Tesco Vile

Tyne Crossings Alliance honcho Paul Winch has another target in his sights, and it's the supermarket that helps itself to more than a little: Tesco. He has a new site Hebburn:TescoVille?, to chronicle Tesco's bid to add Hebburn to its list of retail fiefdoms and the campaign to stop Hebburn from becoming another carbon copy town where local business makes way for giant retail sheds.

Key in the list of charges is that a developer and retailer were chosen before South Tyneside Council put it to public consultation.

And this is the council that praises itself for consultations?

Goodbye Tesco

MPs flocked to vote to stop toffs fox-hunting, but turn a blind eye to the daily poor treatment of millions of chickens in the UK.

The campaign for improved poultry welfare has been picked up by the likes of Compassion in World Farming and various celebs, as unfortunately we are dependent on retailers and the ethical concerns of consumers to drive a humane farming policy which should really be addressed by Government.

The MPs who voted for their furry fox friends aren't the only hypocrites.

I've shopped at Tesco. It was a poor compromise of sorts - they led the way in organic food in terms of supermarket retailing, but I was unsettled by their sharp approach to planning and crushing local competition, known as 'Tescopoly'. The fact that their type of business is dependent on, and encourages, growth in burning fossil fuels, burns too.

Pushing the trolley around their stores, it's hard to reconcile the comfort of the nice shiny clean surroundings with the ethical dilemmas inherent in the business models of the big food retailers.

I'm aware that there's constant compromise with any purchase choice, but sometimes, enough is enough.

I can't stomach Tesco's behaviour any more: their refusal to recognise the impact of the type of chicken farming they profit from and dirty tricks they're using to keep it that way.

If Tesco took steps to take their chicken supply to a higher standard of animal welfare like the RSPCA Freedom Food standard it would be a start, and the rest of the retail grocery sector would follow.