Grocery Stores in NH.

[ny2nh]

I agree with Cathy about MB people being friendly - but that's because they are still a family-owned chain.

Cathy - are you sure you have less choice of food items or just a different choice? I know everytime I go to NY for a visit =, I have to make a grocery run to pick up items I can't get here.....but then I think there are some items more available here than in upstate NY. Some of it has to do with the make-up of the population....i.e. we have more Greeks here and thus more likely to be able to get a Greek salad vs. an antipasto. One of the only things I miss about NYS is the food....

OK - now I'm hungry....and wanting a pizza from home!

[FTL_Ian]

Price Chopper - 24 hours, awesome.   

[cathypeschke]

In Illinois you can buy a frozen pizza with sausage. Here all the pizza's have pepperoni.  I am not a fan of pepperoni.    Also I can not get sausage bits here only pepperonit bits.  That is one for example.  When we go to meetings at night time or busy all day it is easy to pop a pizza in the oven.   The Gods are telling me to eat my salads.

[JonM]

I've seen pizza with sausage.  Unos has frozen pizzas for sale at supermarkets, I think another pizza chain might as well.  BJS sells the Unos pizzas if I recall, but your mileage may vary depending on where the heck you're located.

[donnay]

I wouldn't shop at Wal-Marx if it were the last (that's what they are hoping for) supermarket in NH. 

They come in muscle the smaller Mom and Pops with lower prices and put them right out of business.  Their practices are deceptive--especially much of their "Organic" foods.  Bulk broccoli claiming to be organic and a product of China?  Strawberries claiming to be organic and a product of Guatemala?  Technically human feces is organic but not recommended in our country to use for fertilizer.

Hannafords has some nice organics and there stores are usually very clean.  Market Basket has great prices but not much in the line of organics and some of the MB's I have been in are not very clean.

I wish a Wild Oats were closer.  *SIGH*

I try very hard to shop in my town's local grocery stores--basically to keep them in business.

 

[Braddogg]

I wouldn't shop at Wal-Marx if it were the last (that's what they are hoping for) supermarket in NH.

That's what Hannaford's, Stop & Shop, and DeMoulas all want too . . . .  It's not scary, it's economics.  Wal*Mart just does a better job of it than those other stores.

Their practices are deceptive--especially much of their "Organic" foods.  Bulk broccoli claiming to be organic and a product of China?  Strawberries claiming to be organic and a product of Guatemala?  Technically human feces is organic but not recommended in our country to use for fertilizer.

Organic food doesn't grow in Guatemala?  And cow feces is okay for fertilizer, but human feces isn't?  Why's that?

I try very hard to shop in my town's local grocery stores--basically to keep them in business.

To what end?  What intrinsic benefit is there to having local grocery stores unless they are cheaper and/or have better products?

[donnay]

I wouldn't shop at Wal-Marx if it were the last (that's what they are hoping for) supermarket in NH.

That's what Hannaford's, Stop & Shop, and DeMoulas all want too . . . .  It's not scary, it's economics.  Wal*Mart just does a better job of it than those other stores.

Wal-Marx muscles suppliers into getting the lowest prices and makes them conform to standard Wal-Marx supplier practices.  Many companies have gone out of business because of Wal-Marx strong-arm tactics.  Or they get cheap products from China whose practices are slave labor--what ever happened to "made in U.S.A." labels?  Doesn't leave much room for competition for Mom and Pops and jobs in the U.S.

Organic food doesn't grow in Guatemala?  And cow feces is okay for fertilizer, but human feces isn't?  Why's that?

Organic dairies were started by farmers to resist these conditions, but now that the market is dominated by large, corporate, organic dairy farmers, many complain that the word "organic" no longer carries the same weight. For instance, Wal-Mart's organic dairy supplier, Aurora, has a dairy farm in Colorado with 4,000 cows living under conditions that a Whole Foods spokesman described as "unacceptable" for that company's standards.

