Ethical Foods Memo: Pro & Con On California's Proposition 2; Which Would Eliminate the Use of Battery Hen Cages in the State's Egg-Farming Industry

This November 4 California voters will vote on the first measure of its kind in the United States that if passed would eliminate the use of small or battery cages for egg-laying hens, like the ones pictured above.

The ballot measure, Proposition 2 ("Standards for Confining Farm Animals"), also would eliminate tiny enclosures for veal calves and pigs. The measure doesn't include eliminating small-cages in the raising of chickens for sale and consumption as a food. It only applies to the raising of egg-laying hens.

Natural~Specialty Foods Memo has written about California's Proposition 2 and related battery cage issues in the Golden State, along with writing about the issue in general as it pertains globally. You can read those pieces here.

Proposition 2 hasn't been receiving much attention in California to date. This is because of a few reasons in our analysis and opinion.

First, it's a law of elections and politics in the U.S. that voters pay little attention to upcoming elections until after Labor Day, which has now ended.

Second, California's state lawmakers, mainstream press and voters have been focused for the last couple months extensively on the multi-month-long battle between the state legislature and Governor to work out a long-overdue state budget compromise. The various parties reached a budget agreement last week, and the budget bill was signed this week by the Governor.

Lastly, this is a big year for elections in the U.S. The Presidential race is the primary focus of both the news media and voters. Therefore, ballot initiatives such as Proposition 2 in California and other measures are getting obvious secondary attention.

However, with the Labor Day holiday ended, summer over and the kids back in school in California, statewide issues like Proposition 2 are beginning to receive more attention in the Golden State. Since the ballot measure if passed will also be the first state law of its specific kind in the U.S., Proposition 2 also is beginning to get more nationwide attention in America.

In today's addition of the newspaper, the San Francisco Chronicle -- which is generally considered a liberal -to- moderate newspaper editorially in what is overall a very liberal city -- ran an editorial in which the paper's editorial board says it's against Proposition 2, the measure which would eliminate the use of battery cages for egg-laying hens and small enclosures for veal calves and pigs in 2015.

The editorial goes into detail regarding the editorial board's position that California voters should vote no on Proposition 2.

Read the editorial against Proposition 2, "Why proposition 2 is a bad idea," from today's San Francisco Chronicle editorial page here.

In the same editorial page section of today's Chronicle, the paper ran a pro-Proposition 2 opinion piece written by Bill Niman, who is well known in the natural foods industry as the founder of the all-natural meat company Niman Ranch, Inc., which is based in Oakland, California.

Bill Niman also is a cattle rancher and farmer in Bolinas, which is north of San Francisco. In addition to being supplied by cattle and hogs raised on Bill Niman's ranch, Niman Ranch, Inc. meat company buys from over 600 family-owned farms and ranches in the United States. Niman Ranch, Inc. markets a variety of fresh, natural meat products to natural foods stores and supermarkets throughout the U.S., as well as selling its products online via its website.

Read Bill Niman's vote yes on Proposition 2 Op-Ed piece, "Prop. 2 brings humane standards to poultry, pork industries," here.

Based on our reporting on Proposition 2 -- which includes talking with members of both the pro and con Proposition 2 coalitions that have been started -- we think today marks the beginning of what is going to be a vigorous debate on the ballot initiative between now and the November 4, 2008 election in the U.S.

The battery cage issue is a global one. The European Union has already passed legislation to outlaw the use of the small cages in its member countries in 2012.

In the United Kingdom (UK) and other European nations, farmers have already started to convert to the use of larger enclosures which permit the birds to stretch their wings and move around in, which are part of the conditions required under the Proposition 2 ballot measure in California.

Supermarket chains and natural foods stores throughout the world -- and particularily in Europe and parts of Asia like Australia and New Zealand, and the U.S. -- are increasingly offering more varieties of eggs raised by hens in a "cage-free" setting, along with selling more broiler chickens raised "free range" outside of the small cages. Selling veal raised in small crates is something numerous food retailers no longer will do even where there are no laws prohibiting it.

