Jim Hightower: Meet Your New Neighborhood Food Market

[marmar]

via CommonDreams:



Published on Wednesday, December 8, 2010 by OtherWords

Meet Your New Neighborhood Food Market
The $400-billion-a-year retail behemoth, with two million employees laboring in 8,500 stores spread around the globe, is putting on a "local" mask.

by Jim Hightower


The signature phrase of America's booming good food movement has been expanded from "organic" to "local and sustainable."

Good! The phrase suggests great quality, strong environmental stewardship, and a commitment to keeping our food dollars in the local economy. If you support the local-economies movement, as I do, no doubt you'll be thrilled to hear that a new, local food store is coming soon to your neighborhood. In fact, it's even named Neighborhood Market.

Only, it's not. It's a Walmart. Yes, the $400-billion-a-year retail behemoth, with two million employees laboring in 8,500 stores spread around the globe, now is putting on a "local" mask. The giant is promising to buy nine percent of the produce it'll sell from local farmers. Big whoopie. This means that 91 percent of the foodstuffs offered in its "Neighborhood" chain will come from Wayawayland.

But even the nine percent number is a deceit, for Walmart says that it defines "local" as grown in the same state. Excuse me, but in California, Florida, Texas, and other such sizable states, that can be a mighty long truck haul away. Not exactly what us locals would call "local." ..........(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.commondreams.org/view/2010/12/08-1

[xchrom]

1. ...

:mad: even corporations are capable of subversion -- and Neighborhood market is certainly that.

[xxqqqzme]

2. Malwart can kiss my ass.

I know where my local produce markets are. I know where the food originates because I ask and they tell me. I also buy seasonally as much as possible. I was a in medium size market last week and there was a huge display of asparagus - in December! That wasn't local even as to the continent.

[Anakin Skywalker]

3. Thanks for exposing Neighborhood Market, Hightower.