…I read the good news on my favorite foodie blog, Eating Alabama. This is really exciting, not because I shop at the Wart, or because it validates my previous post, but because it will put nearly half a billion dollars into local farms this year.
Wall-Mart is famous for supply chain management, so it is nice to see they finally realized the benefits of buying farmer John’s tomatoes rather than shipping them from a hot-house 3,000 miles away.
Is this caused by high gas prices? Will they sell local food in season, then switch to oil-soaked food in the winter? I can imagine the shock when people realize that food grown in their zipcode is fresher than imported winter crops. There may even be an uprising! In Pynchon fashion everybody will sound together in unison:
Down with Iceberg,
Don’t feed me shallots.
Throw out the t’maters,
We’re onto your plot.
Give us what’s fresh,
Or cans of what’s not.
Cuz’ we have the power
To buy or let rot.
Tags: food industry, foodie, fresh produce, local produce, locavore, organic, wall-mart
July 24, 2008 at 2:13 pm
not to sound cynical, but i’m cynical: do you think there’s a catch?
July 25, 2008 at 5:31 am
with wall-mart, of course. they don’t define local, so they could mean buying regional produce. A fine read of their article shows they will mark foods that come from that state. they also don’t mention the size of farm they will buy from… will it be a multinational or small scale operation?
read their website for more details. http://instoresnow.walmart.com/Food-Center-locally-grown.aspx
July 30, 2008 at 5:37 am
When will Walmart begin putting large solar panels on stands in their parking lots? This will provide shade for the cars to park under, as well as alternative energy for their huge stores.
How can we push Home Depot and other big box stores to begin what they should have started years ago?
Some the solar panels could actually be designed with stands that areaesthetically pleasing to the eye.
August 4, 2008 at 4:44 am
Jack, do you have a problem with the amount of parking spaces that these big box stores have, or the way they consume energy? or both? I would think those stores could put solar panels on the roof so they are not shaded by the building or by trees. We should definitely demand that city planning depts across the country reduce the minimum number of parking spaces for big box stores. It would take rewording the laws on the books, that is all.
I actually think planing more trees in parking lots would be a better solution than solar panels for providing shade. For one, trees need less maintenance that solar panels, and their byproducts are natural. Trees also reduce the heat island effect and provide habitat for animals.
Please flush out your ideas on solar panels, because I am not sure where you are going.