[Eug]

Cheap. Fast. Good.

And now we know which two you choose.

Yep, cheap and good.

Chinatown has the most varied selection, with lots of Asian greens and tropical fruits for obvious reasons, but you have to fight the crowds and look through the stuff to get the freshest items.

Whole Foods takes a different approach. They keep everything meticulously organized and throw away anything right away that the least bit of blemish on it. So, probably anything you pick up is fresh. However they generally have a somewhat limited selection compared to what you can find in Chinatown, but there are no crowds to fight.

The fresh produce that Whole Foods has that Chinatown doesn't is specialty stuff like heirloom tomatoes, for example. However, I personally am not often willing to spend $5 on a single heirloom tomato. I trust most people in this thread, Wal-Mart patrons or not, feel the same way.

Overall Whole Foods fits into the Good and Fast category.

 

[TrickyRicky]

Perhaps I digress but I just wanted to have fun with how totally bizarre the concept "the best things in life are free" is. It ties into the concept of "material consumption" and how really, crapping on material consumption is all part of the same social game of status and control being played by people who purposely and conspicuously over consume.

Let me give an example: Spending more time with the family is something that is free so "the best things in life are free". Only, how much time and money did you spend creating a family so that you could spend some more time with them? A typical Canadian would spend what, maybe 28 year and maybe somewhere between $250,000 and $500,000 and 10 acres of environmental devastation just to have some more time to spend with the family

 

[gabe]

I am amazed people would do grocery shopping at Wal-Mart. It's well publicized how poor Wal-Mart's standards are when it comes produce management. I would never grocery shop at Wal-Mart.

I once checked out the produce section at the square one location, and I was amazed at how bad the quality was. The prices weren't that much lower than what you would find at dedicated grocery stores. .

I agree with anyone who says Walmart's quality is crap. But does it matter? Drive by any Walmart, the parking lots are packed with cars. As of right now there is no plans to close any of Walmarts 85 locations in Ontario.


The Kensington Market Walmart’s Developer Speaks. The developer behind a proposed Walmart on Kensington's western border thinks there misconceptions about the project. http://torontoist.com/2013/06/the-kensington-market-walmarts-developer-speaks/

 

[TOperson]

Perhaps I digress but I just wanted to have fun with how totally bizarre the concept "the best things in life are free" is. It ties into the concept of "material consumption" and how really, crapping on material consumption is all part of the same social game of status and control being played by people who purposely and conspicuously over consume.

Let me give an example: Spending more time with the family is something that is free so "the best things in life are free". Only, how much time and money did you spend creating a family so that you could spend some more time with them? A typical Canadian would spend what, maybe 28 year and maybe somewhere between $250,000 and $500,000 and 10 acres of environmental devastation just to have some more time to spend with the family

Yup. From what I understand, many indigenous/hunter-gatherer type societies actually DO have more free time (so did those that used to exist). Because they focus on the basics of food & shelter, not getting more money to buy more stuff, they "work" an average of 3-4 hours per day (more some days, not at all other days, due to seasonal requirements), and have the rest of their time free to play with their kids, tell stories, do some art, etc. E.g Arctic peoples work long days all summer, fishing, trapping, preparing food for storage, etc and then pretty much kick back all winter, or "go visiting" their relatives and so on.

Meanwhile, we late-industrial-capitalists are on a treadmill, with plenty of goodies and toys and no time to enjoy them.

 

[picard102]

Cheap. Fast. Good. ......pick two (we know which two the Walmart shopper picks)

How does Fast equate into this at all? Is bread more quickly bought by going to walmart then some independent bakery?

 

[freshcutgrass]

I personally am not often willing to spend $5 on a single heirloom tomato. I trust most people in this thread, Wal-Mart patrons or not, feel the same way.

I'm guessing there's a large gap somewhere between Walmart shopping and $5 tomatoes.

Huh? So, the homeless shop at Pusateri's?

When they want the really, really good balsamic vinegar they do.

I think my point was that healthy lifestyle choices, including diet, are not dependent on your income. This idea that you have to shop at Walmart or eat at McPuke because you are poor is silly.

 

[TOperson]

I think my point was that healthy lifestyle choices, including diet, are not dependent on your income. This idea that you have to shop at Walmart or eat at McPuke because you are poor is silly.

Your point is wrong. Some people can't afford to buy food at Walmart or anywhere else. They must go to food banks. It's very difficult to eat a balanced diet when you rely on food banks. Others can just barely afford Walmart groceries.

