Three years ago, I embarked on a personal project that has brought about a quiet revolution in my cooking and eating habits. My decision to go ‘off-supermarket’ was prompted by the dramatic changes in Britain’s food stores. Returning from a period abroad, I found that popping into a city centre supermarket for a sandwich suddenly involved navigating airport-style security. My local Sainsbury’s had transformed from a friendly place where cashiers chatted to customers to an automated dystopia where you had to scan your goods according to instructions from a machine. As I described in The Spectator, I put down my basket and left for the last time.
My resolve to shop differently has been strengthened by the growing surveillance in supermarkets. I don’t want to be filmed close-up by the cameras that hang over most self-checkouts cameras and I object to being treated as a suspect by Sainsbury’s new facial recognition system
My resolve to shop differently has been strengthened by the growing surveillance in supermarkets. I don’t want to be filmed close-up by the cameras that hang over most self-checkouts cameras and I object to being treated as a suspect by Sainsbury’s new facial recognition system.
