Supermarket Secrets
8.83
Ratings: 8.83/10 from 110 users.
How and what we eat has radically changed over the past few decades with the all-consuming rise of the supermarket. But what price are we paying for the homogenized, cheap and convenient food that supermarkets specialize in? In a two-part programme, journalist Jane Moore investigates how supermarkets have affected the food on our plates and reveals the tell-tale signs that the food we buy may not have been grown in the way we think.
Using a combination of undercover filming and scientific analysis, Supermarket Secrets investigates whether the food on supermarket shelves is really as good as it looks, whether prices are as good as they seem and what happens behind the scenes in the production of supermarket food.
Mistitled. It's actually about supermarket meat production, not supermarket food in general.
This is why I'm a hunter.
I already am a vegetarian, but this would make me one if I wasn't. It's appalling what the meat industry has become. Before WWII (had I have been alive) I surely would not have worried about eating meat, but anymore, you are just as likely to be slamming down: antibiotics, hormones, preservatives, controversial untested ingredients (ingredients used in antifreeze and industrial cleaners...), GMOs (if you are a person uninterested in genetic tampering, but the people eating this meat clearly aren't or are ignorant to it.), etc.
As a male and a vegetarian by personal choice, it is reprehensible that I am ridiculed and looked down upon as a man by societal norms (especially here in America). My choice to look out for my body, and nature, is belittled by some delusional notion that a man must eat meat to be considered a man.... Most likely why I am an overwhelming cynic.
I used to work in a chicken factory...this is just the half of it. nothing is wasted....
When I was a kid, my mum shopped at the local butchers. There were three within walking distance of each other. Now they're gone, and a huge supermarket has replaced them. We ate chicken once a week, and sirloin steak once a year (at xmas, usually). The steak from the butcher was unbelievably tasty. Every time I buy sirloin from a supermarket, its really disappointing.
My freezer is full of ready meals, they are there for emergencies only . I would never voluntarily eat one or offer one to anyone I know.
what a wasteful and painful system we have now, how those big cruel animal farms and big store chains are such dirty liars, aside from gas, it s so much better to buy in small shops, at least, in those, you can tell what you think in the owner s face, not some innocent clerk, the farmers should sell right of their land, the government has lied enough, with their standard this and that, what a bunch of robots!
pure capitalism, if people stopped shopping at these places then they would stop.
I haven't started watching. This is going to be messed up, isn't it?
You could say that we are into this mess together. The market waste huge amount of food and care only about money. On other hand, we as consumers lack the necesarry respect towards food. I understand the growing population and the need for more food but we also eat as pigs until we can barely breathe. We eat as never before. Islam being a mercy towards the mankind and having directions and guidlines for every aspect of an individual's life has also a say about food consupmtion. Allah's Messenger Muhammad (peace be upon him) said:
"A human does not fill any container worse than his stomach. It is enough for a human to have some morsels to strengthen his back (keep his back straight). If he must eat more, then it should be one-third of his stomach for food, one-third for drink and one-third for breathing."
Even though I know lots about the food I consume, (the additives, glutamate, and all the other crap) I will now think thrice before I buy any food... heh
I absolutely hate douchbags with their vegan/vegetarian complex, just like the worst type of Christians. Guess what Yusiley you're lying to yourself you're not better off. Mankind has lived off of meat for as long as we have gathered the fruits and vegetables that dotted our early landscape. I enjoy my meat but then I hunt my moose and game I fish the waters and enjoy the exercise and experience that comes from both methods. When I get lamb or chicken, pork or beef I use a butcher and I source it. I source my produce, make sure it's local and I meet the farmers themselves. I know what is in my food and I know what is going into my system. And no, I don't think I'm better off. I'm happy with myself and my choice but I consider myself fortunate to be able to live this way and I don't in any way presume to pass judgment on those who are unable to avoid the Supermarket or choose to have a different diet then myself.
I'm so glad I stopped eating chickens, cows and porks. I started with not drinking cow milk (due to the bacteria count being unspeakably high) and slowly removed the meat out of my diet. I still eat fish, but occasionally. I attack tofu and mushrooms the most. :) I'm also picky with my veggies so I rarely get sick. It's amazing but I gained more muscles (I don't even work out), lowered my body fat, lowered my cholesterol, lowered my blood pressure and think more clearly. O-o
BTW I don't know what's wrong with ready meals. The stigmatization over ready meals is preposterous. 70% of my meals are prepackaged yet I'm healthier than most people who are natural eaters. Then again I read labels carefully and pick out meals that are healthy. I stay away from the high sodium and carbs. I like ready meals because all the nutritional information on the package, I know exactly what is going into me.
