Shopped: The Shocking Power of British Supermarkets [Paperback]

Joanna Blythman carefully dissects the entrails of the world of supermarkets with the sang-froid of a pathologist in a mortuary, from the way staff are induced into the mindless mantras of Asda Wal-Mart to the way suppliers are mercilessly screwed to the wall and dropped from favour on a whim as in some royal court of the past.

The picture portrayed of the abuse of power employed by the supermarkets conjures up a feeling of complete horror, yet it is done in a completely non-hysterical way, allowing the facts speak for themselves. For example, far from creating jobs, every time a large superstore opens, there is a net loss of 276 jobs; two thirds of butchers have gone out of business in the last twenty-five years; during 2001 one small newsagent closed very day and researchers predict that by 2050 there will be no independent food stores left in the UK - what's that supermarkets are always saying about "choice"?

Whilst researching her book, the author toured around the UK looking at what she calls "the neutron-bomb effect" superstores have on small businesses and how they have contributed to the decline of communities, where all you see are boarded up shops, charity shops, video rental shops and fast food outlets. This all conjures up a depressing vision of the UK where there seems to be very little political will to try and stop the supermarket juggernaut. However, there are some useful tips at the end of the book on how we as individuals can take action against this unhealthy state of affairs, for example, by using your local shops; by questioning the whole supermarket paradigm; by cutting up your loyalty card; by writing to your MP, to name but a few.

This is an intelligently written, riveting and very readable book which systematically explodes all the myths we have been fed by the supermarket marketing machine. It is not a ranting, political polemic but a strongly-reasoned argument by someone who knows the world of food inside out and who cares passionately that we have allowed this disaster to happen.

If you ever wondered why all ready meals taste the same, why supermarket fruit and veg looks great and tastes of nothing, if you ever wondered about the real cost of "cheap" food then read this book. Get angry. Then DO something about it.

I was pretty much your average shopper, doing at least 90% of my food shopping at supermarkets, and buying other stuff there too (like clothes, CDs etc). I've never been on a diet, I'm not particuarly health conscious, I eat plenty of meat, I went for the cheap deals, supermarket own-brand products, and 2 for 1 offers thinking I was beating the system. Seems strange now, though it was only a fortnight ago.

The book does not hector or preach or seek to make anyone feel guilty (despite what one review here claims) but gives you a clear picture of how supermarkets function, and how they affect food production, societies and cultures. Now when I see those 2 for 1 offers, or the rows and rows of identical vegetables, I don't just see the produce, but the people and systems that lie behind it. And this makes it easy to leave it where it is and go shop somewhere else.

Apart from those with environmental and social concerns, I'd also recommend this book to people who want something to help motivate them to eat more healthily -- after reading this it becomes difficult to pick up processed food without picturing the whole crappy system that put it on the shelf, and my motivation to spend a little time cooking fresher stuff is much increased.

The book achieves this is short, well-written chapters, full of well-referenced facts and coherent arguments. It even gives the supermarkets pretty much a whole chapter of their own to respond.

Importantly, the book also gives plenty of information about alternatives to supermarket shopping, and action you can take at all levels, from changing individual habits to joining campaigning groups.

I really wasn't expecting that I'd change my shopping habits so suddenly and radically in the course of a few days. Now I can't see myself ever going back, or ever wanting to.