Spaniards have been branded as arriving late for many things, as we have with this one, but this time it is worth jumping on the bandwagon.
I am referring to the now generalised trend in European supermarkets to give priority to local production over imported produce.
Therefore, I welcome the idea of the Consum supermarket that has just opened next to my house of ‘Building up the Country’ and nobody should take this expression as a form of politicising the act of purchase, but rather as a morally responsible attitude.
The idea is not to revolutionise the structures or criticise the commercial order, but to regulate the offer, using our rights as citizens/consumers and to exercise our buying pressure on the large-scale distribution companies.
For many years I have seen this happening in Europe, particularly the time I spent in England, where the British flag waved over half the supermarket shelves to inform consumers that the summer strawberries had arrived or the British potatoes were the only ones customers could choose. Our French neighbours are masters in this field; Denmark exercises the same policy in some of its chains and in the rest of Europe there is now a multitude of examples.
The globalised world has changed us and, in the end, the issue does not lie in protectionism as Mr. Trump understands it: it has to do with coherence and respect for the environment. The idea is to protect your local surroundings, to ensure that this famous ‘Empty Spain’ does not become even emptier, that transport minimises the CO₂ or NO₂ emissions and that the producers can survive with a few extra cents. The idea is that the GDP, which owes so much to the agri-food sector, continues to show good progress. The idea is to do our bit for the world we will leave to our children.
