Public 'has to take on supermarkets'

What does the current horsemeat crisis tell us about the role of supermarkets in Britain's diet? Today reporter Tom Bateman spent the night at an auction in Cumbria, where cattle are sold to farmers who breed animals for slaughter.

The Daily Telegraph's food columnist Rose Prince told Today presenter Sarah Montague: "If supermarkets continue to push suppliers on price, we will end with this sort of catastrophe. The public have to take on the supermarkets." She added: "It's actually 40 per cent cheaper to shop locally. This is not about class. It's about cheating on the consumer."

But author Steven Poole commented: "If you live in a deprived inner city area, there are no butchers. Low prices are important to people. If you work two jobs to pay your insanely high rent, people just don't have the time or the money."

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4's Today programme on Saturday 16 February 2013.