REBECCA.

saltandfat:

Can Walmart really go up against Whole Foods? Long the bane of enlightened consumers, Walmart has been experimenting with local and organic meats and produce. The Atlantic decided to see how they fared against Whole Foods and the results are pretty interesting.

It’s certainly an interesting question: can WalMart do something good for food/communities/the environment? I’d like to hope so, but it’s WalMart.

The article, although intriguing, definitely left me with some unanswered questions.

My parents’ town in Florida has a weekly farmer’s market. A few local farmers hawk their homegrown fruits and vegetables, but they compete with megatables set up by people who buy produce in bulk at Sam’s Club and Costco and pass it off as local, organic produce.

• What oversight measures will consumers be guaranteed to make sure WalMart’s local small farms are actually growing the produce they sell?
• What oversight measures will consumers be guaranteed to make sure WalMart is itself being honest?

It’s fairly common knowledge that terms like ‘organic’ and ‘free-range’ don’t mean what they used to, or should. The meanings for terms like these, instead of being signifiers of quality, method, and care, are now somewhat dubious and hard to prove for the average consumer concerned about what they’re eating.

• What measures can be guaranteed to keep the terminology of WalMart’s experimental foray into local, small-farm food honest and true?

If WalMart can prove, continuously, that it can account for itself, its farmers, and its statements, then fine - this can be a great thing. If not, then it might only set us back further on the road to good food for a good environment.