Editor’s Note: This post originally appeared on BlogHer on Monday, but I felt it was important enough that I wanted to cross-post it here. I encourage you to visit BlogHer and read the thoughtful comments readers have been posting, as well — I really appreciate hearing everyone’s thoughts on this particular issue.
Late last week, a food blogger friend of mine Tweeted about a Walmart press release advertising a $20 Thanksgiving dinner. According to the press release, the dinner, which was available starting on November 4, included the following list of ingredients:
- One 12-pound Grade A turkey
- Three 11 to 15.5-ounce cans Green Giant vegetables
- Two 14-ounce cans Ocean Spray cranberry sauce
- Three 6-ounce boxes of Stove Top stuffing
- One 5-pound bag of red potatoes
- One 12-count package of Sara Lee dinner rolls
- One 22-ounce pumpkin roll cake
The Tweet spawned a healthy debate in the Twittersphere, but, even though I’m usually happy to run my mouth in support of all things local, sustainable and organic, I didn’t think I could capture the nuance of my position on this in 140 characters or less.
This is a tough one. I firmly believe that Walmart’s pricing policies—the ones where they force their suppliers to lower and lower and lower their costs year after year, creating an artificial pricing structure and forcing jobs overseas to cut labor costs—are evil. Flat-out evil.
The only way that Walmart can offer such a deal—all that food for so little money—is if they’ve forced their suppliers to cut corners and offer the corporation similarly low prices, or Walmart used this as a loss leader to get people in the door of their stores. Neither of those options are particularly in the spirit of giving and thanks and being a good neighbor. They are Walmart’s brand of business. And I abhor that. I simply abhor it.
But I’m going to be straight up and honest here. It’s not like I never shop at Walmart. In fact, I bought probably 85 percent of my supplies for my trip to Burning Man at the Walmarts in Oakland and in Sparks, NV. The stuff I bought—including my ridiculous Miley Cyrus-brand pleated skirt short enough to shock even me—was cheap, and it didn’t matter if it got ruined in the dust of Black Rock City. I’ve also visited relatives in towns like Keyser, WV, where the Walmart was really the only place to shop for electronics, clothes and other consumer goods. So I can’t be one to cast stones—I don’t think it’s right that there are places in America where Walmart is your only shopping option, but I understand it’s the reality for more Americans than I’d like to count.
There’s another aspect of it, though, that checks me from fully passing judgment on Walmart. It has nothing to do with the company or the stores or the way they do business—I repeat…I abhor the way they do business—but it has to do with the families who might not be able to afford Thanksgiving this year if it weren’t for food banks, and industrial turkeys offered up for sale at Walmart.
At the end of the day, here is what I believe: I believe we have to make radical, dramatic changes to our food system. I believe no one should ever have to eat an industrial, processed, hormone- and antibiotic-laden turkey that might be cheap at the checkout counter but also will cost way more down the line in environmental and health costs. I believe industrial food has made America sick, and we’re only getting sicker. I believe the only way to turn this around is to find ways to make local, sustainably-grown, seasonal, and sometimes organic food available at better prices to people who cannot access nor afford that food right now.
But that work is going to take time. And in the meantime, while plenty of good and thoughtful people in this world are doing that work, I still want everyone in this country to be able to sit down on Thursday and celebrate Thanksgiving. As families. As friends. As neighbors. As a community. And if, to do that, they have to eat a meal that is artificially low-priced due to location or finances, so be it. I can’t, in good conscience, ask them to do anything different.
Here are some resources and ideas for making your Thanksgiving affordable and sustainable this year:
- Mir Kamin of BlogHer has some great tips for celebrating a frugal Thanksgiving.
- Hilary Meyer of the Eating Well Blog has ideas for making Thanksgiving dinner for less than $7 per person.
- Deanna Duke of Relish! asks her readers if sustainable food can be affordable.
- Alison of Discover(ing) Sustainability describes an effort to provide food baskets that contain locally grown or produced food items for the needy in her community–an effort that I applaud!
on Nov 25th, 2009 at 7:03 am
I completely agree. I find it odd however that people complain about the costs of things like the price of turkey and yet feel no pain in spending $1.50 for a soda that lasts for a few minutes and offers no nutritional value. Part of the problem is the industrialized food problem and government subsidies of big-ag, but until we as a society actually value food as nourishment I don’t believe things will change. We seem ok spending $50/month on cell phones or cable TV, but gawk at paying more than $3/lb for meat that we eat and that sustains us.
