I heard about this on radio yesterday and the words 'more control' sprang to mind, followed closely by 'unbelievable'.
The aim is to reduce the amount of food wasted in this country and DEFRA wants supermarkets to stop the buy-one-get-one-free offers and introduce half price offers instead.
Supermarkets offer BOGOFs to attract customers and appears to work well for them. They get more business and the customer gets a 'bargain'.
If I want to buy melon on a BOGOF offer and immediately put them on the compost heap, that's my business and nothing to do with the government.
If politicians really want to do something about waste then I suggest they examine the Common Agricultural Policy which paid out over £50 billion to uneconomic production last year.
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13 comments:
I agree that the government should butt out of our lives, but I wish supermarkets would give half price offers instead of the two for the price of one deals.
Older people, for example, often can't use the extra, or can't carry it and so miss out.
Of course, in fairness, supermarkets are in business to make money, not look after the poor and the old... that's the government's responsibility!!
Tris, it's the suppliers who take the loss for BOGOFs or half price offers. I would agree with you half price offers are better because not everyone wants an extra 9 toilet rolls just to get a bargain.
But with BOGOFs the supplier supplies far more than they would in half price offers, who they make up a little of the loss by supplying larger quantities.
There is an issue about supermarkets not using BOGOFs as a way of getting people in the door. Equally if they have too much stock left then their ordering procedures need examined.
However we should also ask where people's own responsibility is in all of this. Surely they'll know if they can use the amount of food they're buying in a given timeframe?
Living on my own I'll use BOGOF but am sensible enough not to get it if I know I'll never use it all. Surely that's not too difficult for other people too?
You would think not wouldn't you IoC but we live in a consumer world these days. Many have never had to shop sensibly, plus we're offered foods flown from all the corners of the world.
In my own miniscule way, I refuse to buy anything not produced in the UK but that's no hardship for me as I was brought up on UK seasonal foods.
I wonder if Gordon gets his cucumbers BOGOF, I wish he would bog off.
As often happens, you've beaten me to it with this, SR. I completely agree with you.
Unbelievable that this government should think that shops need to be told what to sell and what not to sell to us 'stupid' consumers, for our own good.
There are few thousand other things that need fixing before they worry about this one..
Sorry CF, I just wrote it hurriedly as I was angry at more control in my life.
Quite a few thousand things CF, aye indeed.
On the on hand I'm with tris on this one, half price offers are better than being persuaded to consume ever more quantities of food/drink/everything else, much of which inevitably goes either to waste or waist :oD
On the other hand I agree that the government ought to have bigger fish to fry. I liked the idea of shoppers being given recipes for produce that is past its best. I can particularly recommend making banana bread out of blackened bananas - just bung them in the freezer until you're ready to bake.
I vaguely recall forfar-quine telling me bogofs are banned in Germany, but I might be wrong on that...anyone know for sure? Or how other countries deal with this?
I'd prefer half-price to BOGOF, but if you have a freezer and the stuff freezes well, it makes little difference.
The government should butt out. Haven't they got anything better to do? Like ensure roads have adequate drainage, to name but one?
I agree FL but with the BOGOFs at least the supplier has a chance of regaining some of the loss by providing in much greater quantity than normal.
Can't speak about Germany but I'll try to find out.
Subrosa,
your insticts about control on this I feel are spot on.
With BOGOF I usually buy for two families and vice versa, all you do is chat with your friends before the weekly riutal.
Goverment cannot stand the fact that it does not know who's getting that second water melon.;-)
They also cannot stand the idea that we may be feeding someone they don't know about. This is important in any future rationing event.
Heads up.
Oh Fausty don't get me started on road drainage. Why is it, in this modern day and age, that road drainage is much worse then it was a few generations ago?
Thanks Incoming, I was going to mention food rationing in the post, but didn't want to depress readers any more than I had to.
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