From reader Mira Geffner comes a shot of the Nature Mart on Hillhurst Avenue in the Los Feliz neighborhood of Los Angeles. That’s my local health food store.
I’ve got some big problems with organic fruit in general – you can learn more in my book – but let’s talk about why a price that’s nutty-high is a special problem.
First, a comparison. Right across the street from the Nature Mart, the Albertson’s supermarket sells Dole organics for 99 cents a pound. About a mile away, Trader Joe’s sells organic fruit for even less.
I don’t know what label is on the Nature Mart organics, but you can be assured that there’s no single brand of banana it can possibly stock that’s different from any other. Most likely it sells Dole and Chiquita, depending on what its supplier has at a particular time. It doesn’t matter. Conventional, Fair Trade, or organic, Dole, Chiquita, or a smaller brand, if you sell bananas the way they are sold today – if you sell the bananas being sold today – you’re selling environmental damage and you’re selling a century of injustice.
I’m not out to slag Nature Mart. But small stores – and big chains that claim to care, as well – need to begin a learning process that shows exactly where their complicity lies. As I mentioned in my earlier post on Fair Trade, I’ll be explaining that over the next few weeks (and I’ll be contacting Nature Mart with some hopefully constructive information.)
thanks, Mira!