The issue is arguably hottest in the UK, where activists like the celebrity chefs Hugh Fearnly- Whittingstall and Jamie Oliver have been conducting campaigns to get Britain's largest supermarket chains such as Tesco and Sainsbury's to stop selling chickens and eggs produced in battery cages.

These chains have increased the varieties of "cage-free" eggs and "free-range" chickens they sell in their stores as a result, along with increasing the promotion of these products. For example, earlier this year Sainsbury's, along with the upscale British supermarket chain Waitrose, both reported that sales of "free-range" chickens in their respective supermarkets for the first time had reached nearly half of total chicken sales.

The battery cage issue has been far less front and center in the U.S. compared to Europe. However, we see California's Proposition 2 as potentially changing that dynamic. California is a legislative trend setter in the U.S. As some say: As California goes...so goes the nation -- at least that's often the case when it comes to the origin of new laws.

Therefore, we plan to cover the debate on Proposition 2 between today and the November 4 U.S. general election closely, as we believe the battery cage issue is it not only a California (which with nearly 40 million residents is pretty significant in and of itself) issue, but a national an overall global one as well.

Ethical Foods Memo: Analysis and Viewpoints Pro and Con on the Small-Cage Hen Ban Voter Initiative Set for the November, 2008 Ballot in California

As we wrote about in this May 8, 2008 story, the Humane Society of the United States has qualified a ballot initiative, called Proposition 2, on the November ballot in California that if passed would ban egg producers from using small, battery cages for the birds. If passed inNovember, the ballot initiative, called the Prevention of Farm Cruelty Act, would take effect in California in 2015. The law also bans the use of small crates in veal raising, along with the use of confining gestation boxes or cages for pregnant hogs. (California raises lots of chickens, both for egg-laying and to be sold as broiler fryers and roasters, but few hogs or veal calves.)

Since 2002, the U.S. states of Florida, Colorado, Arizona and Oregon have passed laws similar to the California ballot initiative. Those laws however only outlaw the use of the small veal crates and the confining boxes for pregnant hogs. Therefore, if the Proposition 2 ballot initiative is passed in November, California will become the first state in the U.S. to ban the use of the battery cages for egg-laying hens.

A number of animal rights and environmental groups have joined the Humane Society of the United States in supporting the small-cage ban initiative, which will be voted on by California voters in November. These groups include the Sierra Club, the California Veterinary Medical Association (CVMA) and others. The California State Democratic Party also supports the battery cage ban initiative, as do numerous city councils in cities throughout the state.

The United Egg Producers, a national trade association which represents numerous egg farmers in California and throughout the U.S., is currently lining up opposition to the November ballot initiative, which if passed would require the egg-producers to stop using the small cages in 2015, giving them over six years to make the transition.

Among the arguments the egg producers association makes is that currently about one-third of all eggs sold in retail stores and used by restaurants and other institutions in California are shipped in from out of state Since the ballot initiative doesn't prevent supermarkets and other retail stores from selling eggs produced from hens raised in small cages out of state, the group says the law would essentially amount to an anti-competitive measure against California egg producers, since out of state egg farmers would ship in eggs produced by battery-cage raised hens at cheaper prices, thereby forcing many California egg producers out of business.

This does seem to be a flaw in the language of the ballot initiative. For example, in the United Kingdom, which passed a law outlawing the use of battery cages which goes into effect in 2012, the nation's food retailers will be prevented from selling eggs from hens raised in battery cages regardless of where the eggs come from, as part of the comprehensive legislation.

The egg producers group also says switching from small cage egg production to cage-free will double and possibly triple the retail cost of California-produced eggs to consumers. Egg prices for conventional, battery cage-raised eggs have already increased by about 25% in just the last year in California due to increased feed costs and the soaring price of fuel, energy and fertilizer, among other things, according to the California State Department of Agriculture.

