In defence of the supermarket

Supermarkets are once again back in the firing line. Henry Dimbleby, the Leon co-founder turned government food tsar, has blamed the current food shortages on their ‘weird culture’. When food is scarce UK supermarkets won’t raise their prices, he claimed. It leads to growers selling less here and more in Europe, exacerbating shortages.

He wasn’t alone in blaming supermarkets. Last month, in an attempt to absolve the government of blame, food and farming minister Mark Spencer demanded the heads of big chains join him for a discussion on ‘what they are doing to get shelves stocked again.’ In the end, only middle-management showed up. 

The average supermarket stocks 20,000 items with around 40 types of vegetables on the shelves. Over 1.1 million people work in food retailing, and weekly sales across British food stores typically stand at around £3.1 billion. Brits spend around two hours per week on average in the supermarket. Do any of them pause to consider the spontaneous and voluntary collaboration between millions of people, almost all of whom they will never meet, that make this shop possible? Supermarkets are the final link in a long chain of intermediaries that connect growers and consumers.