The Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers Association (ICMSA) has argued that supermarket food price cuts are not aligned with Ireland’s climate aims.
ICMSA president Pat McCormack asked if food price cuts by supermarkets are sustainability tested; if there is an ask of farmers to produce more environmentally sustainable food, why are consumers not willing to pay for it?
He was addressing reports of an imminent supermarket price war after Tesco announced price reductions of 10% on 700 of its products.
Wonder
McCormack said that “both farmers and all those who profess themselves to be alarmed by the current climate crisis are entitled to wonder whether all these hundreds of reductions have been sustainability-tested".
Retailers are not considering sustainable food production when they cut prices, said the ICMSA. \ Philip Doyle
“As usual, the price of food is deemed to be a matter for the supermarkets alone, with no place or room for the longer-term considerations of sustainability and environmental consequences,” he added.
The ICMSA president insisted that sustainable food production and environmental welfare is the sole basis on which Irish farming and the agri-food industry is now officially evaluated.
‘Silence’
However, the Tipperary farmer said that, when it comes to supermarket price cuts, there is “deafening silence” from state and state-supported agencies and all stakeholders dedicated to environmental protection.
Tesco has announced that it will slash prices on 700 of its items.
“Why did these groups have absolutely nothing to say on a decision by the supermarkets that did not even pretend to reference sustainability?” he asked.
McCormack said it was “high time” to ask publicly why sustainability was to be the governing principle for farmers in rural Ireland, but a matter of choice or public relations for the corporate retailers – the stakeholder he argued is the most “powerful link” in the food-supply chain.
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Tesco slashes prices of over 700 products
The Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers Association (ICMSA) has argued that supermarket food price cuts are not aligned with Ireland’s climate aims.
ICMSA president Pat McCormack asked if food price cuts by supermarkets are sustainability tested; if there is an ask of farmers to produce more environmentally sustainable food, why are consumers not willing to pay for it?
He was addressing reports of an imminent supermarket price war after Tesco announced price reductions of 10% on 700 of its products.
Wonder
McCormack said that “both farmers and all those who profess themselves to be alarmed by the current climate crisis are entitled to wonder whether all these hundreds of reductions have been sustainability-tested".
Retailers are not considering sustainable food production when they cut prices, said the ICMSA. \ Philip Doyle
“As usual, the price of food is deemed to be a matter for the supermarkets alone, with no place or room for the longer-term considerations of sustainability and environmental consequences,” he added.
The ICMSA president insisted that sustainable food production and environmental welfare is the sole basis on which Irish farming and the agri-food industry is now officially evaluated.
‘Silence’
However, the Tipperary farmer said that, when it comes to supermarket price cuts, there is “deafening silence” from state and state-supported agencies and all stakeholders dedicated to environmental protection.
Tesco has announced that it will slash prices on 700 of its items.
“Why did these groups have absolutely nothing to say on a decision by the supermarkets that did not even pretend to reference sustainability?” he asked.
McCormack said it was “high time” to ask publicly why sustainability was to be the governing principle for farmers in rural Ireland, but a matter of choice or public relations for the corporate retailers – the stakeholder he argued is the most “powerful link” in the food-supply chain.
Read more
Tesco slashes prices of over 700 products
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