(...)

Indeed, we are connected to these food systems in unexpected ways. "It becomes important to your health to know the living and working conditions of the people who pick and pack your produce live under," argues Nicols Fox. She refers to a 1996 outbreak of Cyclospora in the U.S. to illustrate her point: "Are there bathroom facilities in that raspberry patch in Guatemala? Or are people using the irrigation ditches as bathrooms and then using that same water to dilute the pesticides that they spray on your raspberries? That's actually how raspberries in Guatemala became contaminated, and I think people are beginning to understand that it matters."

http://www.sdcitybeat.com/article.php?id=5061

...What intrinsic benefit is there to having local grocery stores unless they are cheaper and/or have better products?

Keeping Americans in my town working and a better community.

[Braddogg]

I wouldn't shop at Wal-Marx if it were the last (that's what they are hoping for) supermarket in NH.

That's what Hannaford's, Stop & Shop, and DeMoulas all want too . . . .  It's not scary, it's economics.  Wal*Mart just does a better job of it than those other stores.

Wal-Marx muscles suppliers into getting the lowest prices and makes them conform to standard Wal-Marx supplier practices.  Many companies have gone out of business because of Wal-Marx strong-arm tactics.

I was unaware of Wal-Mart using violence, rather than mutual voluntary agreement, to get its contracts . . . .

Organic food doesn't grow in Guatemala?  And cow feces is okay for fertilizer, but human feces isn't?  Why's that?

Organic dairies were started by farmers to resist these conditions, but now that the market is dominated by large, corporate, organic dairy farmers, many complain that the word "organic" no longer carries the same weight. For instance, Wal-Mart's organic dairy supplier, Aurora, has a dairy farm in Colorado with 4,000 cows living under conditions that a Whole Foods spokesman described as "unacceptable" for that company's standards.

If a newspaper came and asked me my opinion of my business competitor, I'd probably say the same thing. 

She refers to a 1996 outbreak of Cyclospora in the U.S. to illustrate her point: "Are there bathroom facilities in that raspberry patch in Guatemala? Or are people using the irrigation ditches as bathrooms and then using that same water to dilute the pesticides that they spray on your raspberries? That's actually how raspberries in Guatemala became contaminated, and I think people are beginning to understand that it matters." [/i] [/b]

Is this just one Luddite's theory, or is this a scientific consensus?

...What intrinsic benefit is there to having local grocery stores unless they are cheaper and/or have better products?

Keeping Americans in my town working and a better community.

Why are Americans more worthy of jobs than Chinese people?

[donnay]

I wouldn't shop at Wal-Marx if it were the last (that's what they are hoping for) supermarket in NH.

That's what Hannaford's, Stop & Shop, and DeMoulas all want too . . . .  It's not scary, it's economics.  Wal*Mart just does a better job of it than those other stores.

Wal-Marx muscles suppliers into getting the lowest prices and makes them conform to standard Wal-Marx supplier practices.  Many companies have gone out of business because of Wal-Marx strong-arm tactics.

I was unaware of Wal-Mart using violence, rather than mutual voluntary agreement, to get its contracts . . . .

Is Wal Mart Good For America?

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/walmart/view/

Quote
Quote
Organic food doesn't grow in Guatemala?  And cow feces is okay for fertilizer, but human feces isn't?  Why's that?

Organic dairies were started by farmers to resist these conditions, but now that the market is dominated by large, corporate, organic dairy farmers, many complain that the word "organic" no longer carries the same weight. For instance, Wal-Mart's organic dairy supplier, Aurora, has a dairy farm in Colorado with 4,000 cows living under conditions that a Whole Foods spokesman described as "unacceptable" for that company's standards.


If a newspaper came and asked me my opinion of my business competitor, I'd probably say the same thing. 

No doubt.  But there are plenty of articles from other companies who have spoke out so it doesn't appear to be an isolated complaint.