VEGAN. Healthy and Sane wealthy.
Stop eating fast food, spend some time to buy and make your own good food and dont expect someone else to do it for you because they'll find the cheapest way. So many people are really just clogging the world up because of apathy and conformity haha.
excellent documentary!
It is hard to comprehend the scale of suffering and cruelty which humans inflict on all living creatures, and on each other.
Especially when we do actually know better.
I think Supermarkets should have 3 categories (A-B-C) of certain produce such as apples, potatoes, oranges, etc. ;price them accordingly and let the consumer decide what's best for their wallet. This is a win-win method that will help Farmers, reduce waste, and consequently World Hunger! "Waste not; want not!"
how about eat local, and go to the actual farm/slaughterhouse for meat, to see what it's like, if it's really bad, go somewhere else.
wow.. I will think again about eating meats, and likely change my habits further. I've already stopped eating pork about a month ago.
It all boils down to us as the customer we are the one with the voice yet we just carry on like lemmings filling the fat cats pockets then moaning about it later..
This documentary also answers the question as to why Asians buyer their raw food from the traditional market and not supermarkets.
In the country I live in, I can tell you an interesting fact. A business friend of mine had the bright idea to purchase chicken droppings from a major chicken producer for use in the production of "organic" fertilizer. They tested it in on fields and nothing grew. Why? Because it was loaded in antibiotics which apparently meant that natural bacteria in the soil was killed. #FAIL.
*facepalm*
The reality is that supermarkets put so much pressure on suppliers to get the price down and the delivery schedules upheld that suppliers area almost forced to bend or break rules in order to compete. They will deny this but I have been in the food business for quite a few years and I know what it is like to sell to supermarkets.
Terrible host... and a little boring.
Wow is that all you have to say?... Terrible comment and simplistic.
i just wish we could take the snobby 'foodie' out of the desire for nutritious, good food. after seeing that chef twice i had to turn the docu off - i've seen other docus about food quality and animal care that are much better than this one.
If you take the world population as a factor then overall consumption must increase at the same rate as the population, but looking at the numbers:
Year 1970 2004
UK population 55,663,000 59,990,000
consumption of chicken/year 200,000,000 850,000,000
Consumption/person/year 3.59 14.17
Consumption/person/month 0.3 1.16
so as you can see consumption has increased more than the population growth
Aha, this is why I'm a vegetarian.
Cause you can't afford free range chicken?
Understand world population has increased. This is not about more production. Is how it is produced, to fill are consumption. Scally
World Population in 1970, 3.7 billion. World Population in 2004, 6.4 billion. Might explain the increase in chicken consumption? Oh woops there goes that pesky logic again, always getting in the way!
you state those figures as a matter of fact, whereas i would argue that the size of the average family has decreased. i dont argue that population has increased but, i do believe those figures have been exaggarated. maybe there are 6.4 billion on the planet today but the 1970 figures...
Why exactly do you believe the numbers have been exaggerated? What are you basing your belief on?
eeeeeew! the deathbin with the maggots inside! :S no comment
george, you really think that when it all comes down to it it's ultimately government to blame? That makes no sense.
Do you honestly think government should have that much control over advertising? I mean really?
Where the hell are we going?
we as consumers are being manipulated by creative advertising. who is ultimately at fault is our governments for letting them get away with it. the supposed controls that are in place are biased to benefit the profits of the companies that exploit them. with all the hunger in the world, look at the amount of food that gets produced to be thrown away because it doesn't fit the esthetic profile that the supermarkets insist upon. because of this esthetic profiling, the actual nutritional value of the food we consume declines. you dont have to be einstein to figure out why the human race is becoming stupid, fat & ignorant - we are eating low quality nutritional food, which is processed, manipulated & full of chemicals / additives. remember what granny used to say " you are what you eat ".
Hi Olek, If there is one thing we can all agree on, it is that "we" are not to blame. "We" are good people, and so there must be some "bad" people who are truly responsible. ;>)
I am conitually surprised in docos such as this that the that the nutrient value of food is not commented on extensively. It was pointed out that Omega 3 content in milk can be as much as 7 times less than it was in the 50s. Let along the deliberate denuding of nuturients in more overtly processed food!
It's so easy to blame just one side. They're far from being perfect but don't you think that we, as consumers are not responsible for whats happening as well??