To the Editor,
There has been much discussion recently about food prices and how they are growing faster than inflation. The average consumer has known about this concern for a long time. Even the so-called experts are talking about the escalating prices and how this is really affecting the average shopper. Which of course was part of the reasons why the government called the heads of the three major food stores to give some answers of why the prices are growing so fast and why these three are reporting record profits.
President of Loblaws, Galen Weston, made a statement that there should have been more people called before the government. And in my opinion, this was the most truthful answer he gave to any of the politicians’ questions. The big three grocery stores are just the tip of the iceberg. This greed inflation starts out with the big-to-huge factory farms. Not the family farms. The ones that are run by corporations to make as much as they can for their shareholders. The ones that get huge discounts on their raw material (ie. fertilizer) and keep the extra profit for the corporation instead of passing the savings on. Then the next level of the food chain is the food manufactories who of course make as much money as they can for their shareholders, which includes making almost everything we buy come in smaller and smaller packages while still charging more. Of course, there are also the big American chains that charge high prices and in the case of Walmart they don’t even have staff to check you out. Why pay people to do their part of customer service when you can increase profits by having people do it themselves. (Pesky workers.)
Maybe the next time you talk with our local MP Leslyn Lewis ask what her thoughts are on this topic. Maybe ask MPP Bobbi Ann Brady what her thoughts are.
Patrick Cook,
Hagersville
