know your fruits and vegetables
Me? Personally I enjoy Stop & Shop; sometimes I’ll make three or four orbits around the free cheese plates they put out nowadays just to stock up on little cubes of Cave Aged Gruyere. You can really taste the cave! But I know some people prefer Trader Joe’s or Whole Foods, both of which are featured in interesting articles well worth reading in Slate — and how often can that be said? The author of the Whole Foods article makes a particularly cogent point about organic fruit:
Let’s say you live in New York City and want to buy a pound of tomatoes in season. Say you can choose between conventionally grown New Jersey tomatoes or organic ones grown in Chile. Of course, the New Jersey tomatoes will be cheaper. They will also almost certainly be fresher, having traveled a fraction of the distance. But which is the more eco-conscious choice? In terms of energy savings, there’s no contest: Just think of the fossil fuels expended getting those organic tomatoes from Chile.
…here in western Massachusetts, I find patrons of both stores to be — for the most part — fairly insufferable; however, I have to give the edge to Whole Foods shoppers for sheer douchebaggery, as they tend to shop as if gliding down the aisles carried aloft on wispy clouds of pure, unfettered self-satisfaction.
~jeff