Grist | Topics | 9 Results

RESULTS		Results 1 – 9 of 9
Headline	Author	Published	Section
Wal-Mart's organic bust And another way forward.	Tom Philpott	12 Apr 2007	Gristmill
On April Fool's Day, Grist ran a fake bit on how Wal-Mart had 'pulled the plug' on much-ballyhooed green initiatives, including its plan to to become the nation's number-one organic grocer. 'In the end, our customers value low prices more than sustainability, and at Wal-Mart, we listen to our customers,' Wal-Mart's CEO (fictionally) said. As so often happens these days, fact may be leaping ahead of satire. BusinessWeek reported today that the retail behemoth ...
Topics: business, food, greenwashing, organic food, Wal-Mart (all these topics)

McKibben on 'green' Wal-Mart Wal-Mart may sell organic, but it also thrives on ruined downtowns and long freight hauls.	Tom Philpott	21 Nov 2006	Gristmill
I've always been a bit appalled by the polite applause with which some enviros greet Wal-Mart's 'green' initiatives. Seems to me that the only way the company could really 'go green' would be to stop selling cheap plastic crap shipped in from halfway around the world in vast suburban megastores. In other words, completely change it's business model -- not, say, adopt 'green' building techniques for its appalling superstores, or haul mass-produced 'organic' food from Cal ...
Topics: Bill McKibben, business, food, greening biz operations, greenish companies, organic food, Wal-Mart (all these topics)

Wal-Mart accused of mislabeling items as organic Watchdog group files complaint with USDA	Lisa Hymas	15 Nov 2006	Gristmill
Wal-Mart has been mislabeling non-organic food items as organic, charges the Cornucopia Institute in a complaint filed with the USDA. Reports the AP: Mark Kastel, co-director of the nonprofit institute, said he and other researchers visited at least a dozen Wal-Mart stores in four states throughout the Midwest to see how organic items were selling. But they found problems, he said, such as dairy coolers stocked with regular yogurt -- by brands that also make organic var ...
Topics: food, organic food, Wal-Mart (all these topics)

Up Against the Wal-Mart Big buyers make organic farmers feel smaller than ever	Tom Philpott	23 Aug 2006	Victual Reality
With Whole Foods continuing to dazzle Wall Street with its growth and Wal-Mart vowing to become the world's No. 1 organic grocer, now would seem to be a wonderful time to be an organic farmer -- particularly one with enough acreage to supply the corporate giants. According to classical economics, when demand jumps, supply should follow, pulled up by the good's rising price. But a funny ...
Topics: agriculture, business, California, food, organic food, Victual Reality, Wal-Mart (all these topics)

California Connected on organic and Wal-Mart	David Roberts	10 Jul 2006	Gristmill
A nifty PBS show called California Connected recently did a special on organic food, focusing on Wal-Mart's decision to get into the organic-food market. It's unusually substantive and thoughtful (at least relative to cable tv fare). Check it out.
Topics: business, food, organic food, Wal-Mart (all these topics)

Beyond organic: A new label	David Roberts	15 May 2006	Gristmill
If you haven't been following the discussion under this post about Wal-Mart selling organic food, I recommend you catch up. It's quite insightful, with a range of views well-expressed. One note of consensus seems to be this: "Organic," at least as denoted by the USDA label, falls well short of genuinely sustainable agriculture. Tom is better qualified than I to give a comprehensive description of the latter, but one important element is locality. Food that ...
Topics: agriculture, food, local food, organic food, Wal-Mart (all these topics)

How to make Wal-Mart's organic push not matter An innovative Alabama CSA shows the way forward.	Tom Philpott	15 May 2006	Gristmill
When Wal-Mart announced plans to become the world's biggest purveyor of organically grown food last week, the polite applause from the enviro gallery grated on my ears. (Here's a spirited recent debate on Gristmill.) Even the New York Times editorial page could see through this move. While some greens cooed at at Wal-Mart's magnamity, the Grey Lady unleashed an appropriately cynical analysis: There is no chance that Wal-Mart will be buying from small, local organic fa ...
Topics: agriculture, food, industrial ag, organic food, sustainable ag, Wal-Mart (all these topics)

Wal-mart's organic bomb	Kif Scheuer	12 May 2006	Gristmill
Melanie Warner at the NYT reports today that Wal-Mart is about to dramatically increase its organic food offerings. In very understated fashion, she says, 'Wal-Mart's interest is expected to change organic food production in substantial ways.' Um, yeah, it sure will. Wal-Mart's plan is to sell organics ~10% over the price of non-organics -- a much closer premium than you can get elsewhere. It's also getting brands like Pepsi, Rice Krispies, and Kraft Mac 'n' Cheese in th ...
Topics: business, food, organic food, Wal-Mart (all these topics)

Always Low Vices ... Well, Sometimes Wal-Mart to double organic food selection		09 Mar 2006	Daily Grist
Always Low Vices ... Well, Sometimes Wal-Mart to double organic food selection In the next few weeks, Wal-Mart plans to double its offering of organic foods, expanding its produce and dairy selections and offering dry goods as well. Organic food is one of the fastest-growing segments in the grocery biz, and Wal-Mart is one of many large retailers hoping to capitalize on the trend. ...
Topics: commercial and industry organizations, food, news, organic food, Wal-Mart (all these topics)

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