How Walmart is devouring the food system (large graphic)

[marmar]

http://grist.org/food/how-walmart-is-devouring-the-food-system/

[peacebird]

1. Buy local if possible. Find a farmer to get your food from.

[hogwyld]

51. Go to Local Harvest

It is what I used to find locally grown food. It's a great way to interact with the farmers and be better informed on food choices.

[link:http://www.localharvest.org/|

[HiPointDem]

2. kr

[RKP5637]

3. This, is a very STUPID country to allow corporations to devour the country. Eventually the President

of the US will be applying to Walmart for the chance to be president. It's sooo outrageous I pale for words.

[loudsue]

21. You are absolutely correct, and I'm sick of the capitalism frenzy.

It's time to do realism instead of capitalism.

[WinkyDink]

42. "Eventually"? Oh, to WalMART. I thought you said Wall STREET.

[RKP5637]

43. Yep, all walls against the people. Some days it just boggles my mind, and then

I wonder where are we headed with all of this. It's really getting to be the "Company Store" model. The few times I do go into Walmart, I think of all of the staff, cogs caught and spinning in a giant machine. And I just got sucked in too. They have some pills I take often 2 for 1 that I can't find at other stores. So I spin around a bit and spin right out the door, into my car and home!

[marmar]

53. "This, is a very STUPID country"

No doubt about it at this point.

[canoeist52]

4. Important graphic. Locally sourced food equals local power.

Everyone wins but Big Ag and Big Oil. Farmer's markets can take the wind out of Walmart's sails.

[patrice]

5. Look for food co-operatives, especially those comprised of LOCAL FOOD PRODUCERS/GROWERS. nt

[Art_from_Ark]

61. There used to be a decent food co-op in my old college town

Originally run by hippies, it was full of exotic and delightful smells. It was a place where I could get carob chips, locally-produced apple cider, and any kind of bean, pea, or rice I wanted, in any amount I wanted. Since then, it has "upscaled" and is little more than Whole Foods with a different name.

[sheshe2]

6. This is just criminal!

Thank you for posting Marmar!

K&R!

[Egalitarian Thug]

7. K&R for an important thread that actually matters to all our lives. n/t

[SamKnause]

8. Corporations

Corporations will do everything they can to increase profits.

Our government is to blame.

Our government passes the legislation.

Our government allows the monopolies.

Our politicians should be in prison, not in DC.

Until corruption is addressed nothing will change.

I am Pro government.

I am Anti corrupt government.

Our government sold we the people to the highest bidders.

They should be punished severely for the destruction they have caused !!!!!!!!!!!!!

As citizens we can only do so much with boycotts.

I stopped shopping at WalMart years ago.

If it becomes the only place to grocery shop what option will any of us have ?

[RKP5637]

23. Well said, our government is complicit in this and represents "we the corporations" today and

NOT "we the people." I don't know where this scenario is headed, but my hunch is it's going to get far worse.

[TheBlackAdder]

9. Nice infographic!

K&R

[dhill926]

10. K & R.....

disgusting and scary....

[Eyerish]

11. K&R

[badhair77]

12. These are compelling graphics.

I shop with a local grocer who buys produce and meat locally. The prices are very reasonable and downright good if I shop his sales. No trudging thru a Super Center for me. Makes life simpler.

[gollygee]

13. May I give a plug for local food co-ops?

http://www.localharvest.org/food-coops/list.jsp?l=A

See if you have one near you! Buying more natural/organic food can cost more, but I find my local food co-op to have the best prices.

[RKP5637]

25. Thank you!!! I've got it bookmarked for future use. The search by city or zip code is great!!! n/t

[marmar]

49. I've become a big fan of co-ops.

nt

[april]

58. thanks / Bookmarked

[Window]

14. Well, Damn. K/R

This is disgusting!

Excellent presentation. Thanks for sharing.

[Auntie Bush]

15. Sounds/looks like they are trying/planning on taking over the country's/worlds food supply!

Thank goodness we don't have one near us. If one should come here I wouldn't spend a single informative penny there...thanks to this post.

[RKP5637]

26. It's really in the form of an invasion force, but accepted because, well, that's just

capitalism at work ... anything goes, just good old boys making $$$$$.

USA, a subsidiary of Walmart, Inc.

[AnotherDreamWeaver]

16. Thanks, I sent this via email to lots of friends.... nt

[Odin2005]

17. This is why I get my milk from local brands...

...like Cass-Clay and Land-O-Lakes, rather than a national brand like Kemps.

[surrealAmerican]

18. In the 1940s ...

... A&P was found to be in violation of anti-trust laws when it had about 15% of the market. Surely this is far above that standard.

