Zack Polanski has hit out at vegetables being too cheap in an attack on Britain’s “exploitative” food system.
The Green Party leader has said vegetables selling for as little as 7p was evidence of exploitation taking place within the UK’s food supply chain.
In a speech on Monday, Mr Polanski accused supermarket executives of making record profits on the back of underpaid workers.
Addressing the Bakers, Food and Allied Workers’ Union, he said: “That is not a sign of a healthy system.
“Someone is being exploited somewhere, and if you’re paying 7p for vegetables, then something is not right.
“It is those supermarket bosses who are taking record profits … meanwhile paying their workers poverty wages. We cannot go on like this.”
He added that the supermarket sector had “not been regulated enough” and was exploiting both farm and agricultural workers in addition to supermarket employees.
The Green Party leader claimed food workers had been “sneered at, shrugged off or taken for granted”.
Zack Polanski claimed food workers had been ‘sneered at’ as he addressed the Bakers, Food and Allied Workers’ Union
|
GETTY
Mr Polanski insisted that he was not “judging” people who were excited at the opportunity to buy cheap food.
The Green Party leader also called for a £15 minimum wage and a 10 to one ratio which would limit how much more company bosses can earn compared to their lowest paid staff.
Retail leaders have rejected Mr Polanski’s suggestion that cheap produce was an indicator of exploitation.
Andrew Opie, the director of food and sustainability at the British Retail Consortium, told The Telegraph: “Promotions on fruit and vegetables help support customers to eat a healthy and affordable diet.
GREEN PARTY – READ MORE:
- Zack Polanski wears T-shirt in support of convicted Palestinian murderer
- Green Party mayor hikes his own salary despite vowing to take pay cut
- Zack Polanski urges Labour to keep tabs on 2,000 British-Israelis
Shadow Business Secretary Andrew Griffith said the belief food retailing was ‘largely unregulated’ was ‘delusional’
|
GETTY
“Where harvests have been strong, offering discounts can help boost sales and ensure quality fruit and vegetables do not go to waste.”
And Andrew Griffith, Shadow Business Secretary, said: “Anyone thinking that food retailing – or food production – is largely unregulated is delusional.
“Supermarkets not only are highly competitive, very regulated businesses, they face a myriad of taxes and regulation.”
He added: “Just the latest example – a packaging tax urged on governments by green groups – is adding significantly to the cost of food.”
Zack Polanski also called for a £15 minimum wage and a 10 to 1 ratio which would limit how much more company bosses can earn
|
GETTY
Mr Polanski also argued politicians had treated the food production market as something beyond the Government’s control.
He said: “Far too often when you hear this conversation in mainstream discourse, markets or the kind of food system is talked about as if it’s some other-worldly thing that we can’t make intervention points in, or we can’t make changes in.”
A Labour spokesman, responding to the claims, said the Green Party leader was chasing “cheap headlines”.
The spokesman said that under Sir Keir Starmer, Labour had been “the first to ever commit to maintaining domestic food production levels and bringing forward vital protections for farmers in the supply chain”.
Our Standards:
The GB News Editorial Charter
