What products should we stock?

Been thinking a lot about products, and how we should best approach the selection of our product range, our suppliers, etc. I definitely think our members and customers need to be closely involved in the development of policy on these issues as we go forward.

At the basic level we need to offer a range that means the shop will be a viable and sustainable business on a simple economic level. For me this means offering appropriate quality, a fair price, excellent customer service, consistency and reliability.

Beyond that we begin to look at issues such as food miles, animal welfare standards, labour standards (often notoriously poor in agriculture), use of agrochemicals and farming/growing practices. Should we offer organic produce? Is there a sufficient market? How do we balance these issues against each other (e.g. is it OK to stock air-freighted cherries from South America because they are fairtrade and we have customers that will buy them?)

Do you care?

I would be really interested to read some opinions on this stuff, so why not weigh in with your thoughts?