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I read a fascinating article today about how Walmart may be the best place to buy locally grown fresh produce. Yes, Walmart. According to an article in the Atlantic, “The Great Grocery Smackdown” by Corby Kummer, Walmart has a new initiative to purchase food from farms within a day’s drive from one of their warehouses. What this means is that many smaller farms that are not owned by a gigantic agribusiness have a fighting chance of staying in business because they will have a large, steady market for their food. And in a taste-test between produce purchased at Walmart and the same items purchased from Whole Foods, the Walmart food was in many instances preferred to the more expensive items from Whole Foods.
Until very recently, I refused to set foot in Walmart because of their reputation for driving small family retailers out of business and paying their employees poorly. However, the Walmart across from my gym that opens at 7 a.m. has come in handy on more than one occasion when I have forgotten something before going to work. And I grocery shopped at a Walmart on the advice of a friend and I have to admit that I was impressed with the selection of organic and “gourmet” foods.This article has caused me to give more thought to the positive role that Walmart may play in the future of small local farmers, which is an issue that I feel is important culturally, economically, gastronomically and nutritionally.
What do you think? Do you think Walmart has a role in the future of the small farmer? Do you shop at Walmart? Will this article cause you to start purchasing food there (if you don’t already)?
I try to avoid Wal-Mart for the reasons you mentioned but I’m happy to hear of this turn of events. There was a book out about Wal-Mart a few years ago that discussed how the company will start buying a manufacturer’s product and then the manufacturer hires more staff and spends a ton of money to ramp up for its huge new market, and then WM starts forcing them to cut prices drastically and the producer is kind of squeezed and in a somewhat precarious situation. I just hope that wouldn’t happen to local/small/organic growers.
The Wal-Mart Effect
“Through interviews with former Wal-Mart insiders and current suppliers, Fishman puts readers inside the company’s penny-pinching mindset and shows how Wal-Mart’s mania to reduce prices has driven suppliers into bankruptcy and sent factory jobs overseas. He surveys the research on Wal-Mart’s effects on local retailers, details the environmental impact of its farm-raised salmon and exposes the abuse of workers in a supplier’s Bangladesh factory. In Fishman’s view, the “Wal-Mart effect” is double-edged: consumers benefit from lower prices, even if they don’t shop at Wal-Mart, but Wal-Mart has the power of life and death over its suppliers. Wal-Mart, he suggests, is too big to be subject to market forces or traditional rules.”
You are right, there are so many issues to think about. However, in the case of locally grown produce I would rather have more of a market for the farmers who are already making a go with a smaller farm. Taking demand away from the huge factory farms and their bland produce that is shipped thousands of miles would be a win in my book. And I truly believe that when people taste food that is flavorful and fresh they will not be satisfied with what currently passes for produce at a lot of places. Which will further drive down demand for the products of factory farming.