I agree with Andy's observation. Walmart is tied to growth capitalism. Every year they must outperform their previous year's revenue for their shareholders. We need community stakeholders, not out-of-town shareholders.
-- Katie Q-J Andy Goodell wrote: > "Walmart could add stability to the market by adding some coordination > to production, so I don't see their involvement as being necessarily bad." > > Possibly, but when Farm A increases their production to meet Walmarts > needs to a point where without this huge buyer they collapse, and then > Farm B tells Walmart they can sell the same item for 3 cents cheaper, do > we trust Walmart to keep buying from Farm A or just ditch them for the > cheaper Farm B? I wouldn't trust Walmart to help stability... > > -Andy > > Joel and Sarah Gagnon wrote: > >> Interesting questions. >> >> Wegman's found that in order to source locally-produced produce, they had >> to abandon their centralized purchasing model and let each store develop >> relationships with farmers in their immediate area. If Walmart wants to do >> local, they will confront the same need. One of the things that drove local >> farmers out of production in the first place was the centralized buying of >> the supermarkets as they came to dominate the food scene. Any move toward >> relocalization is likely to expand opportunities for local producers. >> Walmart could add stability to the market by adding some coordination to >> production, so I don't see their involvement as being necessarily bad. >> Their lowest possible cost model, though, will no doubt create downward >> pressure on prices, which is not a good thing for local producers. The only >> way to get prices down is by scaling up production and substituting >> machinery for hand labor (or using cheap imported labor). >> >> It will be quite some time (if ever) before human labor can compete with >> machines. The impediment to using more machines is the capital cost, which >> do not make sense for small producers. They would make sense of purchased >> and used cooperatively, though, so this too is an area where collaboration >> would be sensible. It might even be essential to maintain viability if >> competition intensifies, as some of you appear to believe will be the case >> and we transition to higher energy costs. >> >> At some point, energy costs will be high enough that labor will compete >> more effectively with machines. As that happens, production costs will >> increase, even with markedly lower average wages in the face of declining >> jobs in other sectors. Food costs will rise, in line with the >> labor-intensive "boutique" production of today. That will put the squeeze >> on many lower income people to feed themselves and their families. The way >> to reduce costs for them will be the traditional one of substituting their >> labor for money by growing food themselves or bartering their labor for food. >> >> We may see a temporary reversal of the trend toward increasing energy >> prices as the world slips into a protracted recession, reducing energy >> demand. I expect a resumption of the upward march of prices with in a few >> years, though, and I hope we can take this respite and use it to position >> ourselves for the future. Investments in collaboration to lower costs in >> the short run will pay dividends in the long run as well. >> >> Joel >> >> At 10:33 PM 10/8/08 -0400, you wrote: >> >>> At 03:43 PM 10/8/2008 -0400, you wrote: >>> >>>> [Karl North:] >>>> >>>> | These initiatives are all good food for thought, but we need to >>>> | bear in mind that Vermont is a special case. >>>> >>>> Yes, but so is Tompkins County. >>>> >>> Jon--I agree with your suggestion that we are positioned to be successful >>> with the "Vermont model". >>> >>> ...part deleted... >>> >>> >>>> So the question is whether a local farm cooperative of the kind described >>>> in the article can hang on until the cost of fuel finally levels >>>> the playing field by making Wal-Mart food more expensive than >>>> locally produced food. >>>> >>> And I wonder what this time framework will be? The problem is that >>> Wal-Mart has an economy of scale not seen locally. However, things are >>> going to change with the local Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart wants to expand by >>> 40,000 sq. ft. to become a Super Store, meaning that they would add a >>> Wegmans-scale supermarket to the existing >>> Everyhing-You-Could-Ever-Want-That-Is-Made-In-China store. (I know this as >>> I am on the City of Ithaca Conservation Advisory Council and we are >>> currently reviewing the environmental impacts of such an >>> expansion.) Would they get on the local and organic band wagon? And if >>> they did, how would this affect the truck farm industry in the Central >>> Finger Lakes? GreenStar, Wegmans, Tops, Ludgate's and a host of other >>> outlets are already involved in promoting local and organic or at least >>> "natural" foods, so perhaps the expanded Wal-Mart would give a boost to the >>> local food economy... assuming that anyone would want to sell to >>> Wal-Mart? Lots of stuff going on. Tom >>> >>> ****************************************** >>> Tom Shelley >>> 118 E. Court St. >>> Ithaca, NY 14850 >>> 607 342-0864 >>> [EMAIL PROTECTED] >>> >>> Compost Educator and Sustainability Scion* >>> >>> What Does Zero Waste Mean? >>> "If it cant be reduced, reused, repaired, rebuilt, refurbished, refinished, >>> resold, recycled, or composted, then it should be restricted, redesigned, >>> or removed from production." >>> Berkeley Zero Waste Resolution >>> See http://www.cityofberkeley.info/council8/newsletter.pdf >>> >>> *noun: a shoot or bud of a plant, esp. one for planting or grafting >>> _______________________________________________ >>> For more information about sustainability in the Tompkins County area, >>> please visit: http://www.sustainabletompkins.org/ >>> >>> RSS, archives, subscription & listserv information for: >>> [email protected] >>> http://lists.mutualaid.org/mailman/listinfo/sustainabletompkins >>> free hosting by http://www.mutualaid.org >>> >> _______________________________________________ >> For more information about sustainability in the Tompkins County area, >> please visit: http://www.sustainabletompkins.org/ >> >> RSS, archives, subscription & listserv information for: >> [email protected] >> http://lists.mutualaid.org/mailman/listinfo/sustainabletompkins >> free hosting by http://www.mutualaid.org >> >> >> >> > > -- _______________________________________________ For more information about sustainability in the Tompkins County area, please visit: http://www.sustainabletompkins.org/ RSS, archives, subscription & listserv information for: [email protected] http://lists.mutualaid.org/mailman/listinfo/sustainabletompkins free hosting by http://www.mutualaid.org
