Do we need a dairy godmother?

7th January 2010, The Times

As milk prices drop and British dairy farms go bust, the Tories want to create a supermarket ombudsman. Can consumers help?

Walk along the dairy shelf next time you are in a supermarket, and you can watch an accident happening. It is a serious one, meaning the loss of dozens of jobs every month. It pictures pretty well how wrong the relationship between farmers, retailers and consumers has gone in this country — a matter that Labour and the Conservatives have now agreed must be addressed. The latest move comes from the Tories, who this week pledged to set up a new supermarket ombudsman, charged with powers to prevent leading retailers from using their size and influence to squeeze the profit margins of farmers and other suppliers. Such moves, it is hoped, may prevent the disappearance of an industry that has helped to shape the British countryside.

Read on here on Times Online