[teewrex]

19. The Walton's are vultures

[northoftheborder]

20. only two grocery stores here. HEB and Walmart.

I bought food at Walmart ONCE, and never again. Their produce is limited and not fresh, and the chicken tasted so strange I threw it away.

[mountain grammy]

37. I've spent a lot of the last 9 months in SW Texas

helping to care for my late father in law. HEB is one of the best grocery stores I've ever shopped in. The one in Midland Texas has the best produce department I've ever seen, bar none, and their meat is outstanding. No excuse to shop at Walmart here.

[Manifestor_of_Light]

45. Same here. HEB, Walmart and a small Kroger.

[sammytko]

50. Same here! I buy my groceries at HEB or lackland afb commissary

I just think its strange to buy clothes and food at the same place. Their registers aren't even set up to handle all the mess.

[ceile]

55. I love my HEB, no reason to ever shop at Walmart.

Although I do miss Fiesta...nothing like fresh, warm tortillas and napilitos while you shop.

[SoapBox]

22. Well...that's enough to turn my stomach.

Ugh.

And of course, Americans know virtually nothing about this.

[RickFromMN]

24. It's my belief most farmers are Republicans. How many farmers drive 50 miles to a Walmart?

Is there any way to find out the answer to this question?

The distance doesn't have to be 50 miles.
Driving 20 miles to a Walmart would be interesting too.

What matters to me is knowing how many farmers shop at Walmart.

I ask this question because the original post suggests farmers are being paid less because of Walmart.

[aaaaaa5a]

27. Walmart dominates here in Indiana. Its very sad. nt

[libdem4life]

28. WalMart literally gobbled up the rural areas first by not only shuttering small businesses, gutting

local economies, jobs, families ... then the small farmers had to sell to larger farmers which became agribusiness. It was strictly demographics in the beginning.

On the urban West Coast, WalMarts couldn't even pay to play. City Planners would refuse permits, sometimes over and over and the local people were educated to the Vulture and held it off for quite a while.

KMart was there first and pretty much the only big box store I remember. Powerful union grocery chains held the food/fresh produce/meat markets.

The delightful karma of unions threatening WalMart is an interesting cultural-economic full circle...Solidarity !!!

[harddo]

29. Spam deleted by Behind the Aegis (MIR Team)

[limpyhobbler]

30. sweet infographic

[A HERETIC I AM]

31. AWWWWWWW POOP! I was picked to serve on a jury for the above post and had a great comment, dammit

And the MIRT team deleted it too soon!

So...here it is;

Well, what've you got?

Waitress: Well, there's egg and bacon; egg sausage and bacon; egg and spam; egg bacon and spam; egg bacon sausage and spam; spam bacon sausage and spam; spam egg spam spam bacon and spam; spam sausage spam spam bacon spam tomato and spam;

Vikings (starting to chant): Spam spam spam spam...

Waitress: ...spam spam spam egg and spam; spam spam spam spam spam spam baked beans spam spam spam...

Vikings (singing): Spam! Lovely spam! Lovely spam!

Waitress: ...or Lobster Thermidor au Crevette with a Mornay sauce served in a Provencale manner with shallots and aubergines garnished with truffle pate, brandy and with a fried egg on top and spam.

Wife: Have you got anything without spam?

Waitress: Well, there's spam egg sausage and spam, that's not got much spam in it.

Wife: I don't want ANY spam!

Man: Why can't she have egg bacon spam and sausage?

Wife: THAT'S got spam in it!

Man: Hasn't got as much spam in it as spam egg sausage and spam, has it?

Vikings: Spam spam spam spam (crescendo through next few lines)

Wife: Could you do the egg bacon spam and sausage without the spam then?

Waitress: Urgghh!

Wife: What do you mean 'Urgghh'? I don't like spam!

Vikings: Lovely spam! Wonderful spam!

Waitress: Shut up!

Vikings: Lovely spam! Wonderful spam!

Waitress: Shut up! (Vikings stop) Bloody Vikings! You can't have egg bacon spam and sausage without the spam.

Wife (shrieks): I don't like spam!

Man: Sshh, dear, don't cause a fuss. I'll have your spam. I love it. I'm having spam spam spam spam spam spam spam beaked beans spam spam spam and spam!

Vikings (singing): Spam spam spam spam. Lovely spam! Wonderful spam!

Waitress: Shut up!! Baked beans are off.

Man: Well could I have her spam instead of the baked beans then?

Waitress: You mean spam spam spam spam spam spam... (but it is too late and the Vikings drown her words)

Vikings (singing elaborately): Spam spam spam spam. Lovely spam! Wonderful spam! Spam spa-a-a-a-a-am spam spa-a-a-a-a-am spam. Lovely spam! Lovely spam! Lovely spam! Lovely spam! Lovely spam! Spam spam spam spam!


