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Shopped : The Shocking Power of British Supermarkets
An elegant demolition of the supermarket miracle, this book charts the impact that supermarkets have had on every aspect of our lives and culture.
Did you know! / Almost 50% of supermarket fruit and vegetables contain pesticide residues? / UK supermarkets make 40p on every GBP1 spent on bananas while plantations workers are paid just 1p? / Supermarkets instill a climate of fear amongst their suppliers? / Every time a supermarket opens the local community loses on average 276 jobs? In the 1970s, British supermarkets had only 10% of the UK's grocery spend. Now they swallow up 80%, influencing how we shop, what we eat, how we spend our leisure time, how much rubbish we generate, even the very look of our physical environment. Award-winning food writer Joanna Blythman investigates the enormous impact that these big box retailers are having on our lives.
She meets the farmers who are selling food to supermarkets for less than they need to survive and the wholesalers who have been eliminated from the supply chain; she travels to suburban retail parks to meet the teenagers and part-timers who stack our shelves and reveals the hoops third world suppliers must jump through to earn supermarket contracts.
This thought-provoking, witty and sometimes chilling voyage of discovery is sure to make you think twice before you enthusiastically reach for that supermarket trolley again. Contains new material on the 'Tesocisation' of Britain.
Did you know! / Almost 50% of supermarket fruit and vegetables contain pesticide residues? / UK supermarkets make 40p on every GBP1 spent on bananas while plantations workers are paid just 1p? / Supermarkets instill a climate of fear amongst their suppliers? / Every time a supermarket opens the local community loses on average 276 jobs? In the 1970s, British supermarkets had only 10% of the UK's grocery spend. Now they swallow up 80%, influencing how we shop, what we eat, how we spend our leisure time, how much rubbish we generate, even the very look of our physical environment. Award-winning food writer Joanna Blythman investigates the enormous impact that these big box retailers are having on our lives.
She meets the farmers who are selling food to supermarkets for less than they need to survive and the wholesalers who have been eliminated from the supply chain; she travels to suburban retail parks to meet the teenagers and part-timers who stack our shelves and reveals the hoops third world suppliers must jump through to earn supermarket contracts.
This thought-provoking, witty and sometimes chilling voyage of discovery is sure to make you think twice before you enthusiastically reach for that supermarket trolley again. Contains new material on the 'Tesocisation' of Britain.
Paperback
First published January 1, 2004
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About the author
Joanna Blythman
17 books21 followersJoanna Blythman is a leading Scottish investigative food journalist and writer. She has won five Glenfiddich Awards for her writing, and, in 2004, won the prestigious Derek Cooper Award, one of BBC Radio 4’s Food and Farming Awards. She contributes regularly to Observer Food Monthly, among other newspapers and magazines, and frequently broadcasts on food issues.
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
January 22, 2011
I have mixed feelings about Shopped; in one sense it really has made me further question the ever ubiquitous roles supermarkets play in our life. On the other hand, I am concerned it falls into a long line of books that blames all of societies current problems on corporations.
If it was a simple as "people good, company bad" then I doubt we would be our current state of extreme picklage.
The book considers all aspects of supermarket lifes; from the well-documented ready-made "meals" to the poor quality fresh fruit and veg to the less explored supplier and worker contracts.
The book (and I admit its journalism not academic) hammers home the idea that supermarkets are out to make money and woe betide anything that stands in their way. I think most semi-enlightened individuals (a category in which I like to think I fall) know most of what is said in the book, or at least could have guessed it was happening. It's always nice to reconfirm your worst nightmares though...
The book is well-written, and although at times a little bit repetitive (it's the Naomi Klein school of over-egging the pudding) is easy to read and flows at a fairly even pace. To that end, its probably a fairly easy way to consider some of these important issues. However, that said, it didn't do enough for me to consider it a "great read".
My copy has a quote from Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall (how does this man have time to sleep?!?) on the front "Don't read it and weep. Read it and change the way you shop". I think this sums up, for me, what is missing. I really felt that the book lacked the insight to realise that supermarkets are run by people; they are not entities within themselves. We all have the power to interact with these people and opening up lines of dialogue and cooperation and key to the improvement and sustainability of any business or institution.
