Grocery Booze

Let the Big Boys control our booze. These national giants need more of our money, since they’re only in the top 1%. With only two major grocers left, it’s time for full monopoly.

Deep pockets do wipe small contenders, and you now see food prices skyrocket. They’ve bought enough politicians over decades to subsidize mega-farms with low nutrition foods that fattened people, created food deserts and wiped most small farms too. Subsidized corn drives Mexicans north where factory farms can exploit them. Well-lobbied accounting rules mark a ‘reasonable’ profit for thousands of absorbed companies that only exist on paper and allow the very few to laugh all the way to the banks they own. That’s success.

Major grocers have led low wages. As they point out, people are so pressed and rushed, they begrudge crossing the parking lot to the liquor store. Let the big grocers squeeze us more. It’s like a hug.

While liquor distributors keep alcohol prices high, big grocery needs those profits. Limited grocery distribution has already sent our once healthy liquor store economy reeling rather than competing. So let’s enjoy a brief period of slightly lower prices, of craft beer and wine before they gain full control.

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Walt's Take: Tyson Heart of Many Food Problems - 2015:September:11

Correct me as needed, but the way I remember the story: In the '50s Old Man Tyson sat down with Ike to form a package that supported small farms and Food Stamps. So for so good. But the package included a definition of small farms that allowed Tyson to break his farms into 'small' farm pieces that each qualified this already giant Agra-business to gain subsidies for his thousands of 'small' farms. He bought an early main-frame computer to do the paperwork. Now this profit over people gang has grown worse. Tyson is the heart of the problems with our food system.

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Walt's Take: GMO Salmon - 2012:February:18

We the people want to know, and that is your mandate. Genetically modified salmon might prove as healthful as wild salmon, but labeling provides an added check for research. Let my tongue and body discern any differences and help guide a real market. Have you studied what will happen when, not if, these salmon enter the wild, and are you sure this growth hormone trait is recessive? Without GMO labels many salmon lovers will only buy foreign salmon, which will hurt all US suppliers, so canny GM salmon suppliers should ask for labels to prove their fish. Some states already plan to ban GMOs, as we the people may do. If GM salmon prove popular, they could take the pressure off of wild salmon stocks and allow them to thrive. If the US is to remain the strongest, we need the creativity that knowledge founds. Is honesty not the best policy for the people of the US? Label all GMOs.

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Walt's Take: Monsanto - 2012:February:12

Monsanto started to test bug resistant canola, found internal organ damage, shut down the test and proclaimed internal organ damage had never been proved. Monsanto breaks farmers when their pollen blows onto neighbor's fields. We need Change. Slam the Revolving Door. Insist that non-hybrid seed be available. To feed our people we need true small farms rather than paper small farms. Large farms are NOT more efficient but they are better subsidized. Food sits in grocery warehouses while about 8 trades, each with a 'reasonable profit,' are done electronically, and all feed the parent grocery chain owners, unreasonably.

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