Just remember, you can't have spam without a bunch of vikings sitting at a table in the corner.

[no_hypocrisy]

32. 4 (unionized) supermarkets in a 5-mile radius where I live and still

Walmart is hammering a local municipal board to open its own supermarket.

[libdem4life]

41. The only defense is to keep showing up at Board Meetings. Good luck.

[Coyotl]

33. I love the graphic format

[patrice]

35. I REALLY like that format too. The first one I saw, I thought it a bit cumbersome, but the

graphic designer is refining it and now I think it works wonderfully well the colors, the clip-art, and the size of the fonts, and scrolling it makes it tell the story, better than just a printed page. I spend lots of time on the internet reading stuff and consuming information. This is, comparatively speaking, an excellent information design.

[lunasun]

34. Once they are the biggest buyers they can tell the suppliers what THEY want to sell

Check out Kraft food cheese vs casen
They have a lot of power when they are the biggest buyer to downgrade the quality for price cut.
so the brand product lines no matter where you then buy their product are influenced by what Walmart wants it to be

[HCE SuiGeneris]

36. A wonderfully informative post.

Thank you, marmar.

[4 t 4]

38. 102,7 BILLION /WALTON FAMILY WORTH/ What are you worth ? keep shopping there!!

[edit] Walton's family fortune

List of Walton's family fortune as of 2012 published by Forbes.tax
Christy Walton and family US$25.3 billion[2]
Jim Walton US$23.7 billion[2]
Alice Walton US$23.3 billion[2]
S. Robson Walton US$23.1 billion[3]
Ann Walton Kroenke US$3.9 billion[2]
Nancy Walton Laurie US$3.4 billion[2]

Total: US$102.7 billion

[flvegan]

39. Thankfully, as a vegan it's inefficeint to ever shop there.

Their produce sucks and I wouldn't trust it even if it didn't. Otherwise, they don't sell much of what I need.

I suppose I might buy dog or cat food there, maybe if I needed to.

[mountain grammy]

40. 25 years ago we bought a one bedroom apartment in a good neighborhood

in Denver as an investment. The neighborhood was home to University of Colorado Medical Center and several other huge medical facilities, including a large VA hospital. Most of the medical facilities moved to a new home in Aurora, leaving behind the VA and a couple of private hospitals and many large, empty building. This happened in 2008 when the market crashed and the buildings have remained empty while the city searched for new tenants. Suddenly, there was Walmart, ready to come in and build a new concept Walmart, more upscale, they said. The neighborhood rose up and fought the city, and just when it seemed all was lost, the neighborhood won! No Walmart!! This is a solid middle class neighborhood not ready to be bought out by the giant corporate leech that is Walmart. I'm so proud of my neighbors.

[blackspade]

44. Wow.

That is a nice graphic.

I don't shop at Wally world any more, and this just makes me more glad that I don't.

[Dark n Stormy Knight]

46. I thought i knew, but this is worse than I thought.

[marmar]

47. Me too. I knew it was bad, but the graphic really illustrates it....

..... and it's worse than I imagined.

[mrsadm]

48. Wow, I had no idea it had gone this far...

I've shopped at Walmart at most once a year, but now it will be never!

[xchrom]

52. du rec. nt

[Initech]

54. The way things are headed - a Walmart the size of Kansas isn't too far off.

Idiocracy has become a reality!

[ceile]

56. I didn't realize it was that bad re: milk, beef processing

Think about if there's contamination at one of these plants...

[sevenseas]

57. When you stop to think of how many Wal-Marts there are across this country...

in every town...you realize what a threat they could be if they decided to become "Big Brother"

They actually have everything they need already in place to take over. I have thought of this many times, and wonder why Hollywood hasn't made a science-fiction film about the Wal-Mart-Big Brother-take-over....or would it be too close to reality to be classified as science-fiction?

Another thing about Wal-Mart are their choice of books for sale. Not one Democrat/liberal/environmentalist author has a single book represented, not one, but every Bill O'Reilly book, or for that matter, any Republican politician who has written a book is heavily displayed- even several books about Herman Cain- (actual book- "My Journey To The White House"- a waste of trees.)

So when they take over, we know which side they will be on.

[geardaddy]

59. This is why I shop at the co-op.

Expensive? Yes, but it's quality. And as a member I get a dividend check every year.

Wedge Co-op. Biggest single site co-op in the U.S.

http://www.wedge.coop/

[femrap]

60. OK, I guess

I'll have to start visiting Walmart and sticking my finger in the packaging of the expensive cuts of meat.