This article at Good Times, Taking 'Local' Back, discusses another aspect of the topic of my earlier post about corporations abusing the term "local". It's not just local foods, but "buy local" campaigns in general that are finding very non-local corporations attempting to horn in on the action. Here's an excerpt:
Carrying local produce in their stores may promote environmental sustainability and even help local producers' pocketbooks, Heiman says, but it is still detrimental to a town's overall economic sustainability, since much of the profits generated are siphoned by Whole Foods' corporate headquarters in Austin, Texas. Furthermore, he says, with retailers like Wal-Mart using the word "local" as a promotional tool, and the London-based international bank, HSBC, touting itself as "the world's local bank," the Whole Foods campaign is only the tip of the iceberg.
The Wal-Mart in Gilroy—the nearest location with a produce department—does carry locally grown produce. However, the local growers, according to a representative from the produce department who asked not to be named, are a Dole location in Salinas and an Earthbound Farm location in San Juan Bautista. Dole's official website proclaims that it is "the world's largest producer and marketer of fresh fruit and vegetables," while Earthbound's site says it is "the nation's largest grower and shipper of organic produce."
"They're really trying to leverage the word, 'local,'" Heiman says. After all, he says, if a company claims to be "the world's largest" or "the nation's largest," how local can it really be?
Wal-Mart is local now? Wal-Mart?! Yeesh!
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