I was thinking about this in bed this morning. Someone was commenting to me the other day that “_______” organic market had organic turkeys for $1.50 a pound, “what a deal they” exclaimed, “I can’t believe they’re so cheap for ORGANIC!”. I had just told them I got a pastured turkey from my local farm (I paid $3.50/lb for it).
I said, “Well, It’s not about the price it’s about buying healthy, local, sustainable food. Those turkeys aren’t pastured and they’re not raised by a local farmer”. I pay my local farmer more because I value knowing where my food comes from, I want to know how it’s raised, and I want to invest in my local economy to keep Americans employed.” Strange because this person is more than willing to spend money on pretlzes and chicken nuggets which cost more per/lb than a locally raised turkey and you get less nutritional value from it. If you count the stock and soup you’ll get from the bones it really is a value. If we would focus on the nutritionally value of food instead of the price overall, we’d realize healthy local foods are actually cheaper.
Kind of like the guy in Food,Inc. He complained about paying $1.49/lb for broccoli, but didn’t flinch at paying $1.50 for a soda at the drive-through. I guarantee $1.50 spent on broccoli goes much farther and nourishes more people than $1.50 of soda.
on Nov 25th, 2009 at 7:30 am
I am a locavore when I can be. Living in Canada we do have Super WalMart where you can go for one stop shopping but we also have Canadian Superstore, which is a branch of Loblaws, that I am assuming would carry more local and Canadian items. For local ingredients in season I support the smaller grocers and our farmers markets, as I am sure everyone does, but this is seasonal until I move to California:D I make a consumers choice never to set foot into WalMart which as a Canadian would not be supporting our economy except by hiring our workers. It is a tough call as I know many shop there. How else it would it have been around for so long ..and the parking lot is always full. I agree that we need to support our local producers when we can which will allow for a stronger sense of community.
on Nov 25th, 2009 at 10:08 am
Great post, Genie! I have never been in a Wal-Mart, could never imagine supporting a Wal-Mart when I could be spending my money at a local farm stand or farmers’ market or CSA. And yet, how dare I sit around throwing stones at those who don’t have the luxury of choosing? I think about that every time I read about international outrage over a poor village that killed a tiger who was eating their cattle. Who are we to judge, living in comparative ease and luxury as we do? Food for thought for sure.
on Nov 25th, 2009 at 10:27 am
Chiot’s Run, suffice it to say I think Food Inc. should be required viewing for everyone in this country. REQUIRED. Only when people become more aware of nutrition and what is going into the food they eat will we see change.
Val, I do realize you guys are a bit hamstrung by the seasonal swing up your way! I had an interesting thought about Walmart in Canada, though — they don’t have to worry about healthcare costs, because those are absorbed by the national system. So I assume they eliminate one of the business practices they foster here, which is keeping people working part-time with no health benefits. Hmm.
our friend Ben, I agree — throwing stones is not a good idea. But yes — I think creating opportunities for people to think about and discuss these issues is really important. It’s the only way to effect change, in lieu of a government that will stop favoring industrial food producers…
on Nov 26th, 2009 at 11:35 am
First let me say that I so respect your transparency, and I agree with you wholeheartedly.
This is not merely a question of food any longer; it’s a question of societal values. If we were not a culture that valued “cheapest, easiest, and most disposable” above all else, we would not have given Walmart the power to be what they are.
The coasts (and a handful of cities in between) don’t support Walmart’s business practices on principal. But let’s be honest: our day laborers, our housekeepers, gardeners, and childcare providers sure do.
Walmart will continue to thrive because Americans are a lazy lot. Because we believe that we should be able to get what we want, when we want it, and for the lowest possible price. And therein lies the greatest challenge we face as a nation.
on Nov 27th, 2009 at 12:25 am
Fatemeh, that’s an excellent, excellent point — societies that don’t value cheapest/easiest/most disposable don’t give rise to this type of economic powerhouse. It’s a huge challenge to overcome…and I hope that we rise to the challenge before we are forced to…or before it destroys us.