Photograph: David SillitoeRemember Tesco's cheap food advertising campaign a couple of weeks ago, which culminated in its rival Asda offering a £2 chicken? At the time I said, crossly, that "this entire campaign looks at only one aspect of your family's food supply - its retail price. There is not a whisper, not a murmur, not a word or a sentence about the quality of the food."
So I experienced something like the fabled rejoicing in heaven at the repentance of a sinner, when I read that Tesco has not only ended its campaign, but changed its entire policy, as Sir Terry Leahy, Tesco's chief executive said: "I believe we're seeing a fundamental shift in the priority that consumers place on food. The link between diet and health, interest in cooking, provenance - including local and fair trade - is also not only about affluent customers. The growth in the proportion of our customers buying organics is fastest among less affluent customers. This could be a big long-term positive for the industry."
Adages about leopards and spots leap to mind. But let's hope he means it. We'll be watching this particular cage in the supermarket zoo.