Organic Fraud: Wal-Mart Accused of Widespread Distortion

Quote
She refers to a 1996 outbreak of Cyclospora in the U.S. to illustrate her point: "Are there bathroom facilities in that raspberry patch in Guatemala? Or are people using the irrigation ditches as bathrooms and then using that same water to dilute the pesticides that they spray on your raspberries? That's actually how raspberries in Guatemala became contaminated, and I think people are beginning to understand that it matters." [/i] [/b]

Is this just one Luddite's theory, or is this a scientific consensus?

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=retrieve&db=pubmed&list_uids=9164810&dopt=medline

http://www.wisc.edu/fri/briefs/crypto.htm

http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=1308515

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/440757_4

Quote
Quote
...What intrinsic benefit is there to having local grocery stores unless they are cheaper and/or have better products?

Keeping Americans in my town working and a better community.


Why are Americans more worthy of jobs than Chinese people?

First, as an American I am concerned for the direction this country is heading and the citizens futures.

Secondly, do you think the Communist Chinese government care for the well being of their citizens with the inhumane treatment by which they slave their citizens and profit from the practices?

When our economy falters due to outsourcing and the guest-workers programs are your prepared to move to China to find work?

[Braddogg]

Wal-Marx muscles suppliers into getting the lowest prices and makes them conform to standard Wal-Marx supplier practices.  Many companies have gone out of business because of Wal-Marx strong-arm tactics.

I was unaware of Wal-Mart using violence, rather than mutual voluntary agreement, to get its contracts . . . .

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/walmart/view/

I don't have a spare hour to re-watch the entire Frontline hit piece, but I did watch the segment on Rubbermaid ("China?!  CHINA?!  Rubbermaid's old factory equipment is going to CHINA?!  Sweet Jesus!!!!").  Again, I see no use of force involved in the Wal-Mart vs. Rubbermaid battle.  Rubbermaid CHOSE to raise its rates to reflect higher costs on their end -- Rubbermaid could have increased its rates to other stores to offset giving Wal-Mart a price break, but CHOSE to have their products pulled from Wal-Mart's shelves by not doing so.  Again, show me the violence, show me something to justify your use of violent imagery here.

She refers to a 1996 outbreak of Cyclospora in the U.S. to illustrate her point: "Are there bathroom facilities in that raspberry patch in Guatemala? Or are people using the irrigation ditches as bathrooms and then using that same water to dilute the pesticides that they spray on your raspberries? That's actually how raspberries in Guatemala became contaminated, and I think people are beginning to understand that it matters." [/i] [/b]

Is this just one Luddite's theory, or is this a scientific consensus?

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=retrieve&db=pubmed&list_uids=9164810&dopt=medline

http://www.wisc.edu/fri/briefs/crypto.htm

http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=1308515

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/440757_4

I browsed a few of the abstracts.  From the New England Journal of Medicine: "The mode of contamination of the raspberries remains unclear."  It in fact makes NO mention of human fecal matter, at least in the abstract.  If it discusses it within the article, give me a page reference and I'll definitely check it out.  I browsed the UW-Madison article (thankfully, they italicized "Cyclospora" so I knew when to pay attention ), and it seems like it said simply that Cyclospora is generally fecal-oral transmission, without really saying where the feces came from (in fact, it points out that ducks have been found with Cyclospora in their fecal matter).  The Public Health Reports looked to make the same point as the NEJM article (that the cyclospora outbreak was associated with those raspberries, but did not speculate as to what caused the contamination), and I didn't feel like registering with Medscape to view the article.

That is to say, none of your sources back up your Luddite friend's assertions.

Why are Americans more worthy of jobs than Chinese people?

First, as an American I am concerned for the direction this country is heading and the citizens futures.

Secondly, do you think the Communist Chinese government care for the well being of their citizens with the inhumane treatment by which they slave their citizens and profit from the practices?

When our economy falters due to outsourcing and the guest-workers programs are your prepared to move to China to find work?

