If you have started leaving things off your shopping list because the bill is getting too high, you are far from alone. Fresh food that once went into the trolley without much thought is becoming harder for some families to afford, and now a food-policy campaigner is asking whether shoppers should hit Spain’s biggest supermarket chains where it hurts, by refusing to buy from them for a week.

Javier Guzmán, director of Justicia Alimentaria, has raised the idea of a coordinated consumer boycott to demand lower prices for essential, healthy food. In an opinion article published by El Salto on October 11, he argues that families should not have to keep cutting back while the major players in the food supply chain retain the power to influence what people pay.  The proposal is not an announced nationwide strike, and no dates have been set. But it comes as food affordability remains a concern for households across Spain.

Food prices are changing what people buy

Food and non-alcoholic drinks in Spain are around 36 per cent more expensive than they were five years ago, according to the figures cited by Guzmán. Over the same period, wages have not kept pace with food-price increases.

The consequences go beyond shoppers choosing a cheaper brand. Guzmán points to national food-consumption data showing that more than half the population has significantly reduced its consumption of meat and fish. More than a quarter have cut back on fruit and eggs, while purchases of vegetables and dairy products have fallen by more than 10 per cent.

These figures matter because people are not simply spending less on treats. Reducing the amount of fresh food bought can make it harder to maintain a balanced diet, particularly for families already working within a tight budget. Guzmán argues that consumers are repeatedly being told to look for offers, change supermarkets or adapt their diets, while the structure of the food market receives less attention.

Why are supermarket margins part of the debate?

The campaigner points to figures from Spain’s Observatorio de Márgenes Empresariales, which draws on data from the Tax Agency and the Bank of Spain.

According to the figures cited in his article, the supermarket sector has reached record levels of turnover and margins, with margins averaging close to 8 per cent. The food manufacturing industry has maintained margins of around 10 to 11 per cent for at least three years.

These figures do not mean that every supermarket makes the same profit, or that margins alone explain food-price rises. However, Guzmán argues that they raise questions about how prices are formed across the supply chain and whether there is room to make essential food more affordable. His proposed boycott would seek to put pressure on large retailers to reduce their margins on basic, nutritious products.

What would a week without the big supermarkets look like?

The idea is for millions of people to avoid buying food from the major chains for one week, turning instead to municipal markets, independent neighbourhood shops, food cooperatives and local producers where possible. The aim would not simply be to move spending from one retailer to another. Participants would also call for a specific reduction in the price of a basket of healthy foods, making the demand clear to supermarket chains.

Guzmán acknowledges that a boycott alone would not transform the food system. Its potential value would be in showing that consumers can act together rather than each household struggling separately with rising bills. There is also a practical challenge: a boycott would need widespread participation to make a significant commercial impact, and there is no guarantee that retailers would respond by lowering prices.

The proposal for 100 healthy foods at fair prices

The boycott idea follows a separate initiative launched by Justicia Alimentaria on 22 September, called 100 alimentos saludables a precio justo, 100 healthy foods at a fair price.  The organisation wants major supermarket chains to offer a permanent basket of 100 essential, nutritious foods at cost price.

The proposed basket would include fruit, vegetables, pulses and other basic foods compatible with official healthy-eating recommendations. Justicia Alimentaria says the reduction should come from a limited part of retailers’ commercial margins, rather than lower payments to farmers, livestock producers or food suppliers. It also says the measure should not be financed with public money.

Can Spain follow France’s example?

The organisation is seeking support from consumer groups, health and social organisations, family associations, unions, environmental groups and agricultural representatives to build a wider coalition around the proposal. It points to a similar initiative in France, where 42 organisations from different sectors have come together to campaign for a basket of healthy foods at cost price, accompanied by a proposed legislative measure.

For Guzmán, the question is whether Spain can build comparable collective pressure to make healthy eating more affordable. For now, shoppers should not expect an organised boycott to begin on a particular date. The immediate campaign is a call to discuss and support fairer food prices, while the proposed week-long action remains an idea. Whether it becomes a coordinated movement will depend on whether consumers and organisations decide to take it further.

International visitors are discovering a different side of the Costa del Sol, travelling inland from Nerja and Torrox to explore the white villages, mountain scenery and traditions of Axarquia. And for investors in tourism-based business, this could be a game-changer.

Known as “slow tourism”, this approach focuses on experiencing a destination at a relaxed pace, meeting local people and learning about their customs rather than concentrating on beaches and the usual tourist attractions.

According to Oletrips, a company organising small-group excursions around the Axarquia and other parts of Andalucia, most of its customers come from abroad. British, Swedish, Irish, Canadian, German, Swiss and American visitors feature among its most frequent nationalities. The company says its typical customer is over 50 and has a particular interest in local culture, gastronomy, history and traditional ways of life.

