How Walmart is Devouring the Food System (Infographic)

[RiverLover]

Walmart now captures $1 of every $4 Americans spend on groceries. It’s on track to claim one-third of food sales within five years. Here’s a look at how Walmart has dramatically altered the food system — triggering massive consolidation, driving down prices to farmers, and leaving more families struggling to afford healthy food.

http://ilsr.org/infographic-walmart-food/

[niyad]

1. k and r and thank you for posting this truly disheartening information.

[Faux pas]

2. Whoa!

Kickin'.

[SheilaT]

3. I do what I can by never shopping at Walmart.

I find it somewhat hard to believe that a full quarter of all food dollars are spent there, but I have to accept that the people doing this research did it correctly.

[RiverLover]

7. I listen to a food show, a podcast-KCRW's "Good Food"

The show is mainly about food, good food. Cooking & eating out. But she also often has guests on to talk about food & farming & water issues, too. So I heard the same thing on that show, that Walmart has taken over control of 25% of our food system. They dictate to farmers how to do their jobs & at what prices they must charge. There is so much more to this, its very complex how they've gained such power. If I have time, I'll do a deeper plunge into parsing it out to the best of my ability sometime.

[Enthusiast]

9. Me too.

[cantbeserious]

4. Thank You For Sharing

eom

[RiverLover]

6. It's truly tragic, what they've been allowed to do here.

And it can only get worse, unless there's some miracle & people stop shopping there.

Wouldn't that be nice?? I can dream.

[A Little Weird]

5. Great graphic

Thanks for posting!

[Enthusiast]

8. Kicked and recommended a whole bunch!

Monopolies are now welcome in this country. Sickening.

[obxhead]

10. The Walmart Effect should be a required class in every HS.

Walmart comes in, restructures companies mostly by outsourcing to China, then continues to force lower prices from distributors until they go out of business.

One day walmart will lock the doors of all of their stores and we will be a 4th world country because of their diligent price cuts.

[99Forever]

11. I buy nothing from the Waltons. Nothing.

No food.

No clothes.

No drugs.

No hardware.

No electronics.

No wireless service.

No automotive needs.

etc, etc, etc.

Never say a kind word about the evil corporate scum that are destroying this nation.

Always ask other not to do business with them. Always.

[LongTomH]

12. I buy all my milk from a local dairy that puts it's milk in glass bottles, with a return deposit!

They don't use growth hormones either!

[Omaha Steve]

13. This is why we shop at Kroger

Most of the locations are at least unionized. Omaha is not.

Kroger Retail company

The Kroger Company is an American retailer founded by Bernard Kroger in 1883 in Cincinnati, Ohio. By revenue, it is the country's largest supermarket chain, second-largest general retailer, and twenty-third largest company.

Kroger
NYSE: KR - Nov 28 1:38 PM ET
59.840.62 (1.05%)
After-hours: 59.840.00 (0.00%)

[grahamhgreen]

14. It's a monopoly and must be broken up. Each store to have a seperate owner.

[BobbyBoring]

15. K and R!

Unfortunately, Walmart is the one stop shop for many families, lower income ones in particular. They get maybe 15% more out of their food stamps than they wound at Safeway.
They have the illusion that everything is cheaper there.
How do you address that?

[socalsportbiker]

17. Great Question

How do we address the fact that individuals who shop there can stretch their purchasing power - granted at the expense of taxpayers, other businesses and the entities involved in growing, processing and assembling goods.

[handmade34]

18. yes, good question...

I remember quite a few years ago, my daughter and I had a list of things we needed for projects (school and home)... we had just started to avoid shopping at Walmart... after what seemed a couple of hours and many miles (we live in a rural area) we could not locate the items we needed... we ended up at Walmart and found them all

we do much better now and do not shop at Walmart but there is no easy fix for low income shoppers out there...

Oh and welcome

[airplaneman]

20. WalMart is not actually the best buy

Grocery Outlet has better prices than WalMart on food you need to get whats on sale or a good buy. Costco phamacy is significantly cheaper than WalMart and you can look up the prices on line. I look over adds carefully - it is not difficult to save over WalMart prices. I also find that by shopping online you can also save get supplies before you have to run out and buy them.
-Airplane

[Erich Bloodaxe BSN]

26. By reversing the policy and legislative choices that leave those individuals in poverty

that leaves them with few choices but to worry about stretching their purchasing power so much.

Higher wages, higher benefits that don't leave the government picking up the tab for cheapskate employers (like Walmart) who pay so little that they trap their own employees into only being able to shop at places like Walmart. As you say, it is 'at the expense of taxpayers'.

By requiring a 21rst century standard of living and a living wage, we can create a renaissance of demand for non-Walmart goods.

[Kilgore]

23. First hand experience

My wife works at a local outreach center helping teach basics like how to handle a checkbook, making a budget, and shopping basics.

She regularly comparison shops with her students and Walmart or Winco always lets her students put more food on the table for a lower cost than the local Safeway or Fred Meyer (Kroger).

[JDPriestly]

16. Are the farmers mostly corporate farmers?

If not, then when the farmers start thinking like progressives, we get a real Progressive movement.

[spanone]

19. k&r...

[olddots]

21. I would rather die a million times than give them a penny .

I really mean that =starve than buy slave made shit for turd maggot profits

[Quantess]

22. K & R

[colsohlibgal]

24. I'd Like To See A Boycott Go National

There are other places to get cheap things if you spend the time. So I would urge people to quit being enablers, don't shop there.

[grahamhgreen]

28. +1

[tabbycat31]

25. This is why I shop at Wegman's/Aldi/Trader Joe's

(I have a list of what I get at each store to stretch my budget more). And my mom's a part of a CSA and will give me the veggies she gets that she's not too crazy about (root veggies, which I LOVE).

My mom gets her meat from the CSA too. Local, grass fed beef.

[QED]

27. Winco Foods is employee owned

While it doesn't carry a wide range of brands, it is actually cheaper than Walmart on many items.

"Similar to warehouse membership stores like Sam's Club and Costco, and also to successful discount grocers with small stores like Trader Joe's and Aldi, WinCo stores are organized and minimalist, without many frills, and without the tremendous variety of merchandise that's become standard at most supermarkets," writes Brad Tuttle for TIME.com. "WinCo also trims costs by not accepting credit cards and by asking customers to bag their own groceries."

This unique business model, according to expert analysis, allows WinCo to offer its employees generous, "livable" wages -- that is, wages that are enough to live well above the poverty line and actually raise a family. Beyond this, WinCo also offers health benefits to all of its employees who work at least 24 hours per week, and even reserves an amount equal to 20 percent of their annual salary for a special pension fund.

How does this translate into real-life earnings and financial security for WinCo employees? Well, according to information recently shared by a company spokesman with the Idaho Statesman, there are currently more than 400 non-executive WinCo employees -- that is, everyday store workers like produce stockers and bagging clerks -- that hold company pensions worth more than $1 million individually.

http://www.naturalnews.com/041901_worker-owned_grocery_high_wages_Winco_Foods.html

[librechik]

29. Thanks. sharing!

and welcome to DU RiverLover!

[RiverLover]

30. Thanks librechik!!!

I'm surrounded by conservatives in my "real life" so this place is heaven. I'm so grateful you all are here!!

[City Lights]

31. We need to drive a stake through the heart of this beast.