In the blog the author discusses how in a blind taste test people preferred vegetables from Walmart over higher priced produce from Whole Foods Market. This test was part of research by journalist Corby Kummer for an article about Walmart's efforts to purchase more organic, sustainable, and locally grown produce. I went on to read Mr. Kummer's article and agreed – the information he presents does bode positively for Walmart. In addition, the movie Food Inc. which is intended to reveal the horrors of the industrial food system devotes time to discussing how Walmart is affecting the organic food industry in a relatively positive way by increasing availability.
So, that leads to a few questions. First, can we start to look at Walmart in a new light given its efforts in the areas of organics and sustainability? And then, can Walmart become good?
Now, this is just one part of Walmart's global operation. And there still remain serious concerns about other aspects of the company's operations, including the areas of labor practices and human rights.
In Food Inc. the discussion about Walmart and organics centers around how the company entered the organic food business because of money. (Customers wanted to buy organic products and the company knew that if they did not start carrying these items they would loose customers – and therefore loose business and money.) Individual customers (lots of them) were the catalyst for this huge corporation entering a new market (organic food).
This brings me to more questions. Will there be a catalyst for Walmart to improve its labor practices? And what will that catalyst be?
- Read the New York Times blog here: Idea of the Day – It’s Getting Harder to Hate Wal-Mart
- Read Corby Kummer's article from The Atlantic here: Will Walmart, not Whole Foods, save the small farm and make America healthy?
Love this one! Great insight. Thanks for the development of this topic.
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