Skip to main content

Traitor Joe's?

I like the idea of Trader Joe's stores and have patronized one in Northville a few times, but after shopping there today I don't think I'll be visiting much anymore. Here's the problem--outside of wines--no local products. How hard is it to stock MICHIGAN apples in October? Better yet how hard is it to stock local apple cider? There was no local produce, no local meat, no local dairy, nothing except the wine. I'm trying to make this a blog with as few F-bombs as possible, but this is testing my limits. If they don't want to support local/regional farmers then I don't really want to support them. They are sending money outside of a state that badly needs income. What about you? Do you even care that you eat South African oranges, Chilean apples, and New Zealand lamb?
Labels:

Comments

Anonymous said…
I was struck by that at first but you have to get out of the catch all grocery store mode of Farmer Jacks to appreciate this store. We shop at a local fruit market, a local health food store, a local grocery store, and Trader Joes. Trader Joes does a good job of providing good quality healthy food at a fair price. They can do this because they aren't all things to all people. Their stores are small and a good quick shopping trip mid week for us.
November 7, 2007 at 12:36 PM
Anonymous said…
There... now I posted to your blog. Am I cool yet?
November 7, 2007 at 12:37 PM
Scot said…
You're moving in the right direction. I'm not complaining that Trader Joe's isn't Kroger or Meijer or MegaMart, my complaint is that they don't offer locally grown food. Yes, they do offer high quality organic and conventional choices, but Michigan's second biggest industry is agriculture. Why can't they contract with local farmers and/or their distributors to save some food miles? Honestly, how hard can it be to offer Michigan apples in the fall and cherries in the spring, blueberries in the summer, etc.?
November 7, 2007 at 7:34 PM
Anarchrist said…
You shop at a niche store that specializes in importing offbeat items and then complain that there are no local items on the shelves. Doesn't sound like a reasonable complaint. Honestly, how hard can it be to buy Michigan apples in the Fall and cherries in the Spring at the tens of thousands of grocery stores, fruit markets, farmers markets, roadside stands, apple orchards, etc. that stock them?
December 9, 2007 at 1:00 AM
Scot said…
Well, anarchrist, I didn't realize apples were "offbeat items". And of the many stores available, surprisingly it is much easier to buy Washington apples than Michigan apples. If I were looking for a rare species of morrel (how is that spelled?) found only in Michigan, then OK, perhaps a national chain wouldn't have them, but a common product such as an apple should be found. And it would make more economic sense (perhaps not from the GIANT CHAIN'S perspective)but from a local perspective to stock local products. Why is wanting a store that is located in my state to sell a product produced by my state such an unreasonable request? I think you're wrong, but I do appreciate the comment. Really, I do.
December 31, 2007 at 10:45 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Worth Quoting

There are but three social arrangements which can replace Capitalism: Slavery, Socialism, and Property.                                                                                                 --Hilaire Belloc                                                   ...
8 comments
Read more

Independent Women?

      During breakfast today I was reading an excerpt from a play in The New York Times Magazine (I know, I was a day behind and read Saturday's edition yesterday) entitled Rust .  The play, written by a professor at Grand Valley State University, here in Michigan, is a nonfiction drama about the closing of a GM plant in Wyoming, MI.  The play itself sounds interesting and I enjoyed the excerpt, but what caught my eye was something a character said.  The character is "Academic" and plays a historian and guide to the playwright, also a character.  He is explaining the rise of the automobile factories and the effect of the car on American culture.  He says, "Women became independent, they go from producers of food and clothing to consumers of food and clothing."  This was meant as an earnest, praiseworthy point.     I would counter with "How far we've fallen."  To say that a woman (or a man) is independent because she has m...
6 comments
Read more

Mystery Meat indeed!

During my grocery shopping today I was asked to pick up some hot dogs for some meal or other. Now I am not an aficianado of the 'ot dog, but will usually have a corn dog or BBQed version of one or two during the summer. If my children like them, so be it. The trouble came when trying to find a package that didn't arrive from a chemistry lab. Nitrates and nitrites, sugars (including HFCS), the preservative sodium benzoate, and other fun substances littered every package I picked up. Even Hebrew National which "Answers to a Higher Standard" was doped. Apparently Kosher doesn't mean it can't be injected with a chemical cocktail. So-called "Natural Casings" were prominently displayed to catch my eye. As if sheep or pig intestine somehow offsets Agricorps tinkering. I ended up buying the brand "sold at Tiger Stadium" not because it was chemical-free, Hell no! It was merely the brand with the least additives. Why does a hot dog need su...
3 comments
Read more