The Humane Society of America counters this claim of a doubling -to-tripling of retail egg prices if the measure passes in November by a study prepared for an industry-wide meeting in 2006 as evidence that the cost to switch over to cage-free farming would be minimal. The report claims that the difference between constructing and operating a cage-free facility compared to a caged one amounts to less than one cent per egg.

Arnie Riebli, the managing owner of Sunrise Farms in Petaluma, in Northern California, which produces and sells cage-free eggs and eggs produced by hens confined in battery cages, says he disagrees with those figures and doesn't understand how they were calculated. Rather, he believes the cost of cage-free production is closer to double that of caged production. Even so, he says that while initial costs are higher, he receives a higher profit margin on cage-free eggs because they command a higher wholesale price from retailers.

Egg-producer Riebli argues the egg producer association point of view, saying that if required to raise only cage-free birds, his business will lose its competitive edge to out-of-state producers. "Every other state is going to sit out there and ship more eggs in here," he says. "They're not stopping it. They're just moving it somewhere else."

The Humane Society is gaining backing for the measure however from numerous Democratic Party state politicians, veterinarians, businessmen and woman, and even some farmers, along with nearly every animal welfare organization, numerous environmental groups, and thousands of California consumers.

One key factor as the whether or not the battery cage ban passes in November is the continuing soaring cost of food. Food prices are a sensitive issue with California consumers, who also are voters, currently in the Golden State, which is experiencing a severe economic downturn at present.

California political observers say if the battery cage ban opposition groups can make a strong case to voters that if the ballot initiative passes the price of eggs at the supermarket--which has already risen by about 25% in the last year alone--will double or triple--they stand a good chance of defeating the measure.

Supporters say California voters/consumers are ready to ban the battery cage practice, sighting surveys they've said they have conducted which show support for the measure by the state's voters when they view photographs or video of the hens in the tiny cages, which don't allow the birds to move, turn around or even groom themselves in.

Julia Olmstead, a writer and graduate student at the University of California at Berkeley School of Journalism, recently wrote an opinion piece focusing on the environmental aspects of the battery cage ban ballot initiative. Ms. Olmstead, who is a writer with the Land Institute's Prairie Writers Circle, a pro-environmental organization, suggests in her piece that voting yes on the small-cage ban offers environmental problems, and that even though she supports free-range chicken-raising and buys free-range eggs, she isn't likely to vote yes on the measure in November. You can read her opinion piece which first appeared a few days ago in the Los Angeles Times, here.

On the other side--pro battery cage ballot initiative--is Ed Boks. Mr. Boks is the respected general manager of Los Angeles' Animal Services Department, and was one of the first proponents of the small cage, veal crate, and hog gestation box ban ballot initiative.

In an article from his blog, published nearly a year ago, Mr. Boks lays out why California voters should support the ballot measure. He wrote the piece before the measure qualified for the November ballot. However, he is one of the stronger and most respected proponents for the initiative's passage this November, which is why we bring you his opinion even though his piece was published some time ago. You can read the piece from Mr Boks' blog here.

Additionally, the Humane Society of the United States and its affiliated group supporting Proposition 2, the hen battery cage, veal crate and hog gestation box ban ballot initiatiive, offers its arguments for the bans on its website, which you can view here.

From the industry's perspective, you also can read a report on a recent study about the possible economic effects in California of Proposition 2, conducted by the United Egg Producers' group here.

Most California political observers say they expect the ballot initiative to start receiving lots of attention in the media and by voters right after Labor Day, which is about the time Americans generally start to focus on the fall elections. Since there's a Presidential election this year, U.S. voter turnout is expected to be higher overall than normal, with many observers believing it could be the highest it's been in the U.S. in decades, come November.

The battery cage ballot initiative is important not only because of the effects it will have in California--which is the number one agricultural state in America, and the fifth-largest producer of eggs. Even more important from the larger view, is that California is a trend-setting state in the U.S. when it comes to ethical, animal rights and environmental laws. Should California's voters pass the small-cage ban legislation in November, expect to see numerous state governments throughout the U.S.--especially in progressive states--create similar legislation.