The penultimate chapter makes suggestions as to how readers of the book can make a difference by changing their shopping habits. None of the suggestions are ground-breaking: shop locally, destroy your loyalty card, lobby your local MP, oppose planning applications for new stores etc. etc. The solutions to be were somewhat parochial and certainly are not open to many members of the population. Limited by time, price and mobility working mothers, poor families, older people are in no position to visit multiple local stores. Similarly opposition to a supermarket that may bring in multiple jobs is a particularly difficult pill to swallow for many communities. I would have liked to have seen suggestions of how we can work with supermarkets, encouraging compassion within corporations, cooperating to make the world a better place.
It was all a little bit too much them and us for my taste.
If it was a simple as "people good, company bad" then I doubt we would be our current state of extreme picklage.
The book considers all aspects of supermarket lifes; from the well-documented ready-made "meals" to the poor quality fresh fruit and veg to the less explored supplier and worker contracts.
The book (and I admit its journalism not academic) hammers home the idea that supermarkets are out to make money and woe betide anything that stands in their way. I think most semi-enlightened individuals (a category in which I like to think I fall) know most of what is said in the book, or at least could have guessed it was happening. It's always nice to reconfirm your worst nightmares though...
The book is well-written, and although at times a little bit repetitive (it's the Naomi Klein school of over-egging the pudding) is easy to read and flows at a fairly even pace. To that end, its probably a fairly easy way to consider some of these important issues. However, that said, it didn't do enough for me to consider it a "great read".
My copy has a quote from Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall (how does this man have time to sleep?!?) on the front "Don't read it and weep. Read it and change the way you shop". I think this sums up, for me, what is missing. I really felt that the book lacked the insight to realise that supermarkets are run by people; they are not entities within themselves. We all have the power to interact with these people and opening up lines of dialogue and cooperation and key to the improvement and sustainability of any business or institution.
The penultimate chapter makes suggestions as to how readers of the book can make a difference by changing their shopping habits. None of the suggestions are ground-breaking: shop locally, destroy your loyalty card, lobby your local MP, oppose planning applications for new stores etc. etc. The solutions to be were somewhat parochial and certainly are not open to many members of the population. Limited by time, price and mobility working mothers, poor families, older people are in no position to visit multiple local stores. Similarly opposition to a supermarket that may bring in multiple jobs is a particularly difficult pill to swallow for many communities. I would have liked to have seen suggestions of how we can work with supermarkets, encouraging compassion within corporations, cooperating to make the world a better place.
It was all a little bit too much them and us for my taste.
June 25, 2011
Shopped is the best book I have read so far on the evils of supermarket empires. It is set out in concise anger inducing chapters that detail every horrendous act of greed and exploitation you can imagine. If it is unethical and puts someone out of business, you can count on it being a primary practice of a supermarket. A handful of topics that Shopped covers are:
-'fake' consumer choice (not only are supermarkets generally MORE expensive than independents, they also only offer the consumer a limited range of items - have a look, it's the same stuff just repackaged! Add to that the hypocrisy of 'fresh' bakeries and deli counters which are actually from frozen and simply defrosted and put out on display - check the labels!).
- screwing over farmers and suppliers with ridiculous demands, no contracts, and asking for big cash payments up front for things that only benefit and enhance the profit margins of the supermarkets.
- overuse of chemical pesticides merely for cosmetic reasons on fruit and veg.
- destroying British horticulture and British jobs / ways of life by sourcing more and more inferior products from abroad and then flying them all over to be sold as 'fresh' when bananas/mangoes have been sitting around for about ten days etc.
- pitiful wages and benefits for supermarket employees.
- bribing Councils and Government to 'buy' planning permission, despite growing public pressure against more being built.
- the making of 'Tesco Towns' where a supermarket has killed off the soul of a community.
And so on. If you want an intelligent book that will make you seethe with utter rage, then Shopped will become your bible. Though it was published in 2003/4, it's points are still relevant and it's pretty scary to see so many of its warnings of supermarket power come to fruition now in 2011.
This book may be doom and gloom but at the back, it does provide the reader with a section of simple social and political things they can do because at the end of the day, if we all STOPPED shopping in supermarkets, then maybe the evil empire will fall a lot sooner. One helpful thing to remember is that if you only switched 5% of your shopping away from supermarkets, then that alone would make a difference which IMO is very worthwhile and something we could all do easily.
