Good heavens! Sales of free range chickens increased by 35% last month whereas standard sales dropped by 7%.(TNS data reported in yesterday's Independent). Free range sales could have been higher except the shelves were empty because supermarkets could not keep up with demand. The catalyst was programmes by celebrity chefs Jamie Oliver and Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall drawing attention to the conditions in which standard chickens are kept.
Some are linking this news with the growth in Fair Trade, which doubled last year to £500m, and M&S's decision to charge for plastic bags, and concluding that consumers can change the world. The conclusion is indeed right, but commentators are missing one big point. The growth of Fair Trade has resulted from supermarkets stocking more products, and, as in the case of bananas, selling only Fair Trade, so consumers don't have the option of buying any other type. Similarly the decision to charge for plastic bags is led by the supermarket.
What is different about the chickens is that supermarkets had nothing to do with the change in what consumers bought. Indeed, they were taken completely by surprise as the empty shelves show. The change in buying was wholly due to consumers seeing something they did not like and acting.
The power of the consumer should never be underestimated. The supermarkets are not totally in charge. What is needed to change consumers minds and buying habits is clear communication, from a trusted source.
Farmers might do well to ask themselves if the media rolled up at their farms would they be proud to let the cameras in. And the farming industry should be asking itself whether it policies and practices always merit the same level of trust that the likes of Jamie and Hugh.
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