Food & Faith by Michael Schut

Author:Michael Schut
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Church Publishing Incorporated

Selective Supermarket Shopping

The next step along this continuum would be to continue to shop at the local supermarket, but to make a concerted effort to shop there as selectively as possible. Buy as many local products and produce as possible. Ask the management to stock local brands and locally grown produce. Seek out minimal and recycled packaging. Buy bulk items in containers you bring from home. Ask about the produce: where was it grown, is it organic, what pesticides were used, how were farm workers treated? Request that the manager stock products you have learned about from other sources, not just ads. In short, use your influence to encourage the supermarket chains to stock more local, earth-friendly goods. In this option you are taking the initiative, both to become a more conscientious consumer and to exert your influence within our mainstream economy. The more people ask for local organic produce, the more likely the store will be to develop a section featuring these choices. Your efforts can make a difference.

However, your influence, and that of other like-minded consumers, is not the only factor which helps to shape the mainstream food economy. Supermarket chains, wholesale distribution systems, and large advertising and marketing organizations are all part of the even larger corporate agribusinesses network. Consumer pressure—even highly organized and orchestrated consumer pressure, such as national boycotts—is only one factor in a much larger field. Corporations have great faith in their ability to mold public opinion. Agribusiness corporations’ policies are determined far more by their economic aspirations than by moral pressure. For boycotts to be effective they must involve millions of consumers and last for substantial periods of time. So while you can be a force within the mainstream for change, you should not over-estimate the possible impact of limited efforts. But corporate agribusiness will pay attention to the success of “the competition”—one reason for considering the following options along the continuum.

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