BOYCOTT THE SUPERMARKETS!
-'fake' consumer choice (not only are supermarkets generally MORE expensive than independents, they also only offer the consumer a limited range of items - have a look, it's the same stuff just repackaged! Add to that the hypocrisy of 'fresh' bakeries and deli counters which are actually from frozen and simply defrosted and put out on display - check the labels!).
- screwing over farmers and suppliers with ridiculous demands, no contracts, and asking for big cash payments up front for things that only benefit and enhance the profit margins of the supermarkets.
- overuse of chemical pesticides merely for cosmetic reasons on fruit and veg.
- destroying British horticulture and British jobs / ways of life by sourcing more and more inferior products from abroad and then flying them all over to be sold as 'fresh' when bananas/mangoes have been sitting around for about ten days etc.
- pitiful wages and benefits for supermarket employees.
- bribing Councils and Government to 'buy' planning permission, despite growing public pressure against more being built.
- the making of 'Tesco Towns' where a supermarket has killed off the soul of a community.
And so on. If you want an intelligent book that will make you seethe with utter rage, then Shopped will become your bible. Though it was published in 2003/4, it's points are still relevant and it's pretty scary to see so many of its warnings of supermarket power come to fruition now in 2011.
This book may be doom and gloom but at the back, it does provide the reader with a section of simple social and political things they can do because at the end of the day, if we all STOPPED shopping in supermarkets, then maybe the evil empire will fall a lot sooner. One helpful thing to remember is that if you only switched 5% of your shopping away from supermarkets, then that alone would make a difference which IMO is very worthwhile and something we could all do easily.
BOYCOTT THE SUPERMARKETS!
August 26, 2021
I found this book lying around the house and thought that it looked interesting. It is rather dated now and it comes across as a bit of a rant at time. It did make some interesting points about the wat that supermarkets now dominate the sales of Groceries in the UK and the way that the majority of the suppliers used by the supermarket chains are used. Interestingly the Supermarkets were given the right to reply (although some chose not to) as they were sent a questionnaire by the author and their answers are included at the back of the book. An okay read and I just might change my shopping habits by moving away from an over reliance on major supermarkets and start shopping at independent retailers.
August 22, 2017
A fascinating read, which carries you along with ease. Written by a journalist as opposed to a researcher has made the book very readable and Blythman presents the information in an easy to read format.
Obviously the book is biased against the supermarkets and although the supermarkets are given chance to speak for themselves the message has been made clear already.
My copy is from 05 and although a lot of the information is still clearly relevant and pertinent, it is starting to date, especially with the rise of the discounters, a revised/revisited edition would be very interesting.
Obviously the book is biased against the supermarkets and although the supermarkets are given chance to speak for themselves the message has been made clear already.
My copy is from 05 and although a lot of the information is still clearly relevant and pertinent, it is starting to date, especially with the rise of the discounters, a revised/revisited edition would be very interesting.
August 20, 2025
A lot of information, but really could have done with better editing. Very repetitive and thematically confused, because the analysis is underdeveloped. Basically just presents a tonne of information with little attempt to synthesise the key themes and trends.
March 8, 2019
Incredibly eye-opening insight into British supermarkets! Ignorance really is bliss...I am curious about whether the issue has gotten better/worse since this book was published!
January 28, 2022
Depressing...
November 15, 2022
Terrifying. I hope the situation has improved by now, but I doubt it.
May 2, 2010
"Shopped" is an interesting book about how supermarkets operate, how they influence shopping patterns and to an increasing extent way of life. it is pacey and well written in many short chapters, hard to put down and easily applicable to one's own life - is there anyone out there who has not at least one tesco [or insert any other supermarket name here:] nearby??? that considered though ], there were not so many new facts to be found if you looked around your local area / cities and noticed what kind of shops there are or what produce is on offer.
at the end ms blythman offers some tips what to do instead to avoid supermarkets which i, as many other readers i suppose, will do as the message in the book is quite powerful. decreasing choice in food, increasing mono-cultural produce, unethical sourcing due to price pressure and a future in which going to the supermarket is a day trip to spend spend spend. a culture in which money, career and spending / owning (i.e. greed) are paramount is a truly sad though increasingly unavoidable fact.
