Wal-Mart doubling organic food offerings (Reuters)

[NashVegas]

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. aims to be the mass-market provider of organic food, and will have doubled its organic offerings over the next couple of weeks, Wal-Mart's head of dry grocery told Reuters on Monday.

...

Priest said Wal-Mart has paid close attention to the small-but-growing organic market for several years, and decided to make its move now as studies show a majority of U.S. consumers buy at least some organic food.

She declined to say what percentage of Wal-Mart's food offerings would be organic, but said the retailer wants to be the access point for organic foods at a value, and "knock out the myth that it's just for the rich."

...
For food manufacturers, getting into a new category such as organics can be risky without a retailer committed to selling those products, so Wal-Mart's push into organics will likely drive more production.

http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=domesticNews&storyid=2006-03-07T004523Z_01_N06371542_RTRUKOC_0_US-FOOD-SUMMIT-WALMART.xml


Thoughts:

as this drives increasing production, it will no doubt drive more moves to weaken standards for factory farms.

Are they trying to get more upscale shoppers in the door so we'll stop protesting Wal-Mart store openings?

[marmar]

1. Awww, isn't Wal-Mart progressive!?!

Perhaps they've discovered slave-labor organic farms from which to buy products.

[megatherium]

3. No, they've just discovered that lots of "organic" and vegetarian

products are now produced by the same agribusiness corporations that produce everything else. My favorite brand of veggie lunch "meat," which used to say in red letters NO MSG got bought by ConAgra, and lo and behold, it longer says NO MSG.

[justabob]

6. Along with that....

A lot of the agri-giants who produce "organic" go to places not usually suitable for sustained farming and set up organic farms because there are none of the usual insects and other problems that are usually handled by pesticides etc. So... they can get crops for a few years until the local ecosystem changes and can no longer support the "organic" methods and then move on and destroy the next ecosystem. *sigh*

[Coexist]

2. just wait - they will spend lots of money to change organic standards now

who do they think they're fooling.

BTW - have you seen their new commercials? They are definitely trying to go upscale. Unfortunately - their name is synonymous with cheap goods. It will never work.

[TomInTib]

19. They already are...

FDA is in the process of relaxing organic standards.

[justabob]

4. Unfortunate...

I am all for people getting better quality food to eat even if it is from Walmart, but I don't think this is a good thing. Already there are sharks trying to change the standards for 'organic'.... If Walmart gets involved, it will not be good for the organic movement and farming in general. Already our family farmers are suffering, and Walmart doesn't give a rat's ass about that. If Walmart goes through with this I believe that not only will organics be redefined and not be as high quality as we have now, but the overall food supply quality will suffer as well.

[NashVegas]

7. Aye

It's time for Organic Consumers to lobby Wild Oats and Whole Foods in a big way. "Stand with us and fight for standards, or lose us to the farmers' co-ops."

As a former music lover, especially alternative music, for me this is the equivalent of when Nirvana broke. It all went downhill shortly afterwards as what made certain music "alternative" got lost in the rush to exploit the scene.

[KurtNYC]

22. Whole Foods has abandoned their organic only promise

They now stock what seems like 50% "conventional" produce. If Whole Foods is backing off, why would WalMart want in?

edit: Wait ..it says "doubling" so 2 times zero = 0! There they doubled it!

[justabob]

25. If I understand correctly...

Whole Foods is broadening their scope to include sustainable farming and smart 'conventional' practices to help protect small(and local)farmers of all kinds, instead of just the organics. I am ok with that. It isn't like supporting Monsanto and all the other agri-giants. However, I admit I may be totally wrong about what they are doing. I applied to work at the Whole Foods by my house, and that is what I recall reading when I did cursory research into the company.

[DainBramaged]

5. They probably bought a food distribution company

and named it Organic something or the other.

Does anyone here honestly think WellFucked has the best interests of anyone but themselves in mind?

[ConcernedCanuk]

8. I don't think I'd trust buying "organic" food from Wal-Mart

.
.
.

Health-food stores mostly, Farmer's Markets in the summer, and regular grocery stores.

