Skirting around the Supermarket Duopoly

I always gape in wonder every time the left open their mouths of monopolies. Here they praise the ability of the open market to provide choice.

Today and tomorrow many thousands of New Zealanders will be visiting their local farmers markets around the country, neatly skirting around New Zealand’s supermarket duopoly, and trading directly with the people who grow their food.

…

Cameron says farmers’ markets are giving people more control over the food they eat:

Supermarkets threaten to engulf other forms of retailing by combining the scale of the market with the convenience of the shop, but in recent years there has been a quiet counter-revolution. One of the driving forces is the increasing demand for better food and information about that food, by increasingly discerning consumers.

Huh. I guess in this case giving people discretion is ok. I’d have thought they’d want to ban “Reasonable Choice” when it comes to food, since they seem to think food supply is so critical.

What about public food supply - isn’t the private system only providing profits for greedy farmers? How many people are loosing their jobs at the wholesale and retail level when farmers sell directly? Are those farmers properly trained in food safety? Have they certified their food as organic/GE free? Are they undermining the ability of peanut farmers in Zimzanea to make a profit?

I’m not sure that I will ever understand the left - the Greens are here promoting something when they are the only party in parliament that would ever support legislation banning it!