Four white villages away from the coast

One of the excursions takes visitors to Archez, Canillas de Albaida, Salares and Sayalonga, four small municipalities where mountain landscapes and historic buildings offer a different perspective on Malaga province. The routes also explore the area’s Moorish heritage, helping visitors discover a history that can be overlooked during a conventional coastal holiday.

Activities go deeper than just sightseeing. Visitors can spend time with a goat herder, learn how beekeepers work or try making traditional village bread and roscos de vino, a sweet wine biscuit popular in Andalucia. These experiences give travellers an opportunity to learn about rural life directly from the people who continue to practise these traditions.

Autumn and winter bring visitors inland

Although the Malaga Province is strongly associated with summer holidays, Oletrips says autumn and winter are its busiest seasons for “slow tourism” excursions.

Many customers are foreigners who spend longer periods on the Costa del Sol, enjoying the milder climate outside the main summer season. Others stay in Nerja, Torrox and neighbouring resorts before taking trips into the countryside.

Some North American visitors travelling around Spain for several weeks also seek quieter destinations after visiting larger cities such as Madrid, Seville and Malaga. For the Axarquia’s smaller communities, this type of tourism offers another way to introduce visitors to the region beyond the coast, while bringing attention

Nearly 90 years after Amelia Earhart vanished, researchers are finally heading for one of the most remote corners of the Pacific in the hope of finding something that has eluded investigators for generations: physical evidence of what happened to the pioneering aviator and her missing aircraft.

The team has now set sail for Nikumaroro, a tiny atoll in the island nation of Kiribati, where it plans to investigate a mysterious object beneath the water. The journey alone is a major undertaking, with researchers facing around 830 nautical miles at sea before they can begin examining the suspected wreckage.

Six days at sea to investigate a possible wreck

The expedition left Tarawa, Kiribati’s capital, on Wednesday, October 7, aboard the Marin Mainiku, a vessel operated by the Kiribati National Shipping Line. The ship was reported to be roughly halfway through the voyage on October 9, travelling at an average speed of around seven knots. The team was expected to reach Nikumaroro around October 12 or 13, depending on the progress of the crossing. 

Seventeen people are involved in the expedition, which brings together the Archaeological Legacy Institute, the Purdue Research Foundation and Purdue University, alongside representatives from Kiribati.

The university has a personal connection to Earhart. She worked at Purdue as a career counsellor and received funding from the institution to help purchase the Lockheed Electra 10-E used for her attempted round-the-world flight. Steve Schultz, Purdue’s senior vice president and general counsel, is among those taking part. The university has described the journey as a logistical challenge involving the transport of specialist equipment and the coordination of a team travelling halfway around the world.

What will researchers look for underwater?

The focus of the expedition is an unusual feature in Nikumaroro’s lagoon known as the Taraia Object. It was spotted in satellite imagery in 2020 and subsequently identified in aerial photographs dating back to 1938. Researchers believe its shape could be consistent with an aircraft, raising the possibility that it might be part of Earhart’s missing Lockheed Electra. However, that remains a theory, not a confirmed identification.

Once on the island, the team plans to photograph and film the area before using sonar and magnetometers to investigate what lies beneath the water. The researchers intend to assess the object and, if possible, bring it up for closer examination. Any recovery of potential aircraft wreckage would require further permission from the authorities in Kiribati. 

The expedition is expected to spend several days working at the site. Its findings could help establish whether the object is genuinely worth investigating further or whether it has been mistaken for something else. For more background on the Taraia Object and the original expedition plans, see our earlier article: Amelia Earhart’s missing plane potentially found.

Not everyone believes it is Earhart’s plane

The idea that Earhart reached Nikumaroro after disappearing in 1937 is not universally accepted. Some researchers have suggested that she and her navigator, Fred Noonan, may have landed on the island after failing to reach their intended destination. Others remain sceptical of the Taraia Object itself. Ric Gillespie, executive director of the International Group for Historic Aircraft Recovery, has questioned whether the shape is aircraft wreckage, suggesting it could instead be a fallen tree.

That disagreement makes the underwater investigation particularly important. Satellite images can suggest what an object might be, but only a closer examination can establish what it actually is. Earhart and Noonan disappeared while attempting to fly around the world. Despite decades of searches and numerous theories, their fate has never been conclusively established.

For more on the documents released about Earhart’s disappearance, see our earlier article: U.S. spy agency releases Amelia Earhart files: Access here. For now, the expedition is still making its way across the Pacific. The team has yet to examine the object, and there is no confirmation that it is connected to Earhart. But after years of speculation, researchers are preparing to investigate the clue at first hand.