What do you think poverty is?

 

[freshcutgrass]

Your point is wrong. Some people can't afford to buy food at Walmart or anywhere else. They must go to food banks.

Well, why you want to discuss these extremes of society as if it were the norm ($5 tomatoes vs homelessness) I'm not sure, but fine. Other than mental illness, finding yourself homeless, penniless and relying on food banks should be a rare and very temporary situation, and usually the result of poor lifestyle choices.

What do you think poverty is?

Not being able to afford a neck tattoo?

 

[TOperson]

Well, why you want to discuss these extremes of society as if it were the norm ($5 tomatoes vs homelessness) I'm not sure, but fine. Other than mental illness, finding yourself homeless, penniless and relying on food banks should be a rare and very temporary situation, and usually the result of poor lifestyle choices. Not being able to afford a neck tattoo?

I never mentioned $5 tomatoes. I think you have me mixed up with another commenter.

Anyway, poverty IS part of the norm in Canada. About 900K Canadians use food banks every month, and of course there are easily at least another 500K who are that close to needing a food bank, i.e. poor enough not to be sure where their next meal is coming from. Then there are people who can just barely afford Walmart, Food Basics, etc. They probably number at least a million. Do you think 2+M Canadians are really just making poor lifestyle choices? ALL OF THEM? Lots of people only make about $12-15 and hour with no job security and no benefits. How much CHOICE do you think someone has on that low an income?

At least do some research on poverty before slamming poor people. Also, read Orwell's Road to Wigan Pier for some insights into the choices poor people make and why.

 

[tiffer24]

The poor? Let them eat organic, gluten-free cupcakes.

 

[freshcutgrass]

I never mentioned $5 tomatoes. I think you have me mixed up with another commenter.

I'm not mixing anything/anybody up....my comments include the greater conversation going on rather than just what "you" have said. Try actually understanding what I write.

At least do some research on poverty before slamming poor people.

Oh please...taking your effing lecture somewhere else. You obviously are so absorbed in your PC stance that you have entirely missed the point I'm making....which is that Walmart is not about saving you money at all. Which is why your statement..."just barely afford Walmart" is so comical.

And BTW...we ALL make poor lifestyle choices.

 

[freshcutgrass]

Let the poor just eat organic, gluten-free cupcakes?

Buying into fads such as "certified organic" and "gluten free" is what will make you poor. Unless you have celiac disease, the alternatives to wheat can be even worse for your health.

 

[freshcutgrass]

I'm confused

Yes...I can tell.

What am I trying to say about what exactly? (keep in mind the topic is Walmart)

 

[TOperson]

I'm not mixing anything/anybody up....my comments include the greater conversation going on rather than just what "you" have said. Try actually understanding what I write.

Um, OK. You do know you quoted ME in that post, right? Hence my thinking that you were responding to what I wrote.

Oh please...taking your effing lecture somewhere else. You obviously are so absorbed in your PC stance that you have entirely missed the point I'm making....

It's a PC thing to think about and advocate for poor people? Funny, I thought it was a human compassion thing. I can't believe I let myself get distracted by my concern for the poor and missed the MUCH MORE IMPORTANT consideration that it is their own fault.


which is that Walmart is not about saving you money at all. Which is why your statement..."just barely afford Walmart" is so comical.

So EVERYONE in Canada could afford better than Walmart if only they shopped somewhere else? Everyone is making a perfectly adequate wage at all times and only find themselves poor because they spent their money unwisely? Huh, how about that. All the economists and other researchers are totally wrong about poverty but you've nailed it. Be sure to let them all know.

And BTW...we ALL make poor lifestyle choices.

So? Relevance? Why shouldn't the poor do so as well then?

---

I love seeing a commenter do this, doubling down on a uninformed, gratuitously unkind remark because they have a horror of admitting they screwed up. I love watching them flail, trying to claim that the whole time they were really saying something else but everyone failed to understand, despite everyone being able to see their comment history. Please continue. Try to work in some Ayn Rand too.

 

[RC8]

In any case, the number of people who cannot afford to buy products from anything other than Walmart is very very small and does in no way represent 99% of Walmart shoppers.

I know many people living on minimum wage ($10 an hour) who wouldn't be caught dead shopping at Walmart. There's many ways of helping these people that would be markedly more effective than supporting the likes of Walmart.