England's always been famous for Nannies but isn't Waitrose supermarket going too far?

Waitrose is the supermarket for the rich and self-righteous, the champagne socialists. I scan the latest glossy issue and marvel at its PC. It s come out top in the latest Marine Conservation Society (MCS) League Table for sourcing fish from responsibly managed fisheries... It's a member of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm oil, a global mutl-stakeholder forum set up to encourage the sustainable production and use of palm oil...

And to hell with those Kenyan farmers who're getting a fair price for their coffee while British farmers struggle to make a living. To hell in fact with globalism and free trade!

What about the Great Satan - scientific advances? You guessed it. No genetically modified food is sold under the Waitrose label and other labels must specify whether GM ingredients are included. Gosh, one must spend lots of time reading the small print in Waitrose stores.

How's Whole Foods, the US ethical giant, which opened last June in London, doing? No reports in yet but the competition it faces in London's hotly contested market is substantial. Customers are targeted by income, race, age, habits, ethics....

the top contenders..

Waitrose is the pick of "symbols of success", affluent educated shoppers with conscience. It has the top online delivery service Ocado which attracts "urban colonists." Sainsbury has a broader reach, SS plus "urban intelligence" DINKs, double income no kids...Jamie Oliver has a halfmillion (cdn) job puffing the shop. An interviewer asked a shopper earning $40 (cdn) a year whether Jamie Oliver, a mockney Herbert doesn't put her off shopping there. "Not at all. He lives a good life. He's cool. So am I."

Old faces like Marks and Spencer (still the best sandwiches) pull SS and"urban intelligence" and "happy families" but put off "municipal dependency" archetypes"...

Tesco, the most popular market, relies on "happy families" but "SS" don't shun it, perhaps because Tesco has good wine online. Safeway is for "rural isolationists" who hate the city. Good on 'em.

Love to see how Toronto supermarkets would rate.....