One day I had to go to Walmart with my friend. She wanted to buy brocolli, but was really grossed out by the way it looked. We then noticed that ALL of the produce was really gross looking. Most of it brown or wrinkly. I actually snapped photos of it, because I wanted to document what it looked like.
broccoli and cucumbers...
parsley and cabbage...
radishes and squash...
and last but not least, these really creepily large strawberries which look like they'd be full of hormones, but according to their website aren't (but they use genetic breeding).
What's interesting about this is apparently creating more Walmarts is the solution to food deserts.
According to this article I read, "Michelle Obama heralded a pledge by those retailers to open or expand 1,500 stores in areas defined by the USDA to be "food deserts"'.
The whole article is here : http://www.motherjones.com/tom-philpott/2012/01/walmart-answer-food-deserts
I don't know where I stand on this...
Of course bringing food markets into urban spaces can benefit the area, but are there costs which may outweigh the benefits, such as Walmart's tendency to kill small businesses? Also, obviously these photos were taken at one Walmart on one specific day, but this one was in Amherst, which is one of the nicer cities in our country and that worries me. Is this produce even better than the produce that may exist in small corner stores and such in inner cities? This quality of produce would never exist in other more expensive grocery stores, yet it remains here at Walmart. Walmart is sometimes the only option for people because they're so abundunt and do have very low prices. But, this is what is being sold to them? Wrinkly and dead looking fruit and vegetables?
I agree, Walmart not only forces mom and pop grocery stores to go out of business but is a leader in exploiting the workers that manufacture many of the goods and the employees who must live on minimum wage with little to no benefits. I believe there needs to be a solution to rid places of food deserts but I don't think Walmart is the best solution. It tries to solve the problem of food deserts while exploiting other people in the mean time.
ReplyDeleteThis is pretty depressing. I've noticed this at Walmart before too but never really put much thought behind it besides thinking how gross the produce looks. I also agree with your post. There should be other available food options for people in food deserts besides Walmart. Maybe instead of having Walmart, there could be a few locally owned super markets that not only provide fresher produce, but also provide jobs to people in the area.
ReplyDeleteI'm very surprised the answer to food deserts is WalMart. I always thought their produce wasn't that great because it isn't their first priority. They always seemed like more of a retail store to sell clothes, electronics, craft stuff, etc. I mean it was years before Amherst had a super Walmart with a grocery store.
ReplyDeleteI agree that there should be more local grocery stores or at least grocery stores that aim towards selling food since Walmart's selection isn't the best.