Supermarket Cartels Treating Customers With Contempt

I think mokryna meant against the € because she lives in France. That's how I read it.

Yes, I live in France and Sterling has become stronger since it was thought there would be a British election.

David49. I googled out of interest
What foods are VAT zero-rated? All unprocessed foods for human consumption, including raw meat and fish, fruit and vegetables, cereals, nuts, pulses and culinary herbs are zero rated

Butter is made from cream, milk contains less cream in the winter, around Christmas the demand for cream increases. The return for cream is probably higher than butter.
If you were a milk producer where would your cream be going?

There was no shortage of butter here in the Conwy and Llandudno area.

mabon1

There was no shortage of butter here in the Conwy and Llandudno area.

There were in S Wales and Gloucestershire; it was more the supermarkets' own brands which were missing from the shelves. Not just one supermarket, Tesco and Waitrose but I'm not sure about the others.

I admit it, I have not read all the postings, makes my blood boil but has anyone here commented on the "contempt" the Water industry pours on us? and the Politicians, of all persuasions!

we are the peasants.

I don't eat butter so don't buy it.

Big companies utterly ruthless . Any excuse to get more money out of people . Also like to tell us that they are making things better for us . Rubbish .

I realise that not everyone can do, or would want to do what I do, but I mostly keep away from major supermarkets. I buy tea at the Co-op, and will sometimes buy the odd pack of frozen veg or similar.
I have enough time to plan my shopping, and a car to get around in my rural area. I thought I might spend more on food than most, but find that it's a similar amount to average, albeit rather differently. I like cooking from scratch and make good use of my freezer.

We have a good local fruit & veg shop, which also stocks local milk & eggs, and some good markets.
We have a good butcher and I get game for free this time of year. I make a charity donation as I am willing to pay, but actually take the birds that shooters don't want (more fool them)
Cheese, butter, yoghourt are from a local farmer (who also sells other farm-made cheese)
One every 4-6 weeks I drive to a wholefood co-operative about 15 miles away and treat myself to lunch or coffee, as well as stocking up on most stuff.

Of course, occasionally I end up in a supermarket - usually in a family emergency or on holiday. It's an interesting comparison - some stuff very cheap and other stuff very expensive (to me)

I guess supermarkets, like all businesses, exist to make profits, pleasing customers is only really important when it affects profits. Dairy, IMHO, is far too cheap and that affects farmers and how well they can afford to care for their cattle.

karmalady

eazybee

I am not sure that vitamin deficiencies come from poverty; more from instant processed meals I would think. I followed a middle-aged couple round Aldi's yesterday and their trolley was stacked high with instant meals, very little fresh food.
I don't know their circumstances and they may well have been stocking up for someone unable to cook, and absolutelynot my business, but with reasonably pr iced fresh meat and vegetables in abundance it seemed an unhealthy and expensive way of living.

I completely agree. Very nourishing meals are easily and cheaply prepared from basic ingredients, without all the ultraprocessed rubbish. Trouble is that people in general have become lazy and then they moan when `edibles` are not handed out at charity prices

Time to get some cookbooks from the library junoesque

This is well worth a read -

www.amazon.co.uk/Ultra-Processed-People-Stuff-That-Isnt/dp/1529900050/ref=asc_df_1529900050?hvlocphy=1006645&gad_source=1&psc=1&psc=1&linkCode=df0&hvptwo=&mcid=f0804b99ce1f35c39b54bafc3544a604&hvnetw=g&hvadid=697181752995&hvpone=&hvlocint=&th=1&hvpos=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvqmt=&tag=gransnetforum-21&hvtargid=pla-1677304728180&hvrand=9403629525580650370

I bought mine from eBay for under a fiver. It gives you a great deal of food for thought (excuse pun)!

I didn't see any shortages of butter

I noticed the butter shortage and will willingly have a go at making my own.

i am a widow and live alone. Make most of my meals from scratch, so I know what is in them and a lot cheaper too. But my main thing is I encourage people to support our local open air market and the independant chemists. I do not want 6 apples of one kind. On the market I can get one of every kind or whatever mix I like. They know me on the market and if something that I particularly like comes in they will often say "Oh got some comice pears in today" I get cash out of the machine inside the bank, then know precisely how much I have spent, the market people are glad of the cash, and in any case if you are up in swaledale no signal so cant use a card! I also use the independant chemist, rather than the supermarket chemist. Again , even if y ou pay a little more , they get to know you and give yo good service. If you get it all at the supermarkets the individuals will be put out of business and the supermarkets will have you by the short qnd curlies!! Use it or lose it.So whilst you might pay a little more per pound for something your bill is often no more than in the supermarket as you are not tempted by other things. You go to the vegetable stall or the fish stoal and dont get drawn into buying some new pants or a magazine. keep the community going and you will know more people be treated like an individual and be given good service.

Strange that Morrisons always had plenty of butter but Tesco's unsalted forget it for weeks. Same as you can only have on one week so many onions.

Another thing with Tesco on line shopping - no TV and Radio Times or the like.

madeleine45 👏
We are on the same page.

Well, if we had a market
Or a fruit and veg shop
🤔

I do try to get to a farm shop sometimes but it is more expensive to shop there.

Galton

Another thing with Tesco on line shopping - no TV and Radio Times or the like.

I find Tesco online shopping very restricted. Just had to do a top up shop at Lidl

DH put a TV Times in the shopping trolley before Christmas and I asked the till operator to price it first - it was £5.95 I think
So it went back n the rack.

Our nearest farmers market is over 10 miles away.
Sainsbury’s & Aldi … two floors down in the lift.

madeleine45 I am with you all the way. If we are to live full and healthy lives then the most important thing we need to do is eat as well as we can.

In 1950 we spend a third of our income on food, now it is about 10%. All but the poorest can adjust their budgets so that they spend more on food and less on clothes, for example. I am often astonished to find the amount of clothes even members of my own family have. Even my 17 year old granddaughter, dependent on parents for pocket money plus a small job, seems to spend a fortune on clothes and make-up.

I did notice the lack of unsalted butter but there seemed to be plenty of salted around.
Did not know butter was so easy to make shame I sent my food mixer to the charity shop recently!

Sago

MaizieD

How much cream do you need for 8oz butter, Sago?

Around 300ml carton will make appx 8oz.
I use half a teaspoon of crushed rock salt per 300ml.

300ml of cream will never make 8 oz (roughly 225g) of butter. Calculate between one third to max one half i.e. 2 cups of heavy cream to yield approximately 1 cup of butter.

Butter has also been in shortage here in Germany. The prices as high or even higher as in the UK.

I just can not get on with cups measurements🫤