One of the biggest negatives (and there are many) to Whole Foods’ monopolization of natural food in the United States is their decision to not sell foods in bulk.* Overuse of packaging in food products has been one of the major problems with food quality in this country, and it also has significant ramifications for health and nutrition and, of course, environmental degradation.
Buying food in bulk, though certainly not a silver bullet, reduces one’s carbon footprint by reducing the use of harmful plastics and scarce tree resources and encourages the purchase and consumption of healthy amounts of calories. You buy just what you need, not what the manufacturer decides is the most profit-efficient amount to sell you.
As I was growing up, part of the natural food store experience was perusing the bulk bins. It was easy, economical and actually even fun to shop that way. Rainbow Grocery in San Francisco has wonderful bulk food sections. In my neighborhood of Greenpoint, Brooklyn, The Garden and Tops both have meager bulk sections… but I still try to buy whatever I can from there, since even a tiny bulk section is a rarity in New York City.
On a related note, we recently picked up some mind-blowing maple syrup from Green Wind Farm in Vermont (grade B of course), and it comes packaged in a mason jar, which encourages reuse of containers and the purchase of bulk food. Great idea! Now we need soymilk in traditional, returnable milk bottles.
*Other than some meats and fresh vegetables which are not pre-packaged at WF. Trader Joe’s, on the other hand, only sells pre-packaged fresh vegetables and should be condemned for it.
1 comment:
Hey Rob, I finally checked out your blog and it's great! I want to see more. I will never forget the flour hockey puck you made when we lived together in Santa Cruz. I don't think you had any food in the house and thought that mixing flour, yeast, and water would make a meal. That was hilarious and it seems you have come a long way. :) I can't wait to read more!
xo, Kristi
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