at no point though was the inherent problem addressed which is why supermarkets act this way. For an eye-opening read on that account i would recommend to also read joel bakan's The Corporation: The Pathological Pursuit of Profit and Power. Being mostly corporations, supermarkets can only ever act the way they do. If the interest pursued is the shareholder only who expects constant growth in profit, no wonder ...
i wonder what will happen once every corner of the world is "civilised" according to western standards and values. growth, economy and money money money. i wonder what will happen once every corner of the world has been subject to the good "our" corporations, companies and shops can bring. i wonder, but to be honest i would not want to see it.
at the end ms blythman offers some tips what to do instead to avoid supermarkets which i, as many other readers i suppose, will do as the message in the book is quite powerful. decreasing choice in food, increasing mono-cultural produce, unethical sourcing due to price pressure and a future in which going to the supermarket is a day trip to spend spend spend. a culture in which money, career and spending / owning (i.e. greed) are paramount is a truly sad though increasingly unavoidable fact.
at no point though was the inherent problem addressed which is why supermarkets act this way. For an eye-opening read on that account i would recommend to also read joel bakan's The Corporation: The Pathological Pursuit of Profit and Power. Being mostly corporations, supermarkets can only ever act the way they do. If the interest pursued is the shareholder only who expects constant growth in profit, no wonder ...
i wonder what will happen once every corner of the world is "civilised" according to western standards and values. growth, economy and money money money. i wonder what will happen once every corner of the world has been subject to the good "our" corporations, companies and shops can bring. i wonder, but to be honest i would not want to see it.
June 24, 2009
Joanna Blythman is my hero. I love her restaurant reviews (in the Sunday Herald) and think she writes a lot of common sense about food and our relationship with it. This book will reinforce any concerns you have about the (negative) role of the supermarkets in our lives and have you rushing to support your local producers.
Thought provoking.
Thought provoking.
Read
July 25, 2011Absolute "must read" to anyone in any country.
Without reiterating previous reviewers I would just say that if you were pondering over investments, don't hesitate any longer - buy global retailers' shares. Chances are few and little that anyone in the coming years might oppose their expansionist growth, resulting in rising share prices.
Without reiterating previous reviewers I would just say that if you were pondering over investments, don't hesitate any longer - buy global retailers' shares. Chances are few and little that anyone in the coming years might oppose their expansionist growth, resulting in rising share prices.
September 2, 2013
Good at the start, gets incredibly repetitive in the middle. I would probably say since this book was published in 2003 it's now dated and most already know the scandals detailed in this book, but it certainly goes a long way to explaining why Tesco tried to get away with using horsemeat, and then pretend they were none the wiser! Finished well, but I don't know if I would recommend reading it.
November 22, 2015
3.5 really. A lot of repetition and hyperbole. I think the same points could have been made in a less obtrusive way. By the end I was getting bored. Still the book raises important points. The most shocking part for me was to do with the relationship between supermarkets and their suppliers.
I'm happy to be diversifying my shopping and supporting more small independent shops.
I'm happy to be diversifying my shopping and supporting more small independent shops.
February 21, 2016
mindnumbingly repetitive. the concern gets obliterated due to the same harping on cartels and capitalistic approach versus the 'poor guys' and on value. I wish this book were sent to an editor for quartering down to size. another instance of the media feuled 'fill in words to get right length' syndrome. the shocking power of write-by-numbers more likely
June 20, 2009
This is a well written book; pacy and lively. It steadily caries the reader forward to a clear understanding of the damaging effect of supermarkets on our culture and society. Read it, you might never go to Tesco or Asda again.
August 31, 2011
Horrifying!
November 29, 2015
A little repetitive but made me realise a lot of things I probably already had my suspicions about. Will definitely encourage me to subscribe to a veg box scheme at the very least!
June 7, 2013
essential reading
April 24, 2015
A deep insight on how big supermarkets capitalizing on human's evolve in shopping and purhcasing.
Some hard truth there...
An insight or thought one never noticed until reading the book.
Some hard truth there...
An insight or thought one never noticed until reading the book.
September 15, 2016
It's time for a 2016 update to see what has changed and to gauge the impact of the discounters on the whole process.
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews