VideoUnpicking Food Prices. Credit: Sustain
We chose to research the following five everyday household items: sliced loaf of bread (800g), 4 beefburgers (450g), carrots (1kg), apples (1kg) and cheddar cheese (480g). We did so for the following reasons: availability of data, frequency and volume of purchase, spread of food groups, and mix of processed and fresh.
The results were stark showing that farmers often recieve less than 1% of the profit made in the supermarket. More concerning, is how this complex and consolidated supply chain strips out money for costs, making it highly inefficient and lacking opportunity to give a fairer return to farmers.
That is why Sustain is calling on the UK Government to:
- Implement rules for more transparency in the supermarket chain
- Provide funding to grow diverse and better routes to market
- Review reporting requirements for supermarkets and large intermediaries
It is critical that the UK Government takes action to tackle these major problems in order to deliver a more resilient domestic food supply.
Download the full report
Sustainable Farming Campaign: Pushing for the integration of sustainable farming into local, regional and national government policies.