The Markets

Fluorescent lighting, bad music and apathetic teenage staff - no I'm not talking about a new nightclub, but multinational supermarket chains.

No one looks good in lighting that harsh, but that's not the point, it's what they're doing to our wallets that's the real issue and, even worse, what they're doing to the livelihoods of our farmers. Not only have the two majors marked up their prices by more than 41% in the last 10 years, they've made billions of dollars in profits in the process including more than $100 billion dollars in 2009 alone.

The ABC's Hungry Beast program did a great piece about these "friendly giants" a couple of weeks back. Check out the clip.



As well as the consumer, farmers are getting a pretty raw deal. There are reports they're not being paid enough for their produce, that 'imperfect' fruit and veggies are being rejected and that the ones which do make it through are being kept for a questionable length of time in cold rooms.

We decided to ditch the superstores and headed to a nearby farmer's market in West End in search of local fare, a hot breakfast and some seriously cute puppies.

So next time you're contemplating that quick trip down to the shops, why not wait until your local farmer's market rolls around.