The peace of mind would be well worth the extra $$

[Atman]

9. Lemme guess? Cascadian Farms?

It's just a General Mills product line. I'll never buy Cascadian Farms anything. I don't know who else can supply a chain as large as Wal Mart. But watch...once they get their grubby mits into the process, the stuff will only be called "organic" because it was grown in dirt. They'll find a way to lace it with something bad. Hey, it's Wal Mart!

[napi21]

10. I doubt this is going to be successful for WM.

There are a lot of people who've switched to organic foods, but they AREN'T WM shoppers! Organic foods are all significantly more expensive than other mass market produced ones. People shop at WM for PRICE! I predict this program will last about six months, and be canceled!

[Debau2005]

13. You beat me to it!

I agree. Wal-Mart shoppers are not organic food eaters, well let me not generalize! MOST WM store shoppers are not organic food eaters. I am a vegan, and I am VERY careful about what I buy. I get a lot of grief from the "conservative" crowd for being a tree-hugging, crazy, non-animal killing liberal. Why would WM think that they would woo me in to their store with promises of increased organic goods? This is all for show.

Another "shiny keys" moment brought to you by the conglomerates that are ruining America.

editted because I can't spell!

[bananas]

17. This will be extremely successful

the demand for organic food keeps growing.

[NashVegas]

14. Believe It or Not

According to the article, Wal-Mart is the #1 retailer of organic milk. That being Horizon (factory farm OM). They recently dropped Organic Valley milk, because OV couldn't meet their demand for the right price. I've noticed that OV is usually 20 cents cheaper in Wild Oats, but 20 cents more in conventional supermarkets. Go figure.

[Atman]

16. I can see it coming...organic Twinkies and Cheetos!

Wal Mart staples. Maybe organic Wal Mart cola is next, too.

But I betcha they won't sell organic hemp clothing. It might piss off their gun-buying demographic.

[hatrack]

27. Yeah, first thing I thought too

There's a substantial premium for organics, and I really don't think most Wal-Mart shoppers are going to pay that difference.

This only makes sense if we're talking about Wal-Mart bringing its lobbyists in to raze organic standards so they can undercut the real deal sold at Wild Oats, Whole Foods or (most critically) by local coops and/or growers.

[notadmblnd]

11. uh oh.. watch out Trader Joe's

thats my favorite organic food store. And the most surprising thing is.. they're reasonable! I never switch to Wal-Mart.

[Atman]

15. Trader Joes is EXCELLENT

Prices are generally lower than "regular" stores, and the quality of their products is awesome. We just got one near us, and it's where we shop now for all but the quick run-to-the-store stuff (TJ's isn't THAT close, unfortunately, but worth the drive across town for a cart-full!).

[The2ndWheel]

12. Power only changes shape

Who needs slaves when you have machines?

Wal-Mart didn't get to where its at by being stupid.

[Debau2005]

18. One of my friends just emailed me this...

"Of course, if Walmart started out with 1 organic
item, and then adds one more, or course they have doubled their
offerings! "


Laugh out loud funny!!

[kineneb]

21. exactly my thought

when I saw the headline. 1+1=2 therefor, doubled inventory!

[meganmonkey]

20. Great - they can fight to weaken the Organic standards even further

so they can buy more, cheaper, and worse quality crap and call it Organic.

What a load of shit. Since 1998, when the federal standards were implemented, the meaning of "Certified Organic" has been watered down to mean almost nothing.

BUY LOCAL! IT'S THE ONLY WAY!!!!

[CornField]

23. Whoo-Hooo! Now they'll have TWO!!

I wonder what they'll be adding to their organic baby carrot selection?

[Dora]

24. I hate WalMart. But I do buy organics from Costco, because I can.

I was ecstatic when I discovered that Costco carries six-packs of organic chicken stock: it saved me $6. Costco also carries the same organic cereal that I buy from my local Sun Harvest store. They also carry organic brands that are unfamiliar to me, but may be recognizable in other parts of the country, giving that brand a wider distribution.

I think that we may be wiser to educate consumers about the differences in organics, and why sometimes it's better to buy from a local CSA or farmer's market instead of a grocery store or Sam's Club or even Costco.

Education is everything.

[Raine]

26. Seems like a good thing

because it promotes organic food. I'm suspicious but I do think that it shouldn't just be for the wealthy. Just cause you are low income and not elite doesn't mean you shouldn't have better food.