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March 19, 2006
Trader Joe's
The one chore I've been able to accomplish this weekend is going to the grocery store; probably because I was on the verge of an empty refrigerator. And since I quickly lost my cleaning momentum, I ended up reading "Is Whole Foods Wholesome? The dark secrets of the organic-food movement." by Field Maloney in Slate's Culturebox. The guy apparently doesn't like slick marketing campaigns and thinks healthy food is only available at upper-class prices. Apparently, he's never heard of Trader Joe's. Now, I grant you that Whole Foods is in many more cities than TJ, but I remember when there was only one Whole Foods in the San Fernando Valley, but plenty of TJ's. And now I live in Chicago, with two TJ's to choose from.
Here's what I wrote in "The Fray" on Slate:
I'm not afraid of the globalization of food trade, since I prefer to be able to purchase fresh tomatoes (and other produce) year round. Plus, I care as much about the lives of farmers in Latin America as I do about the lives of farmers in the US.
But I certainly don't make enough money to buy my food from Whole Foods, since it really does translate into Whole Paycheck in my life. Instead, I'm thankful I live in a city with several Trader Joe's, where organic produce always ends up being cheaper than my previous trips to Jewel. It's not just about pesticides - I don't want to eat beef from a cow that was fed other cows; nor do I want to eat animals that were doped up with antibiotics. Alternatives exist to agri-business conglomerates at affordable prices. Unfortunately, there aren't enough stores to reach everyone; but perhaps one day citizens will take back their power and the FDA and USDA will truly monitor our food supply instead of sitting in the back pocket of agri-business.
Posted by cj at March 19, 2006 06:28 PM