Major campaign win – EU vows to take on power of the supermarkets in new legislation

At Feedback, we have consistently argued that to reduce waste and create a just and sustainable food system we need to address the asymmetry of power that currently exists in the food supply chain. Our research has identified examples from around the world of big food businesses, like retailers, abusing their dominant market power to push the costs of excess production and waste onto producers. And it’s not just us who’s noticed – the EU has been talking about ‘unfair trading practices’ in the food system for a while. Now it looks like they’re going to do something about it.

To address problems like these that are entrenched in our food system you need more than voluntary commitments or industry rhetoric – you need regulation. We’ve argued this in our publications, lobbying, and campaigning, calling for the model of the UK’s ‘Groceries Code Adjudicator’ to be turbo-charged and replicated across Europe.

So we’re delighted that the EU Food and Agriculture Commissioner Phil Hogan has announced that he will be putting forward some EU legislation to address unfair trading practices. Commissioner Hogan made his intentions to make the food system fairer very clear, saying ‘supermarkets in particular now enjoy “super-power”‘. He added:

“In fact – and I’m sure this will not shock you – the only stakeholder group in favour of keeping the status quo is retailers. But regulators and policymakers can never afford to lose sight of one salient fact: without the primary producer, there is no food supply chain. And primary producers can only do their vital work if they receive a fair buck for their work”.

We couldn’t agree more, Phil. Feedback has always supported the farmers that feed us, and measures to produce a fair and sustainable food system. We’ll be tracking this legislation closely and keeping up the pressure to ensure Europe becomes a world leader for a better food system.