Posted on 06/27/2023 6:18:32 PM PDT by MtnClimber
Leave it up to The Atlantic to tell us we've got too many food choices in a grocery store, and for our own good, we ought to have less.
Leave it up to The Atlantic to tell us we've got too many food choices in a grocery store, and for our own good, we ought to have less.
That's pretty much what writer Adam Fleming wrote in his plaintive cry against too much choice at the grocery store.
On a recent afternoon, while running errands before I had to pick up my kids from school, I froze in the orange-juice aisle of a big-box store. So many different brands lay before me: Minute Maid, Simply, Tropicana, Dole, Florida’s Natural, Sunny D — not to mention the niche organic labels. And each brand offered juices with various configurations of pulp, vitamins, and concentrate. The sheer plenitude induced a kind of paralysis: Overwhelmed by the choices on offer, I simply could not make one. I left the store without any orange juice.
According to the American Time Use Survey, an average grocery trip takes more than 40 minutes. That may not sound like much, but the task can feel overwhelming and time-consuming in the midst of a busy day, especially because every trip consists of a plethora of decisions. Through this lens, what seems like a modern benefit — 100 different kinds of ice cream! Every imaginable chip flavor! Hot-dog buns sliced on the side or on the top! — can become a bit of a burden.
Cripes, of all the things to complain about.
We have this thing known as "Google," and we have subscriptions to publications such as Consumer Reports, which help consumers pare down to the best choices, if that's a big deal to him.
(Excerpt) Read more at americanthinker.com ...
Crazy is more of a term to describe sheer numbers and variety. It is sometimes such a specific and unique variety that makes we wonder exactly how many humans really have a taste for that specific thing.
So...that is my use of the word crazy...sort of like saying “Man, that building is like crazy big.”
Having a large variety of choice is both good and bad.
I think there should NOT be any kind of legislation - let the free market decide it.
Too little choice - like in communism. This sucks.
Too much choice - this can be overwhelming at first, but then you start to choose one and stick with it.
If we look at the example he gave, of orange juice - dozens of choices, but evidently each is making money, so there is a market for each.
For me in that case I would look for an OJ without added sugar and not made from concentrate. Maybe for added vitamins, but I’d check the ingredients. Then I’d look at the price.
So most of those would be knocked out for added sugar or being made from concentrate == for ME (someone else may want the added sugar, so good for them)
There is no business for the small local markets in suburbia. They can survive in New York (the bodegas), but when your customers need to drive to get to you (as opposed to walking), then they mostly make the choice to go to the big box stores where the prices are lower.
The author should go to Lidl/Aldi/Costcos — these discount supermarkets focus on one or two brands/varieties for each product.
So, the SKUs they have are may be 2000 to 3000 as opposed to Walmart who would have 100,000 SKUs.
The drawback is that Aldis won’t have his favorite brand/variety.
I think it was Ronald Reagan that told the story about somebody visiting the USSR and saw a long line at the bakery. The person said “Oh - they must have just baked the bread.”
The Russian person with him said “Perhaps, but probably not. The baker might have been able to get his hands on meat. Or shoes. Regardless, if you see a line in Moscow you get in it - as they have SOMETHING to sell.”
A friend of ours came home from a missionary trip to South America in the rural areas. She had a hard time going to Costco after living in poverty with them for a couple of years.
Too much cereal. Seriously? An entire aisle?
My wife told me to get some low-sodium chicken broth for the dog. IIRC there were 5 shelves, each about 25 feet long with a huge variety of broth. It was really unbelievable how many types and brands there were. Chicken broth!
My wife grew up in communist Poland and she told me how it was
1. Meat was once a week or once every two weeks. This despite Poland having tons of farm animals — most of the meat was shipped east
2. Cheese? There was One variety, wrapped in cheesepaper called “yellow cheese”. Today there are dozens
3. Bananas? Oranges? Once a year - for Christmas
4. Queues? To be expected — that’s where babcia’s (grandma’s) were useful: they waited in queues for hours as toilet paper may be available for once a week (and only a few rolls per person)
And what about my Weber’s Horseradish mustard?
“Heresy” by RUSH
“All around that dull gray world
Of ideology
People storm the marketplace
And buy up fantasy
The counter-revolution
At the counter of a store
People buy the things they want
And borrow for a little more...”
Interesting guy, the too many choices dude.
Can’t dig up a lot of info on him. He published a novella, has written a few articles here and there.
He won’t have to worry much longer because the people he votes for are working to have permanent empty shelves and permanent empty bellies.
I remember the late 1970s and early 1980s when the same thing was bandied about. Soon generic products became the rage and several grocery stores opened selling only generic products.
After a few years the generic stores closed down as they had so few shoppers and people returned to more choice stores.
.
Is Teacher B still allowed to snigger?
London.
I buy most of my groceries at Aldi’s.
In and out in no time.
Some of Aldi’s brands are really good.
That said Aldi’s has the worst salsa that I ever tasted.
I learned to make my own in a food processor using canned crushed tomato as the base.
You need to get out into the country.
It’s like people who dislike the French because of Paris. My Aunt used to tell me that ‘the French hate Americans’. But all she ever saw was Paris.
It’s like people saying that the U.S. is horrible, because all they’ve seen is NYC or LA.
Oh no...I enjoyed my trip to London. Very friendly people especially once they learn you’re from the Colonies.
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