There was a story (I think they wrote a book?) about a family's attempt to live "China free" for a year and how difficult it was. If I remember correctly there were some items they couldn't find made outside of China.
As for buying corn from local farmers, I think that may be easier (and cheaper) than buying other items locally. I think the government heavily subsidizes corn farmers in this country which leads to overproduction and the use of corn to make things like high fructose corn syrup (and all of the problems associated with using that vs. good old fashioned sugar) and also to us being dependent on imports for food that might have otherwise been grown here.
I don't have strong feelings about Walmart either way. I avoid going there simply because it's usually crowded and the lines are long. I do go there if I need storage things or school supplies. When my kids were little I bought diapers, wipes and other baby items there as well.
I don't fault them, we as a country have made our bed. We want more for less and they are just giving us what we want. We spend less than 10% of our disposable income on food. In the 30's it was like 25-30% As my dad says, you pay or you pay LOL Yes, we now have cheap food, but it has come at a price.
Walmart is giving us exactly what we want. I just saw on one of the news shows that Walmart has started to carry organic milk. Why? Consumers wanted it and they are smart enough to give us what we want. Imagine the impact of a company as large as Walmart selling organic milk?
I was just at a dairy workshop with my kids and learned for the first time that cows are sometimes fed all kinds of crap. One guy was bragging (seriously) about how he got reject stuff from Nabisco and other places and the cows were eating cookies, crackers, donuts that weren't good enough to sell. I don't let my kids eat Oreos because of all the crap that in them that I can't pronounce but they drink milk that comes from cows that have had God knows what to eat.
If Food, Inc is still on cable it was a great movie and really changed the way I look at food. I don't need organic milk but I do want milk from cows that are grass fed and that are given antibiotics only after a natural remedy has failed. The problem is, you pay for that and honestly I still gripe under my breath about how expensive that milk is
As for buying corn from local farmers, I think that may be easier (and cheaper) than buying other items locally. I think the government heavily subsidizes corn farmers in this country which leads to overproduction and the use of corn to make things like high fructose corn syrup (and all of the problems associated with using that vs. good old fashioned sugar) and also to us being dependent on imports for food that might have otherwise been grown here.
I don't have strong feelings about Walmart either way. I avoid going there simply because it's usually crowded and the lines are long. I do go there if I need storage things or school supplies. When my kids were little I bought diapers, wipes and other baby items there as well.
I don't fault them, we as a country have made our bed. We want more for less and they are just giving us what we want. We spend less than 10% of our disposable income on food. In the 30's it was like 25-30% As my dad says, you pay or you pay LOL Yes, we now have cheap food, but it has come at a price.
Walmart is giving us exactly what we want. I just saw on one of the news shows that Walmart has started to carry organic milk. Why? Consumers wanted it and they are smart enough to give us what we want. Imagine the impact of a company as large as Walmart selling organic milk?
I was just at a dairy workshop with my kids and learned for the first time that cows are sometimes fed all kinds of crap. One guy was bragging (seriously) about how he got reject stuff from Nabisco and other places and the cows were eating cookies, crackers, donuts that weren't good enough to sell. I don't let my kids eat Oreos because of all the crap that in them that I can't pronounce but they drink milk that comes from cows that have had God knows what to eat.
If Food, Inc is still on cable it was a great movie and really changed the way I look at food. I don't need organic milk but I do want milk from cows that are grass fed and that are given antibiotics only after a natural remedy has failed. The problem is, you pay for that and honestly I still gripe under my breath about how expensive that milk is
