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Archive for February 11th, 2008
Broccoli, Wal-Mart, and Religious Nuts
February 11th, 2008 | 
Author: Welcome to Monday Musings! For those who are new to the site, I like to share random thoughts on Mondays. Today’s thoughts are totally disconnected from each other.
I almost forgot about my promise from a few weeks ago to write about Wal-Mart until… I was cooking broccoli. Broccoli? Yep. I was innocently cooking half a bag of frozen Great Value (Wal-Mart brand) broccoli when I noticed a word on the bag. The word was almost hidden, meant to be unseen. But there it was in the bottom corner. “China” – my broccoli came from China?!?!? Now, I understand the need for some manufacturing and agriculture growing to be done overseas, but am I really supposed to believe that there are no broccoli farmers in the United States that Wal-Mart could invest in? I realize that growing broccoli is somewhat difficult at times, and it does have a very short growing season depending on what area of the country it is. I also realize that quite a bit of the broccoli we consume is grown in South American countries. But China?
Of course, the possibility exists that the broccoli was grown in one of those South American countries, shipped to China, processed, frozen, packaged, and shipped to your friendly local Wal-Mart store. This, however, leads to the next question – why not ship it from the South American country to the United States for processing and packaging? Is this a feasible option? Yes, because I purchased a bag of Birds Eye broccoli today that very clearly states “Product of USA.” To me, that statement also says that the broccoli was grown here, but I could be wrong.
What really irks me is the Wal-Mart television commercials that claim to have saved American families thousands of dollars a year. Trust me, from personal experience, they are not saving you a dime. Is Wal-Mart really contributing to the American economy by selling hundreds, possibly thousands, of products from China? Wouldn’t it be nice to see a commercial that says, “We supported the American farmer (or manufacturer) by purchasing millions of dollars of ….”? Or maybe is should be “We paid Chinese workers millions of dollars to make these products for you, so we could save your family $2000 a year.” Wal-Mart wants you to believe that the products simply aren’t made in the USA anymore. If you believe that fallacy, check out a couple of television shows – Dirty Jobs, How It’s Made, John R’s Made in America, Some Assembly Required.
I almost forgot about my promise from a few weeks ago to write about Wal-Mart until… I was cooking broccoli. Broccoli? Yep. I was innocently cooking half a bag of frozen Great Value (Wal-Mart brand) broccoli when I noticed a word on the bag. The word was almost hidden, meant to be unseen. But there it was in the bottom corner. “China” – my broccoli came from China?!?!? Now, I understand the need for some manufacturing and agriculture growing to be done overseas, but am I really supposed to believe that there are no broccoli farmers in the United States that Wal-Mart could invest in? I realize that growing broccoli is somewhat difficult at times, and it does have a very short growing season depending on what area of the country it is. I also realize that quite a bit of the broccoli we consume is grown in South American countries. But China?
Of course, the possibility exists that the broccoli was grown in one of those South American countries, shipped to China, processed, frozen, packaged, and shipped to your friendly local Wal-Mart store. This, however, leads to the next question – why not ship it from the South American country to the United States for processing and packaging? Is this a feasible option? Yes, because I purchased a bag of Birds Eye broccoli today that very clearly states “Product of USA.” To me, that statement also says that the broccoli was grown here, but I could be wrong.
What really irks me is the Wal-Mart television commercials that claim to have saved American families thousands of dollars a year. Trust me, from personal experience, they are not saving you a dime. Is Wal-Mart really contributing to the American economy by selling hundreds, possibly thousands, of products from China? Wouldn’t it be nice to see a commercial that says, “We supported the American farmer (or manufacturer) by purchasing millions of dollars of ….”? Or maybe is should be “We paid Chinese workers millions of dollars to make these products for you, so we could save your family $2000 a year.” Wal-Mart wants you to believe that the products simply aren’t made in the USA anymore. If you believe that fallacy, check out a couple of television shows – Dirty Jobs, How It’s Made, John R’s Made in America, Some Assembly Required.
***
We frequently pass a church sign with witty sayings on it. Today’s saying made me chuckle. Hope you enjoy it too…
“God is interested in spiritual fruit, not religious nuts.”
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