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Supermarkets - good or bad?
Supermarkets have changed the way
we shop, live and eat and have given
birth to the food manufacturing industry, which spins off into a whole range of
other industries, - distribution and packaging, which in turn needs
the engineering industry to make the tools to form the foils plastic container
or boxes. So it goes on, and of course that has created a very large number of
employment opportunities. They offer the consumer a choice and range of product
which no local shopkeeper could ever hope to match. They have given us more
leisure time, not only because shopping takes less time, (and we don't have to
carry it as far!), but we also spend less time preparing food. They offer the food manufacturing industry large daily orders,
which allows planned, volume production.
Unfortunately they have also taken the heart out of
many towns and villages. Out of town shopping, has resulted in the loss of many
small independent shopkeepers, who have been unable to compete on price and have
lost a large proportion of their business.
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Initially Supermarkets offered products at lower prices which they were able to
do because they bought and distributed more efficiently. However, they now look
for higher profits, which are reflected in higher prices, or alternatively low
margins for the food manufacturer. (See the product pricing further down.) Food
Manufacturers who fall into the trap of high sales at low margin, almost
inevitably go out of business.
Good or bad, we can shop almost
anytime of the day, save time, but there are wider issues: you may like to think
about and discuss:-
"The ecological and economic
effect of transporting product from all parts of the UK into a central
distribution unit, only to be delivered back out to all parts of the UK? Very
often there is a good local supplier of those products!"
"The waste packaging we
generate?"
"Unsocial hours employees have
to work, not only in the Supermarkets themselves but also in the food
industry?"
"Empty local and high street
shops?" |
Food Manufacture -Product Ranges
The range of products available to us
is vast, and may be fresh,
canned, bottled, aseptic (pasteurised and packed in a sealed container),
chilled or frozen. Examples of products produced by the food manufacturing
which have not always been commercially available includes:-
Mixed vegetables, Vegetable Salads
Fruit Salads
Savory Dips
Sandwiches
Cook in Sauces
Fruit yogurts
Ready to bake products
Pizzas & Quiche
Ready meals
Desserts,
Gateaux, Tarts, & speciality cakes
There are of course many more so it is easy to see how large
the food manufacturing industry really is.
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