The European Union passed a battery cage ban, with all member states ratifying the law, a couple years ago. That ban goes into effect in most of western Europe in 2012. Already in the United Kingdom, many egg producers are transitioning from the small cages, to new, larger ones which give the birds enough space to move around, turn around, and practice natural behaviors like grooming.

The issue is much hotter in Europe, and particularly in the UK, than it is in the United States currently. However, we expect the publicity this fall from the California battery cage ban ballot initiative--regardless if it passes or fails--to increase interest in the issue among consumers in the U.S.

Natural~Specialty Foods Memo Resources:

Click here to read a selection of previously published pieces about the battery cage issue. Click here to read a couple past stories about the battery cage issue in the United Kingdom (just scroll down a bit from the top at the link).

Ethical Retailing Memo: Specialty Grocer Trader Joe's Says it Will Stop Selling Eggs From California Farm Where Group Says Video Shows Hen Abuse

Popular specialty grocery chain Trader Joe's said today it will stop selling eggs from a farm in California's San Joaquin Valley where a group named Mercy For Animals says its video showing abuse to egg-laying hens was taken.

Video footage released this week from Chicago-based nonprofit group Mercy For Animals, shows hens in crowded small or battery cages, as well as dead and rotting chicken corpses. The group says the video was taken at an egg farm owned by Turlock, California-based Gemperele Enterprises, also know as Gemperle Farms.

Gemperle Farms has said they don't believe the video is of their farm because the film is to "grainy" to see clearly.

However, Mercy For Animals says not only is the video from a Gemperle egg-laying farm in Merced County, California but that the person who took the video was an undercover operative for the nonprofit group, who got employed by the egg-producer, worked at the farm for sometime, and frequently observed the conditions which are depicted in the video he took.

You can view the Mercy For Animals video here.

Alison Mochizuki, a spokesperson for Trader Joe's, told Natural~Specialty Foods Memo (NSFM) today the grocery chain, which has its corporate headquarters in Southern California, decided to no longer carry eggs produced by Gemperle Farms because "it is of the utmost importance that all of our vendors abide by industry established animal care practices."

Trader Joe's stores in California and the Western USA, like all of its stores in the U.S., sell both conventionally-produced small cage hen eggs and cage-free eggs.

The supplier to Trader Joe's of the Gemperle Farms eggs, produced by hens in the small cages which is the norm in the U.S. egg industry, has been a company called NuCal Foods, Inc., which is the largest egg distributor in the Western U.S.

NuCal distributes eggs from Gemperle Farms along with those produced by dozens of other producers.

NuCal distributes eggs to numerous California and Western USA supermarket chains, including Sacramento-based Raley's (129 stores) and Modesto, California-based Save Mart, Inc. (about 400 stores).

Raley's and Save Mart said they currently plan to continue carrying eggs bought from NuCal in their respective stores but were considering whether or not to make sure none of those eggs come from Gemperle Farms' operations.

We have a feeling they will make that decision soon, as the issue only seems like it will get even hotter, both in the short term because of the video and the publicity it's starting to receive in California, and in the medium to longer term because of the small hen cage ban ballot measure which Californians will vote on in this November's election.

Related Reading On the Issue from NSFM:

May 8, 2008: Ethical Foods Memo: "Group Says it Has Video Showing Major California Egg Producer Abuses its Egg-Laying Hens."

May 8, 2008: Ethical Foods Memo: "Small Hen Cage Ban Ballot Measure Will Go to Voters in California."

Ethical Retailing Memo: David vs. Goliath: Planet Organic Markets Beats Out Whole Foods Market, Others as the 'Top Organic' Grocer in Canada

Canada's Planet Organic Markets, a national natural and organic foods retailer, edged out U.S.-based Whole Foods Market, Inc's Canadian division for the honor of top organic food retailer in Canada, in a survey and analysis by Corporate Knights magazine, a national publication which covers ethical and responsible corporate and business behavior and practices.

