It’s funny how one gets an impression of a man from such tenuous information, but I believe that Mr Buffett may be the sort of person to listen to an opinion about Tesco Stores and act on it.
It’s relevant because according to sharecast Mr Buffett has just bought £350 million worth of shares in Tesco.
Tesco Stores, in England at least, have had to be brought kicking and screaming towards the ideas of healthy food and good treatment of farm animals, and are still resistant to these ideas.
Sainsbury’s on the other hand, have understood the groundswell of public opinion that wants to eat food that is healthier and is not the result of ill-treating farm animals.
To get a perspective on this, Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall has campaigned for the fair treatment of chickens.
He continues to do this through his long-running TV series and at the general meetings of Tesco shareholders.
He has become a political activist convincing the large supermarkets to see the writing on the wall regarding food and what is in it, and how and from what animals it is obtained.
He has had great success, but Tesco has set its stall out to be the opposite of healthy and caring.
I hope that Mr Buffett can and will nudge Tesco towards a better path. It is what the public wants. It will benefit people – particularly those on low incomes – and it will benefit Tesco.
I have written to Mr Buffett in these terms.