Why are Americans more worthy of your concern than Chinese folks?  Because you were born in the same arbitrary geographical realm and have the same political masters?  As for the Chinese government, they don't care about their citizens -- and neither do our political rulers.  As long as we pay their taxes and obey their rule, they don't give a shit about us.  Just like the Communists.

[FTL_Ian]

Thank you Wal-Mart for helping my dollar go further! 

Wal-Mart Hating is BULLSHIT! (3 parts)
http://youtube.com/watch?v=RmKbTr02xOk
http://youtube.com/watch?v=jGQkZzbJV6c
http://youtube.com/watch?v=vi3HqtrRTDA

[FTL_Ian]

I wouldn't shop at Wal-Marx if it were the last (that's what they are hoping for) supermarket in NH. 

They come in muscle the smaller Mom and Pops with lower prices and put them right out of business.

Incorrect.  Some mom and pops refuse to innovate and therefore their customers choose to go to Wal-Mart instead.  Wal-Mart did not put them out of business, their customers did.  Those stores that do innovate stay in business.  There are plenty of mom and pops around here in Keene and there's a Wal-Mart too.  Best of both worlds!

Hannafords has some nice organics and there stores are usually very clean.

You should know that Hannaford's is also a huge international corporation.  So by your rules it's okay to shop at some international corporations so long as it's not the top dog?

[donnay]

Look the point I am bringing here is--Wal-Mart swoops into a town, buys things at mega quanities--the Mom and Pops cannot do.  Wal-Mart touts there prices are the lowest in town and people flock in and buy---meanwhile, all the competition around the area which cannot compete go away.  When Wal-Mart is the only guy around do you think their prices will continue to be the lowest?

Not to mention, their history of deceptive practices (check out: Radio Frequency Identification--which are tracking devices on all their products); the way they treat their employees and hiring illegals.  If you want to patronize a place like that go right ahead--they work hand-in-hand with Big Intrusive Government which I want no part of.

Heres a good article that brings up very good points as well:

Both Left and Right Are Wrong: Wal-Mart Not an Example of Laissez-faire Capitalism

http://reclaimdemocracy.org/walmart/2006/laissez_faire_not.php

[JonM]

I was listening to BBC world service the other week, and there was a report on how some organic food was being air freighted in from African countries.  The issue wasn't the quality of organic, they're trying to fill a niche and doing it well.  It's just that apparently a lot of organic food buyers don't like the idea of the carbon impact or whatever of shipping via air.  Of course, the practical thing one of the people suggested was putting it on the label.  Let the consumer decide.

[FTL_Ian]

Look the point I am bringing here is--Wal-Mart swoops into a town, buys things at mega quanities--the Mom and Pops cannot do.  Wal-Mart touts there prices are the lowest in town and people flock in and buy---meanwhile, all the competition around the area which cannot compete go away.

Boo-hoo.  Compete or die.

When Wal-Mart is the only guy around do you think their prices will continue to be the lowest?

Absurd fantasy.  Impossible without government diktat.

If you want to patronize a place like that go right ahead--they work hand-in-hand with Big Intrusive Government which I want no part of.

I certainly don't agree with all of Wal-Mart's policies, but it seems that like many companies they will use the guns of government when they can.  Many mom and pops like to use the guns of government to keep Wal-Mart out of their community.  Wal-Mart has the guns of government used against it quite often as a matter of fact.  As long as the power of government exists companies both large and small will seek to use it for their benefit.  It is this power that we need to be concerned with and opposed to, not Wal-Mart.

Heres a good article that brings up very good points as well:

Both Left and Right Are Wrong: Wal-Mart Not an Example of Laissez-faire Capitalism

http://reclaimdemocracy.org/walmart/2006/laissez_faire_not.php

I never claimed that Wal-Mart was laissez-faire.  No industry in America is laissez-faire, because there's a government around.  Here's an article for you.

The Case for Wal Mart
http://www.mises.org/story/1151