Planet Organic Markets received an A grade, and Whole Foods Market-Canada a B+ in the publications first "Green Grocer" survey, which is modeled after the United Kingdom's National Consumer Council's ethical grocers' survey.

Corporate Knights magazine rated Canada's top grocers--Planet Organic Markets, Whole Foods Market-Canada, Loblaws, Safeway, Metro, Provigo, Sobeys and a few others--in five areas: climate change, which looked at the availability of locally-produced food, the sale and promotion of CFL light bulbs, and in-store conservation efforts; consumer education, which looked at how organic and local food, Fair Trade products, and a reduced-meat diet are promoted; food sustainability, which surveyed the availability of organic products as well as responsibly-farmed fish and meats; household sustainability, which examined the stores' availability of "green" household products; and waste recycling, which looked at the recycled and Forest Stewardship Council content in product packaging , along with the stores' efforts to reduce the use of plastic grocery bags.

You can read more details about the survey and analysis here. There's also two links here, one for the actual survey methodology, and the other to view the survey questionnaire filled out by the Canadian grocers participating. The links are located in the yellow "resources" box on the right hand of the linked page.

While Planet Organic Markets and Whole Foods-Canada scored and A and a B+ respectively, the mainstream grocers mentioned above who were surveyed scored between a C and C+ overall, with their individual stores scoring a bit higher in the C to B range. This is because some stores take it on themselves to do more in the environmental and ethical categories surveyed compared to the chains as a whole.

Regarding Whole Foods Market-Canada, the Corporate Knights magazine survey was conducted before the supernatural grocer eliminated the use of all single-use plastic carrier bags from its U.S., Canadian and UK stores on April 22, Earth Day 2008.

Therefore, since plastic grocery bag reduction efforts are one of the criteria in the survey, Whole Foods' elimination of the bags completely in all its Canadian stores might have pushed it up a notch, from a B+ to an A, therefore perhaps coming in a dead heat with Planet Organic for first place. We don't know that for sure however.

Planet Organic Markets uses biodegradable plastic carrier bags in all its Canadian stores.

For a more detailed overview of how each of the grocery chains scored in the survey, as well as the differences between Planet Organic Markets and Whole Foods vis-a-vis the mainstream grocery chains, you can read this piece from Corporate Knights magazine about the survey.

Among some of the highlights of Planet Organic Markets' "green" and sustainability efforts, is the fact that its store employees were uniforms made out of bamboo, the grocer buys wind energy to power much of its operations, the store janitorial crews use sustainable cleaning products and all of the plastic grocery bags used in the stores are biodegradable.

Ironically though, one the question of local foods sourcing, Whole Foods Market-Canada did much better than Planet Organic Markets. Whole Foods also buys wind energy to power 100% of its Canadian stores.

The survey-takers said all of the Canadian grocers--with Whole Foods and Planet Organic at the top--are making good progress on reducing the use of single-use plastic carrier bags in their stores but there's much more progress to be made.

Canada is debating passing a law that would either put a per-bag fee on the plastic grocery bags or perhaps even ban their use completely in supermarkets. As we mentioned above, Whole Foods voluntary has stopped using single-use plastic carrier bags in all its stores in Canada.

As we've written about in Natural~Specialty Foods Memo recently, Canada's Planet Organic Markets' parent company, Planet Organic Health Corp. is expanding rapidly, including making two recent acquisitions of regional natural foods retail chains in the U.S.

Those two acquisitions, of 11-store Mrs. Green's Natural Foods Markets in New York and New Leaf Community Markets in Northern California, are the natural products' retailers first entry into the U.S. Market.

As we've also reported, Planet Organic is spending over $1 million to build a new, state of the art prepared foods facility in upstate New York for its Mrs. Green's retail operation. The grocer also plans to add additional Mrs. Green's stores in the upstate New York region and most likely elsewhere nearby.

