Wal-mart to sell organic foods.

[LordOpie]

I'm very excited about this. I haven't shopped in a W-M in years, but will start again if they're going to be moving in positive directions.

Organics at w-m, who'da thunk it?

[DHRFX Joe]

i think i speak for several when i say this......




......who cares?:cool:

[LordOpie]

you're missing the bigger picture... if it's easier and cheaper for poor people to eat better, then we're talking about significant improvement in health for society as a whole.

[Tenchiro]

I would be afraid of buying unpackaged food, at least from my local Walmart. Personally I have never seen a dirtier store in my life. Everytime I have gone in there I find some goo or gunk or food to be stepped in.

:dead:

[ummbikes]

you're missing the bigger picture... if it's easier and cheaper for poor people to eat better, then we're talking about significant improvement in health for society as a whole.

They already have started selling some at my Wal-Mart. (Well not MINE per se, but the one in my town)

They have a good organic dairy section and a bit of bagged organic greens.

Now if they would give their employees medical they would get more of my business.

[stinkyboy]

I would be afraid of buying unpackaged food, at least from my local Walmart.

Organic foods can't be packaged?

:clue:

[Tenchiro]

Organic foods can't be packaged?

:clue:


When I think of Organic I think of fresh, perishable food. I suppose there is plenty of pre-packaged organic food to be had.

[boostindoubles]

i don't trust wally world. The way i see it, the scale of organic food wally world will need to buy, will support the bigtime organic growers. For a few years now the most successful smalltime growers have been with organic produce.

I wouldnt shop at walmart even if they sold real bike parts, let alone organic produce. Thats what the local co-op is for

[Echo]

The title of the thread should actually be "Wal-Mart attempts to improve its image by pushing their sh!tty business practices on one of the last fair trade markets".

[OGRipper]

X-post from Beer and Food:

It's encouraging, but the fact that something is labled "organic" is not the end of the story. Out here (one of the places where the whole organic thing started), local farmers are starting to call BS. Thanks to the Bush Administration the standards for calling something "organic" are changing in ways that favor big business. It's no coincidence that "organic" products are starting to show up in the bigger stores now.

Here's just one article: http://www.grist.org/news/muck/2004/...iscom-organic/

"This new directive makes a mockery of organic standards," said Richard Wood, a recent member of the FDA's Veterinary Medicine Advisory Committee and executive director of Food Animal Concerns Trust. "Organic farmers that we have talked to are furious because they have been very careful to follow the antibiotics rule. [The rule change] undercuts their ability to make a living doing things right."

[Ciaran]

i don't trust wally world. The way i see it, the scale of organic food wally world will need to buy, will support the bigtime organic growers. For a few years now the most successful smalltime growers have been with organic produce.

I wouldnt shop at walmart even if they sold real bike parts, let alone organic produce. Thats what the local co-op is for
:stupid:

Local co-ops rock.

[ito]

i think i speak for several when i say this......




......who cares?:cool:

When one of the biggest chain stores in the country with one of the worst reputations in the world decides to put some effort into improving how they do business it is a reason for most concerned citizens to care.

They've been selling Fair Trade coffee for a while now and they are also working towards incorporating bio-diesel into their company. Adding organic produce sounds like a great idea, assuming they stick to the ideals of the whole process.

I agree, local co-ops are great and I love them, but a lot of people don't have them in their area, co-ops are also fairly limited in what they can provide. Bringing in organic food products means they are providing things that co-ops can't offer.

I highly doubt that Wal-mart will be bringing in farm fresh produce. More likely it will be similar to the "O Organics" products at Safeway. Cheap, high quality, organic food from a major supermarket. Available to everyone, cheaper and better than most major food brands, this is how things are going.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11920537/ (good article about Safeway's organic line)

If anyone has some actual data on where the organic food used to create this is coming from I'd love to know.

Personally, farmer's markets and co-ops are a great way to go, but there are a lot of things I can't get at those places....pasta sauces and peanut butter come to mind....Safeway, and soon Wal-mart, are filling that niche. For the people who can't afford Trader Joe's or Whole Food's prices I think it is a great step in the right direction.

The Ito

[LordOpie]

What Ito said!

I'll re-iterate... this is a great move to improve the diets of poorer people in the USA.

[Andyman_1970]

:stupid:

Local co-ops rock.

