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What Goes Around Comes Around Print E-mail
Written by Tim Worstall   
Saturday, 17 February 2007
As we're all aware (after all, we're constantly bombarded with the propaganda) we should be fleeing the supermarkets and purchasing our foods at Farmer's Markets. Something to do with food miles I believe, although the logic of buying food in a different place from the other necessities of life, meaning two trips rather than one, rather escapes me.

But I wouldn't want anyone to think that I am against Farmer's Markets: I'm a proud native of Bath, the city that hosted the first one in this country (and which I have of course patronised) and I've been an enthusiastic seller at one of the oldest American ones, in San Luis Obispo . If you wish to purchase direct from the producer, well, that's simply an extension of consumer choice and so to be heartily welcomed. In fact, I think the idea should be extended and developed, as this story in The Guardian indicates it is:
But nor is it your average farmers' market. This is a venture that aims to provide all the quality and reliably sourced food of other farmers' markets but without the draughty surroundings and temporary stalls. More ambitiously, the three founders, Jana Satchi, Stephen Wilkinson and George Beach, say they want to redefine food shopping.

 "Jana and I were at Borough Market in London one day and it was freezing," says Wilkinson, a former food and wine buyer for Marks and Spencer. "It was at that point we thought: wouldn't it be great to do something like this but indoors?"
An excellent idea indeed although our budding entrepreneurs seem to have missed one trick:
"It's not what we sell, it's what we don't sell," says Beach. Nothing is packaged or manufactured. There is no bleach, toilet roll or microwave meals.
Add those other items in and people would be able to do all (or at least a majority) of their shopping at one time, reducing transport miles further. Such a good idea it's amazing no one's thought of it before really. So what would we call such things? Farmer's Market already has its own meaning, large market, indoor market, they don't quite get across how wonderful, spiffy, shiny shiny even, this new retailing invention is.

 Could I suggest that we start calling them "supermarkets"?
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