A good friend has just sent me the following link to an article in Atlantic Magazine:
http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2010/03/the-great-grocery-smackdown/7904/
With regard to the article, I have two general observations:
On the specific level of sourcing locally and organically produced food, I am delighted to learn that Walmart is following the market trends towards localism and towards food that is healthier for both the consumer and the environment. It is to be commended for this initiative.
On the more general level, Walmart’s policy of sourcing its manufactured products almost entirely from the pacific rim in general and China in particular has had, and continues to have, a disastrous effect on the longterm health of the US economy. I think an anecdote told to me by a friend says it all: He took his children to Walmart and let them loose in the toy department, telling them they could have anything they could find that was made in the USA. After ten minutes, the deflated children came back with only one US-made item, which, ironically, was a US flag!
The systematic exporting of America’s manufacturing base to China and other Asian countries, fuelled by Walmart, will mean, in the longterm, that US citizens will have much less money to shop in Walmart or anywhere else.
So, hurrah for Walmart on the local level, but hisses all round for its pernicious role globally.
Joseph,
I wonder if you’ve seen this article: it focuses a tad more on the “hiss” than the “hurrah,” I’m afraid, but brings up some salient points: http://food.change.org/blog/view/why_wal-mart_wont_ever_please_locavores.
For my part, I see one very positive thing in this: namely, that Walmart somehow has felt the consumer pressure or at least perceived the consumer market that would make this worth their while. That’s a good sign, indeed. That means that the locally-grown, sustainable foods movement is gaining clout in the marketplace (which is, frankly, a much more important place to have such clout even than in the political arena, since we’re living in a plutocracy of sorts!). So, there is a silver lining…
Thanks a lot Raymond, Such a abundant advisory article.
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