What's a co-op?? I think it's fair to say, "we ain't got none" here in Little Rock.................LOL

[noname]

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/03/24/ap/business/mainD8GI3QA01.shtml
When Wal-mart gets involved in an industry, they get involved in a ways no other company does. Wal-mart shows their prospective suppliers how to run a more efficient, profitable, and reliable operation. That benefits everyone else who also carries products from said supplies and helps bring prices down across the board even at competitors stores.
Read the story linked above, it gives a small glimpse at how Wal-Mart plans to handle this situation by showing their plans for enviromentally sustainable wild fisheries. Instead of just buying up what's available, they plan on working with their suppliers to help them make the nessecary changes/improvements to meet the standards of sustainability. This is how they generally handle things and should benefit everyone by making these things more avaliable to everyone for a lower price.

[berkshire_rider]

I am not a hardcore organic foods person by any means, but am quite happy to have both Trader Joe's and Whole Foods nearby.

[Tenchiro]

What's a co-op?? I think it's fair to say, "we ain't got none" here in Little Rock.................LOL


It would be a central outlet that multiple farmers sell their goods from and own equally.

[Andyman_1970]

At our local Neighborhood Market (a Wal Mart grocery store), we already get some pre packaged organic food...........raisins for one, Noah is a raisin fanatic so we get him the organic ones.

One thing to keep in mind is not all W-M stores carry the same thing. I've read for a while, and been looking for a while for this lawn fertilizer called "Rootein" that W-M is suppose to carry (it's organic and not "harmful").........anyway, every W-M in the Little Rock metro area I've been to does not carry, and have never heard of the stuff. This organic thing might be hit and miss depending on where you life with respect to W-M.

[noname]

I guess it's commendable that they plan on offering organic foods at Wal-Mart, (potentially at a more affordable price then others offer), but there's a better than average chance they are only doing it to capitalize on a current trend to make money, IMO. Probably nothing but the pre-packaged stuff they buy from other companies and force to conform to their questionable buying policies. <--- my $.02 :rolleyes:

I am not a hardcore organic foods person by any means, but am quite happy to have both Trader Joe's and Whole Foods nearby.
Who cares why they do it? I don't think you go to work everyday to please your boss? You go to work to make money. Pleasing your boss is just what you have to do to stay employed and make money.
It's the same thing here, they do what the market wants, and the market demands enviromentally friendly product, so in order to make money they have to comply.
That's the great thing about the free market.

[valve bouncer]

I find the link between Walmart selling organic stuff and people becoming healthier a bit vague. How is it gonna stop people buying 28 boxes of froot loops a week?
I guess if it was the start or even part of a major change in what people eat it might be of value but it seems that people are just getting fatter every year and don't seem to care.

[LordOpie]

Who cares why they do it?
It's the same thinking behind giving McDonald's a hard time for selling salads. Does it matter? The end result is better quality for people who can't normally afford it.



Was WM evil? Sure, but everyone deserves another chance at positive change, yeah?

[TN]

you're missing the bigger picture... if it's easier and cheaper for poor people to eat better, then we're talking about significant improvement in health for society as a whole.

It doesn't matter. People will still eat like they always have.
It is not the lack of availability of good food that keeps everyone here here in the States fat, lazzy, diabetic & dying. It is stupidity.

[TN]

The title of the thread should actually be "Wal-Mart attempts to improve its image by pushing their sh!tty business practices on one of the last fair trade markets".


Yeah, I wonder how many small local organic farms they will plunder in the coming months?

[LordOpie]

It doesn't matter. People will still eat like they always have.
It is not the lack of availability of good food that keeps everyone here here in the States fat, lazzy, diabetic & dying. It is stupidity.
While that's true for some, education will help others. There are charities -- like Share Our Strength in Denver -- that educate poorer families on how to eat better while not spending more money. I've met people who volunteer and people who've been helped by the program. It works. Now they prepare quality food at home instead of McD's.

[OGRipper]

Yeah, I wonder how many small local organic farms they will plunder in the coming months?

My guess is none that matter. The truly committed will not be able to afford to sell their produce low enough to meet Walmart's requirements.

Some of you continue to miss the fact that the "organic" label doesn't mean as much as it used to. It is increasingly the same as other so-called health-conscious foods that lure people in but really contain all kinds of harmful crap. Like anything else, look behind the label, and don't believe the hype.

Yeah I am skeptical that it's just more marketing intended to brainwash the masses. But like I said, it's encouraging that farming practices are even on the radar.

[BuddhaRoadkill]

Local food 'greener than organic' (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/4312591.stm)

My opinion? Burn baby, burn.
http://www.glennbeck.com/leadstories/10-28-03/10-28-03.jpg

[Wumpus]

Is Whole Foods Wholesome (http://www.slate.com/id/2138176/nav/tap1/?GT1=7932online)?