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Sometimes watching the news makes me really angry. Tuesday was one of those times.
Link
Tesco has very proudly announced that they will be paying farmers 22p per litre for their milk, well above the current market average of 18.5p. Which sounds very good, until you learn that in 1995, farmers were paid an average of 24.5p/litre. See table from website:
Milk over the years
In 1995 at litre of milk cost 42.1p. This broke down as:
24.5p - Farming (58%)
16.5p - Processing and packaging (39%)
1.3p - Retail gross margin (3%)
In 2005 a litre of milk sold for 50.9p:
18.5p - Farming (36%)
16.8p - Processing and packaging (33%)
15.6p - Retail gross margin (31%)
Source: Milk Development Council
So basically farmers have been fucked over by the supermarkets over the last 12 years, and now Tesco is acting like they're some big hero for paying the farmers more, even though that 'more' amounts to less than in 1995, despite inflation and higher prices. The processers don't appear to have done too well, either--in a fair system, their share would rise proportionally with the rising cost of milk.
Furthermore, Tesco will be introducing a new 'local choice' milk, which will cost 3p/litre more, but is guaranteed to come from local sources. Where is the logic here? Given the costs of transportation, surely locally produced milk should 1)be stocked as much as possible anyway, and 2)be the cheaper option. This is just blatantly taking advantage of the rising consumer concern for local and environmental issues.
Anyway. Completely unrelated, I've had a couple of phrases fluttering around my head for the past few days, so I've written them into a Very Romantic poem:
Love Poem
The heart is but a pump to circulate
blood around the body: through the lungs and
back into the left ventricle, filled with
oxygen--every artery and vein
nourished by my gasp when you grasped my hand
and pulled me close to soft and tender kiss.
Gazing in your ocular orbs, I see
coloured irises under convex lens,
deep dark pupils that are not the windows
to anything. You are smiling at me;
wrinkled corners of your seeing organs
tell me this is so. I lean in and close
my windows, lay my head against your chest
so I can hear your soul beat in your breast.
As usual, critiques and comments v. welcome. (Particularly regarding the title or line 8, both of which seem to jar a bit.)
ETA: 'Garfield' is one of those comics that is rarely funny to people over age 9 or so. Or at least that's when I stopped being amused by it (and I am easily amused!). But with Garfield's thought bubbles removed, it becomes strange, a bit surreal, and freaking hilarious.
Link
Tesco has very proudly announced that they will be paying farmers 22p per litre for their milk, well above the current market average of 18.5p. Which sounds very good, until you learn that in 1995, farmers were paid an average of 24.5p/litre. See table from website:
Milk over the years
In 1995 at litre of milk cost 42.1p. This broke down as:
24.5p - Farming (58%)
16.5p - Processing and packaging (39%)
1.3p - Retail gross margin (3%)
In 2005 a litre of milk sold for 50.9p:
18.5p - Farming (36%)
16.8p - Processing and packaging (33%)
15.6p - Retail gross margin (31%)
Source: Milk Development Council
So basically farmers have been fucked over by the supermarkets over the last 12 years, and now Tesco is acting like they're some big hero for paying the farmers more, even though that 'more' amounts to less than in 1995, despite inflation and higher prices. The processers don't appear to have done too well, either--in a fair system, their share would rise proportionally with the rising cost of milk.
Furthermore, Tesco will be introducing a new 'local choice' milk, which will cost 3p/litre more, but is guaranteed to come from local sources. Where is the logic here? Given the costs of transportation, surely locally produced milk should 1)be stocked as much as possible anyway, and 2)be the cheaper option. This is just blatantly taking advantage of the rising consumer concern for local and environmental issues.
Anyway. Completely unrelated, I've had a couple of phrases fluttering around my head for the past few days, so I've written them into a Very Romantic poem:
Love Poem
The heart is but a pump to circulate
blood around the body: through the lungs and
back into the left ventricle, filled with
oxygen--every artery and vein
nourished by my gasp when you grasped my hand
and pulled me close to soft and tender kiss.
Gazing in your ocular orbs, I see
coloured irises under convex lens,
deep dark pupils that are not the windows
to anything. You are smiling at me;
wrinkled corners of your seeing organs
tell me this is so. I lean in and close
my windows, lay my head against your chest
so I can hear your soul beat in your breast.
As usual, critiques and comments v. welcome. (Particularly regarding the title or line 8, both of which seem to jar a bit.)
ETA: 'Garfield' is one of those comics that is rarely funny to people over age 9 or so. Or at least that's when I stopped being amused by it (and I am easily amused!). But with Garfield's thought bubbles removed, it becomes strange, a bit surreal, and freaking hilarious.
