A January 21, 2007 news column by Al Lewis reports that a number of Wal-Mart stores have placed organic food signs in front of or near products that are not organic. Wal-Mart spokeswoman Karen Burk says it’s an honest mistake. Based on what I know about Wal-Mart, I don’t buy it.
Have you seen the documentary Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price? If you have, you’ll know why I’m skeptical.
Wal-Mart has a reputation for deceit and callous disregard for the employees who work for them.
You can see that I left a comment for Al Lewis about his column, which I liked, by the way. In it, I said:
On a side note, does Wal-Mart really know what they’re doing? I shop organic, and usually choose Vitamin Cottage, Whole Foods, or my local King Soopers. I would never shop for groceries at Wal-Mart. I dislike Wal-Mart and avoid it at all costs. I doubt Wal-Mart will succeed in attracting any kind of serious health nuts. Although they might succeed in persuading their current socially unconscious customers to “try to be more healthy.”
I’m about to make a gross generalization: the average Wal-Mart customer does not care about the environment, working conditions at Wal-Mart owned factories, or the massive problems Wal-Mart’s business practices cause. Why would they care about organic products? If they don’t care about the world around them, why would they care about what they put inside their bodies?
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My DH and I continue to shop at Walmart fairly often because of their low prices. As far as produce, the only organic produce I get there, has packing around the produce itself that say organic. They are specific brands I know of, like Earthbound farms. I’ve never seen “organic” signs in front of a pile of unmarked fruit, but will keep a look out for it now for sure!
I would shop at Whole Foods every day but it’s too far away. :(
Well now I feel bad…
A couple tidbits about Wal-Mart:
1. They sometimes manufacture products that look the same, but are actually inferior to “the real thing.” So sometimes what seems cheaper (in cost) really is cheaper (in quality).
2. Wal-Mart actively teaches employees how to “game the system” in order to get money out of the government. This is discussed on the DVD mentioned above, along with many other issues.
The bottom line on low prices is that the cost has to be accounted for somewhere. Wal-Mart is excellent at externalizing costs onto the government, environment, other countries, etc.
The costs are there. You just don’t see or feel them directly.
Oh – don’t feel bad – it’s just one of those things I haven’t thought about much and should probably think about more! The only things we really buy there on a regular basis are produce and diapers. It’s just so convenient that they’re very close to my house!
I’ll definitely research this issue more…thanks for bringing it up.
I sometimes take for granted how many options we have near my house: King Soopers (four locations within 10 minutes), Safeway, Target, Wal-Mart, Super Target, Super Wal-Mart, Vitamin Cottage, Whole Foods, Albertson’s (going out of business), Vitamin Shoppe, and on and on and on.
I have bought diapers at Wal-Mart before. I’ve since encouraged my wife to get the new diapers by Seventh Generation. In general, I like their products. They’re more expensive, but far better for the environment–not to mention your baby’s skin. (I’ve heard the chlorine in normal diapers is rough on skin.)
I actually have been very impressed with the amount of Organic items at Walmart. And these are things that are actually packaged that way and come from reputable companies. I can get everything from beans, tomato sauce, lettuce, grapes, potatoes etc. And I am finding I save so much more money. In fact, the rice milk we buy (the refigerated kind) is a whole dollar cheaper than my health food store. Now, don’t get my wrong I also love Whole Foods, but it is further away for me, and is always understocked on items (which can be so frustrating when you make that drive and they don’t have everything you need).
So, all that to say…I would tend to agree with your generalized statement about the average Walmart customer. But I love the fact that Walmart is offering more Organic things – one, so I can afford it more and two, because maybe the people that don’t normally consider healthy alternatives will branch out and try it because it is in a store they frequent and they realize it is not that much more expensive. And as a result, maybe in the future, we will have a healthier society!
I’m with Ryan in that I avoid Wal-mart at all costs. (Pardon the pun.) In fact I can’t even remember the last time I stepped foot inside a Wal-mart store. Even then, it was never for food products. I remember a short time ago when they spent millions of dollars advertising that all of their products were made in the U.S.A.; now nearly none of their products are made in the U.S.A. and yet most customers are unaware of the switch. This reminds me of when McDonald’s loudly announced their plan to remove trans fat from their fries; then quietly did not. How many millions of McD fans believe the fries are healthier than before? Answer: a LOT!
Unfortunately I’ve never had the pleasure of visiting a Whole Foods market or any of the other large natural foods chains. They just don’t have them here in our small Midwestern towns. The nearest Whole Foods is about 3 hours away, in St. Louis. Fortunately we do have lots of Farmers’ Markets and roadside produce stands during the warmer months. I really like being able to shake the hand of the person who worked on the farm that grew the vegetables, to ask him/her questions and to learn more about how to properly store my produce. The rest of the time, we just have to make due with the scant offerings at the local grocer.
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