Letters / Open letter to Tesco about stocking Israeli tatties
Dear Tesco,
I am a consumer who regularly shops in Tesco Lerwick. As a resident of Shetland, Tesco are our leading supermarket, and hold market dominance.
I choose to shop at Tesco as I feel the prices are better for my budget, there is a wider variety of stock and on the quality of the goods I can purchase.
I write to object to your stocking of Israeli-grown potatoes. On the Tesco app and website, the Finest jacket potatoes are listed as “British Jacket Potatoes” 700g and described as “Exclusively grown for Tesco Finest. Our Finest white potatoes come from trusted growers across the UK.”
However, as seen in store on multiple occasions this week, this product is now reading “produce of Israel”.
Tesco prides itself on working with British and Scottish suppliers – this much is evidenced by the sign outside Tesco Lerwick saying “working with Scottish suppliers”.
As a consumer, I feel it is vital to support UK farming, and I am concerned about the effect of the air miles on the environment to transport produce from 3,835 miles away. Scotland, the UK and even Ireland are renowned for potato quality.
Furthermore, as a consumer I am concerned about sourcing goods from Israel due to the ongoing genocidal military activity in Gaza and the occupied West Bank.
I am concerned that sourcing potatoes from Israel supports the Israeli economy, where money is being used to supply military activity. While a potato may not seem like a big deal, I am concerned that this money is unnecessarily entering the Israeli economy when it could be much better used in our own economy.
I am concerned that money entering the Israeli economy will be used to fund genocidal activity within Gaza.
I believe there is a moral responsibility for companies in our country to refrain from funding or profiting from genocide, and also from being complicit, at whatever scale, in the funding of war crimes.
I feel that sourcing potatoes from within the UK is better than sourcing it from across the world. I feel that sourcing this produce from Israel lets down our farmers, constitutes false advertising, and ignores the moral responsibility of UK companies to avoid aiding in genocidal activity.
I respectfully request that this objection is considered and British potatoes are once again stocked as per the description on the Tesco app.
Sarah Stove
Lerwick
