeway and Albertsons–and a decent selection at a local upscale independent. Well, all of these things and more are now common at the majority of U.S. supermarkets, except for the super-discount banners.
I am looking forward to seeing the Co-operative groups research data as I think it will provide some interesting information for food retailing in the changing era.
More Discussions
Has Same-Day Delivery Become an Expectation Across Retail?
Are expectations around retail delivery speed in flux?OpenAI Names the Infrastructure Standard for Agentic Commerce
Will OpenAI or Google (or another entity) set the gold standard for agentic commerce?Is Five Below Poised For Even Greater Growth?
Five Below is hitting serious growth numbers. Can this trend continue?
It’s unlikely that sustainability can be reduced to a single graded measure. Everything is a tradeoff. Just as a nutrition label shows several standard measures (vitamins, calories, fat, etc.), so can a sustainability label. It’s unlikely that shoppers will be confused, if the material is presented in a consistent straightforward fashion. Best example: the Timberland shoe box.
I think the Co-Op’s office is probably located near the Ministry Of Silly Walks–please pardon the Python. (Does anyone know what the U.K. is most famous for in the practice of animal husbandry? Confined animals. Raising hogs in a highly constricted space to increase growth and yield, and to decrease total food consumption and the age at which the beastie can be “harvested.”) Hopefully the Co-Op’s conscientious members will put an end to THAT. And winning awards for “its work around climate change?” What, exactly, in measured terms, has this Co-Op’s efforts–or ANY manmade efforts–done to affect climate change?
Here’s some stuff to think about if you’re in a thinking mood: 1.) In the Southern Hemisphere the climate is actually cooling. 2.) Hundreds of cold-weather temperature monitoring stations were taken offline permanently when the Soviet Union dissolved–thus eliminating a huge number of cold-weather measurements from the so-called “average global temperature.” 3.) A reliable global temperature has never been measured, so the baseline measurements of climate change alarmists are scattered all over the place–usually to help them qualify for additional government funding. 4.) Less than 3% of GHGs (greenhouse gases) have been determined to be created by man, thus making it impossible for us to affect the temperature of the globe. 5.) Until the mid-70s, scientists were warning of “global cooling.” 6.) Of more than 11,000 available scientific papers on the factors that affect weather and temperature, only 928 were consulted in the so-called “scientific consensus” that climate alarmists point to (by Naomi Oreskes). And, of the 928, less than 2% actually argue the purported “consensus” view of global warming. That’s 13 studies out of more than 11,000.
Involving co-op members in determining ethical priorities on food policy for the next three to five years will be a constant mandate for actions of The Co-operative. That is a noble pursuit of involvement. Let’s trust what The Co-operative is attempting to do will succeed and last. Past accomplishments of The Co-operative have been noteworthy–but it is the End not the Beginning that will matter most in The Co-operative’s current effort. There is always the possibility that some new phenomenon will occur to replace the concept of ethics on food policy in later years.
I am reminded of what Kierkegaard once wrote, “In the end, physics will replace ethics just as metaphysics displaced theology. The modern statistical view of ethics contributes to that.” Whether or not that is true, it tends to show the wisdom of The Co-operative in making this a three to five year effort–and I applaud them.
This survey may work for a Co-operative. However, I don’t think it will work for retailers in other channels. For example, consumers will tell you how important it is to support fair trade before they pass over fare trade brands to save five cents on a pound of coffee. The market is the best way to determine what is important to the consumer.
Ms. Hurst and I must have been thinking similar industry thoughts a few days ago.
I wrote a piece on this issue in my newsletter/blog and published it yesterday. You can read it at this link….
I will let the piece do most of the talking but I do think a key point is that while ethical policies whole-hog will not be something every (or even maybe many) adopt in the interim, they are still powerful “first mover” tools. And co-ops are trend setters. Natural and organic foods, bulk, hand-cut cheese sections in-store, reusable canvas shopping bags, green store policies, major community activity, bike racks in front of the store, community bulletin boards, organic fresh produce and other perishables…these were just a few things the local co-op supermarket had as commonplace in a town where I went to University in the late 1970s-early 1980s. there was a Safeway, Albertsons and other chains in town, along with a few independents. None of them had any of these with the exception of a few organic groceries at the Safeway and Albertsons–and a decent selection at a local upscale independent. Well, all of these things and more are now common at the majority of U.S. supermarkets, except for the super-discount banners.
I am looking forward to seeing the Co-operative groups research data as I think it will provide some interesting information for food retailing in the changing era.