The complaints here do not just apply to food.
I recently went to David Jones to buy a pair of shoes.
I asked for for size 6EE. Sorry said the sales lady we no longer stock shoes under size 7 !
She said she had told management about it and that it is an area with a lot of Chinese
wanting size 5 & 6, but they were not interested.
Once upon a time there was a business called Fletcher Jones and they had pants in a
large number of waist and leg length combinations. If they did not have your particular
size they would be most embarrassed and get the stock in a day or two, or would have
them altered that day at no extra charge.
There is still a Fletcher Jones but it is nowhere the same business.

Shirt manufacturers are very unable to have a good selection of collar & arm length sizes.
"Oh it is too difficult to do that" they would say.
My retort was that shoe manufacturers have many different sizes, so why can't you ?
"Hurrumph" would be the answer.

Is all this a sign of the collapse of a complex society ?

You know, we Aussies are a funny lot ? We are being constantly reminded to purchase Australian grown produce, for obvious reasons ? Yet on the other hand, due to the current economic climate, particularly that of rising energy costs, many households have to seek out the cheapest cuts, and the cheapest deals on fruit and veggies wherever possible ? Generally speaking it's the major supermarket chains that give us those better deals ? Therefore, I for one know where I'd shop for our consumables.

Saw on face book I think, about how an elderly lady was portrayed as being unamerican because she wanted to buy her medication at the cheapest price, which wasn't from American suppliers.

Yet these same suppliers were engaging in tax avoidance, had their offices in countries such as the Bahama's and manufactured their medications in places like China.

Just heard on the news that COLES is under investigation for "unconscionable conduct" in dealing with it`s supplier base!

This seems to back up my opinion of the slow and gradual degeneration of the quality of the foodstuffs being presented for consumption in the Regional areas.

Coles and Woolworths principle occupation is to make money. Providing quality product is much lower on the scale of priority when setting contracts with their suppliers.

Because of their buying power, both of them are able to weild a very heavy hand when negotiating these contracts.

The producer is forced to accept a set of conditions that may be very costly to him in the way of production costs, in comparison to the price paid for the end product, thus he will have no other option than to resort to a rapid growth product, or lower quality seedling.(GMO seeds/seedlings thank you Mr Monsanto) to gain a minimal return against his income stream crop investment.

This unfortunately is the way of the world today. We the consumers have no other alternative than to shop elsewhere when presented with an expensive but poor quality product. Complaint to the company is futile, and no Government body is really interested in jumping on these businesses, apart from the token "investigation" which may be seen to be a Dr Feelgood to pacify the masses.

Government is the only organization who can force these Supermarket chains to clean up their act, but what chance is there of that really happening when Government itself is being robbed blind by businesses who still cannot, or will not produce a legal receipt for the sale of their products, without the receipt print fading away to nothing in a matter of a few weeks, thus Government is probably losing millions in the way of Income Tax the "disappearence" of Accountable Taxation Receipts.

There's a Service station in Gympie that sells locally produced tomatoes...pineapples and other fruit and vegetables, that taste pretty good. if people seek out places that stock local growers' produce and buy there, they'll be doing everyone a favour except the rip-off supermarkets that have destroyed so many small local businesses such as grocers, bakeries, butchers, hardware and electrical, sweet shops, green grocers...and the pleasure families had at owning their own business and being of service to the community.

I agree Mise,
The taste and quality of supermarket sausages in recent times has been appalling. I don't usually ever touch them anymore, but my mum brought some from Coles over a few weeks ago and they were actually edible, unlike previously which was quite surprising.
People must've complained I think, but they are still not like the good sausages we used to have. I still prefer to get them from the butchers. At least they don't take their customers so much for granted.