Officials of the Chicago Rabbinical Council said the tactic was necessary to prevent the chain, Jewel Supermarkets, from driving independent kosher retailers out of business. Residents of outlying neighborhoods who lack easy access to kosher food counter that the council's tactics amount to protectionism that hurts the consumer and ultimately limits the growth of kosher observance. I believe in competition.
Competition forces the weak competitors out of the market.
If people fall by the wayside that's part of the competition process. Jewel, one of the city's largest chains, was to open the kosher sections in several of its stores this past year as part of a nationwide deal between its parent company, Albertson's, Inc. and the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America, the country's largest kosher certification agency. According to the deal, Albertson's, the nation's second-largest supermarket chain, would install kosher meat counters, delis and bakeries in its stores throughout the country under O.U. certification. The New York-based O.U. first contacted local rabbinic organizations in each city, to seek their assent. But the union ran into opposition when it approached the Chicago Rabbinical Council in late 1999.