Christmas-cancelling supermarket group Sainsbury’s were in trouble again last week, as protesters closed much of their distribution network. Over a hundred people from across Britain struck five major distribution centres in the early hours of Thursday morning, shutting down 70% of their total capacity.

The troubled corporate giant was targeted over its continued use of overseas dairy farmers who don’t adhere to Britain’s anti-GM feed policy. A co-ordinated effort saw activists descend on Essex, Liverpool, Birmingham, Bristol and Sheffield. Using steel arm guards to prevent police from removing them from the scene, some demonstrators placed ‘tripods’ in front of main gates to stop trucks from going through, and locked other gates. The groups demanded an end to GM dairy in Britain and a fairer deal for local farmers, who are barred from using GM by UK legislation.

Police arrested twenty demonstrators, eight from the demonstration at Walthamstowe. Polly, from Colchester Peace Campaign said: “We cost Sainsbury’s a lot of money and the strategic timing meant quite a small group of people could have a big impact. The places where tripods were used were the most successful, as they made people harder to arrest.”

UK farmers are currently paid less for their milk than it costs them to produce it. In recent years this has led to a wholesale collapse of the industry – in East Anglia, 90% of cattle farms have closed since the 1980s.

This accompanied an increased use of international farming conglomerates, who can’t be monitored over their use of GM crops, their treatment of the animals or employment rights.
According to Greenpeace, this also means Sainsbury’s aren’t definitely GM free in any basic product except poultry and eggs.

Sainsbury’s, who won the Organic Supermarket of the year award for 2004, issued a statement. They said that “the food standards agency has categorically stated there is no evidence that milk from animals fed on GM crops contains any GM materials.”

Freedom notes that this is because no tests have as yet been carried out.

In other Sainsbury’s news …

Bonus-magnet Sir Peter Davis has been fired from his job as Chairman of Sainsbury’s following his disastrous stint running the company into the ground.

Davis sold Homebase, which was then sold on at vast profit a few months later, reorganised distribution so poorly the company has now re-implemented its old system, and ordered a pricey relocation of the company headquarters to swish new offices. He then cut the 100 staff Christmas bonus while taking a £2.4 million bonus for himself (Freedom, 29th May), and was finally ousted by investors worried about his poor sales figures.

In a neat twist to the tale, he is still in line for a £500,000 golden parachute, which should take the sting out of his dismissal.
If only every incompetent staff member could be so lucky …

Rob Ray