Planet Organic also is building a brand new New Leaf Community Market natural foods store in the seaside town of Half Moon in the San Francisco Bay Area's coastal region. That will give the natural grocer four New Leaf banner stores when the new store is completed later this year.

Both Planet Organic and Whole Foods Market, Inc. are expanding the number of stores they have in Canada.

Although Whole Foods Market, Inc. with sales over $6 billion annually, is a natural foods' retailing Goliath compared to Planet Organic Markets, with sales of about $120 million a year, Planet Organic is in a hyper-growth and expansion mode. Just seven years ago when the current Planet Organic Health Corp. parent company was formed as an umbrella for the stores and the company's other operations, retail sales were only $1.6 million annually.

Planet Organic Health Corp.'s move into the U.S. market with the Mrs. Green's and New Leaf acquisitions also demonstrates this natural foods' retailing David isn't afraid of Whole Foods post its acquisition of Wild Oats Markets, Inc., despite the fact U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) persists in wasting taxpayer money to go back again and again to the federal appeals court, trying to get the Whole Foods/Wild Oats acquisition-merger broken up.

While we certainly believe there are instances when the FTC is warranted in stepping in to stop acquisitions and mergers which would restrain competition and pricing, the Whole Foods/Wild Oats merger isn't one of the instances in our analysis.

Just ask the marketplace, and natural foods' retailers like Planet Organic, Sprouts Farmers Markets, Sunflower Farmers Markets, Tesco's Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Markets and others who are expanding rapidly, and in the case of Sunflower and Sprouts, getting ready to open stores right in the heart of Whole Foods Market Country, in Texas.

Also ask mainstream supermarket retailers like Safeway, SuperValu, and Kroger, and mega-mass merchandisers Wal-Mart and Target, as well as scores of regional chains and thousands of independent grocers in the U.S., which are all getting deeper and deeper into the natural and organics categories. There's plenty of competition--and more coming--for Whole Foods Market, Inc. in the United States.

Planet Organic Markets is bringing its Canadian brand of "green" and ethical food retailing to the two natural foods chains its acquired in the U.S. As such, there are going to be some interesting changes at the Mrs. Greens and New Leaf stores in the coming months.

We also know Planet Organic is looking for other multi-store natural foods retailers in the U.S. similar to the two it acquired last year (Mrs. Green's) and this year (New Leaf).

Doesn't Planet Organic remind you of another fast-growing natural foods' retailer, say in about the late 1980's and early 1990's? That one from Austin, Texas. The one that was just starting to boom about that time and didn't even carry the title "supernatural" grocer yet?

You know, that Texas natural foods grocer who today, about 15 years later, is not only a national chain but an international natural products retailer as well? and continues to grow rapidly--and in new ways?

It does us. In many ways, today's Planet Organic, with its rapid-growth and innovation, looks much like Whole Foods Market, Inc. did 15 or 20 years ago. It will be interesting to chart the Canadian-based natural foods' chain's growth, both at home and now in the United States.

In conjunction with its responsible grocers' survey and rating project, Corporate Knights magazine published a special feature in its April, 2008 edition on responsible and "green" retailing in Canada. You can read the various articles on the topic in the magazine's April issue here.

Ethical Retailing Memo: May 'The Force' Be With You: Tesco's Sir Terry Leahy to Describe His Chain as 'A Force for Good' in Speech

In a speech tonight, Tesco plc. CEO Sir Terry Leahy will tell a group in London that Tesco, the United Kingdom's largest retailer and the third biggest in the world, is a force for social and economic good, according to a report in today's Guardian newspaper.

Giving the distinguished Sir Roland Smith lecture in London this evening, Sir Terry will offer a laundry list of economic and social goods provided by Tesco, which he will say makes the giant retailer a "force for good" in society, according to a preview of the speech obtained by the Guardian. Among the social goods Sir Terry will describe in his speech titled, "A force for good in society: supermarkets and sustainable consumption," include:

>Lower food prices and job creation: Tesco has cut prices by 30% over the past decade and created over a quarter million jobs, Sir Terry says in tonight's speech. CEO Leahy says the 30% cut in retail prices has benefited the regular Tesco shopper by 5,000 British Pounds over the last decade. Sir Terry will also say Tesco has created about 260,000 new jobs in the last decade, which he claims amounts to a new job created by the retailer every 20 minutes.

