[Oe List ...] Wal-Mart and the weapons of mass destruction

Wed Apr 9 12:44:42 EDT 2008

Hello everyone,
I feel like making a contribution to this conversation too.  This comment if based on the book I am reading now, Animal Vegetable Miracle, by Barbara Kingsolver.  She states that one of the reasons for the higher prices at the farmer's market is due to the farm subsidies that every taxpayer has already paid into the pockets of large corporate farms.  There are no government subsidies currently for the small farmer.  Her calculations say that each American household has already paid $725 into the conventional food system even before one goes to the grocery store.  Thus making it very difficult for the small farmer,  they pretty much have to settle for the money customers are willing to give out of the goodness of their heart.  I have seldom seen a "market price" at farmer's market only what farmer's can get..
Ken Otto

-----Original Message-----
From: oe-bounces at wedgeblade.net [mailto:oe-bounces at wedgeblade.net]On Behalf Of McCabe, Terence W
Sent: Wednesday, April 09, 2008 10:22 AM
To: Order Ecumenical Community; Order Ecumenical Community
Subject: Re: [Oe List ...] Wal-Mart and the weapons of mass destruction

Hello,
I find this conversation very interesting. Two things come to mind. A chain such as Whole Foods stores buy a significant percentage of produce and vegetables from their region. On the other hand, the market (as we see it here in the US) has a very short range vision. Is coal really cheaper than solar in the long run? Is broccoli from California cheaper than local area farmers in the long run? I spend higher prices at our local farmers' market because it is organic and more sustainable. I admit that I choose my local farmers based on the quality of their products and the charm with which they market their produce. (By the way, the spinach in our garden is spectacular.)
Terry McCabe

  _____  

From: oe-bounces at wedgeblade.net on behalf of Carolyn Antenen
Sent: Tue 4/8/2008 5:08 PM
To: Order Ecumenical Community
Subject: Re: [Oe List ...] Wal-Mart and the weapons of mass destruction

Fascinating study. My entrepreneurial mind wonders:

Why did the chain store win over the customers of the original 3 stores?
What needs or wants did the 3 smaller stores not fulfill?
Were they innovative and responsive?
Did they take out too much capital and not reinvest in resources?
What did 1 chain store do better than 3 different local stores?

Cincinnati has local groceries that compete very well with Kroger:
through better quality products, better service, better displays, 
better prepared food deli, and many other
creative approaches.

Whole Foods and Trader Joe's have gone to national scale because of 
superior innovations over Kroger and Safeway.
Now the creative local stores have become the latest large chain.

Carolyn Antenen

On Apr 8, 2008, at 5:34 PM, Bill Bailey wrote:

> Ada, Oklahoma (1974) the Chamber of Commerce & the OKC house did a 
> joint
> study of what happened to Ada's economy over the past 10 years. In 
> 1964 Ada
> had three local owned grocery stores; one on the north side, one on 
> the
> south side, and one in the town center. Each of the three stores 
> was owned
> and operated by two local families. Each store provided summer and 
> afternoon
> jobs for high school kids.
>
> In 1968 a large grocery store chain opened owned and operated by a 
> firm
> headquarter in Dallas Texas. The managerial staff of the store 
> lived in
> Oklahoma City and commuted to Ada on a weekly basis. The new store 
> hired
> local workers from Ada at minimum wages, but none of the managerial 
> staff
> participated in the economic, political, or cultural structures of 
> Ada. The
> goods for the super market all came from the outside and the 
> profits were
> sent out of state.
>
> By 1972 all three locally owned grocery stores had closed, but the 
> super
> market still provided some jobs for after school and summer jobs 
> for a few
> high school kids.
>
> The Chamber concluded that Ada had lost the economic, political and 
> cultural
> benefits to the city of:
>      
>       1. Six residential families,
>       2. A market for some locally produced food items,
>       3. A down turn in citizen's presence in town center, and
>       4. A small number of summer jobs for high school kids.
>
> This was just one simple story of what can happen when the chain (box)
> stores come to town. Instead of circulating locally, the money and 
> business
> decisions no longer support the quality of life and economic growth 
> of the
> local community.
>
>
>
>
>
> Bill Bailey
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: oe-bounces at wedgeblade.net [ mailto:oe-bounces at wedgeblade.net] 
> On Behalf
> Of David Dunn
> Sent: Tuesday, April 08, 2008 2:16 PM
> To: OE Community
> Subject: Re: [Oe List ...] Wal-Mart and the weapons of mass 
> destruction
>
> On 4/8/08 1:04 PM, "Marianna Bailey"  wrote:
>
>> Let's not forget the economic principles that we used in human 
>> development
>> projects.Money should circulate 5 times before it leaves a 
>> community. When
>> Wal-Mart comes into a town small family owned businesses that have 
>> been
> their
>> for several generations go out of business. The family owned business
>> circulated the money 5 times and use to pay living wages. Wal-Mart 
>> pays
> low
>> wages and the money leaves the community everyday. What we gain 
>> short term
> by
>> low prices does not reflect the long term consequences of our local
> economy.
>
> This is the story of Burna's hometown, Ironwood, MI--on the decline 
> because
> of a whole system of factors, but Wal-Mart didn't help. The 
> downtown has
> been dying for many years.
>
> David
>
> --
> David Dunn
> dmdunn1 at gmail.com
> 720-314-5991
> Skype: dmirror
> www.mirrorcommunication.com
>
> -- Please note new "GMAIL" address --
>
>
>
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Carolyn Antenen
cantenen at mac.com

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