>Healthy eating choices for society: Tesco has contributed to healthy eating by now offering over 1,000 varieties of fresh fruits and vegetables in its stores, Leahy will say. This is double the retailer's amount of fresh produce items over a decade ago. Ten percent of these fresh fruit and vegetable items are in the "value range," offering shoppers an extensive variety of fresh produce at reasonable prices, he will say, according to the Guardian. "Healthier eating is now a real choice for many on low incomes, not jonly the affluent few," Sir Terry says in his speech tonight." Surely a society in which more people can afford quality food and products is a society that is progressing," he will add.

>Tesco fights urban and rural blight: Leahy will say in his speech that Tesco helps redevelop and improve urban, suburban and rural areas by building and locating it's stores in rundown neighborhoods, which improves society overall and also creates needed jobs.

>Tesco's growth helps suppliers. Sir Terry will also point out he believes Tesco's growth is a force for economic and social good because it helps strengthen its suppliers and creates new businesses and jobs in the supplier sector. He says numerous new businesses have been created because of Tesco's growth.

>Taxes: Leahy will document that Tesco has paid $3.5 billion in taxes over the past decade, adding that the company is a supporter of the economy and social good through its tax contributions.

>Tesco and the environment: Sir Terry will also argue in tonight's speech that Tesco is a leader in energy conservation and greenhouse gas reduction through its various conservation and renewable energy initiatives company and store-wide. He will announce Tesco plans to cut carbon emissions from its stores by 50% by 2020, compared with 2006 levels, along with other company sustainability goals for the future.

Read the complete story from today's Guardian here for more details.

Tonight's speech by CEO Leahy is a full-frontal attack on Tesco's many critics in the UK. They argue the retailer has become more of a force for evil than for good by building too many stores, gaining too much market share, controlling too much of the food sector, using too much energy and emitting too much carbon; as well as generally trying to monopolize food retailing.

In fact, Sir Terry's speech sounds similar to us to a speech given in the U.S. just last week by Wal-Mart CEO Lee Scott. In his speech to over 7,000 Wal-Mart store managers, which we called Lee Scott's Social and Ethical Manifesto, he outlined similar goals and sited accomplishments in the areas of social and environmental policy for the mega-retailer from Arkansas. (Read our two pieces, January 25 and 28, about Lee Scott's social manifesto speech here.)

Both chains-- Wal-Mart and Tesco--face lots of global opposition to their respective rapid growth and all that comes with it socially and environmentally. It's clear Sir Terry, like Lee Scott, is trying to position Tesco as a force for social good by telling the chain's positive story as they see it and committing to doing much more in the social and ethical realm.

What we are seeing from both CEO's though--Scott, the head of the world's largest company and retail chain, and Leahy, chief of the world's third-largest retailer--is unprecedented. Both are moving far beyond the traditional role of a corporate CEO into the realms of social and environmental policy at large.

This fact demonstrates a changing social dynamic in which the leaders of mega-corporations can no longer focus primarily on company business. Rather, it seems they are increasingly needing to become one-part CEO and one-part social policy planner. This makes good sense to us because the impact their companies have on global society and the environment requires it. We're moving into a new era of corporate ethical and social responsibility and compnay CEO's are being held to higher social standards than ever before.

The response to tonight's speech by Sir Terry, which will likely be covered extensively by the print and broadcast media in the UK, should be interesting. And it has global implications.

Either way, Tesco, like Wal-Mart, is becoming an even more powerful force in global retailing. The valid question many will continue to ask is: Is it becoming more of a 'social force for good' or not? Tonight, CEO Leahy gets to describe why he thinks the answer is yes; and how he plans to do even more to prove he is right. After tonight's speech, the debate will continue full-force.