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These 10 companies control all foods you buy

businessinsider.nl

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Re: These 10 companies control all foods you buy

#11

Post by spodek »

samcheng wrote: post #4

If you can, please buy whole (not processed) foods at a farmers' market instead of processed foods from these mega corporations. - You end up eating a much wider variety of food, depending on what is in season. - You end up eating delicious foods that may not travel well, such as amazing heirloom strawberry and tomato varieties during the summer. - You cut out the middleman, and support local businesses instead of mu…

Also join a CSA (here's a guide https://www.localharvest.org).

I've bought nearly all my food for a few years from my CSAs, farmers markets, and food co-op. Nothing from any of the companies listed in the article. Much of the food I know the farmers and vendors.

As a side effect, the last time I emptied my garbage was Christmas 2019. I buy almost nothing packaged. I calculated my annual food expenses and it's a bit under the national average, but that includes feeding at least 50 other meals since CSAs provide so much food.

For people who don't have access, I've led workshops to people in food deserts, but the most effective way to improve access for others is to support CSAs, farmers markets, and food co-ops yourself.

If your area lacks them, it takes effort, but my family helped form a food co-op when I was young and it has become a cornerstone of the community. Every community benefits from healthy, delicious food.

Re: These 10 companies control all foods you buy

#13

Post by ars »

samcheng wrote: post #4

If you can, please buy whole (not processed) foods at a farmers' market instead of processed foods from these mega corporations. - You end up eating a much wider variety of food, depending on what is in season. - You end up eating delicious foods that may not travel well, such as amazing heirloom strawberry and tomato varieties during the summer. - You cut out the middleman, and support local businesses instead of mu…

Just be aware you will be (indirectly) emitting more CO2, and using more pesticides and fertilizer by buying from Farmers Markets. So you have to decide what's more important to you. (Small farms are less efficient, less efficient means uses more energy and other inputs.)

There is a middle ground between the "processed foods from these mega corporations" (which I agree you should not buy) and farmers markets though: Just buy regular produce from a grocery store, and cook normal food.

Re: These 10 companies control all foods you buy

#14

Post by joveian »

walrus01 wrote: post #5

a somewhat better explanation in diagram form, for the relationship between consumer-known brand names, and their owners: https://www.oxfamamerica.org/explore/stories/these-10-compan... https://s3.amazonaws.com/oxfam-us/www/static/media/files/Beh...

Thanks, "a lot of the food" may be true for many people, "all the food" seems unlikely to be true for anyone. I looked through the image and the only brand I might have purchased a few times in the past five years is Muir Glen. Maybe a half dozen I might have purchased a few times in the past decade. It really isn't difficult to avoid them.

Re: These 10 companies control all foods you buy

#17

Post by readflaggedcomm »

ars wrote: post #13
samcheng wrote: post #4

If you can, please buy whole (not processed) foods at a farmers' market instead of processed foods from these mega corporations. - You end up eating a much wider variety of food, depending on what is in season. - You end up eating delicious foods that may not travel well, such as amazing heirloom strawberry and tomato varieties during the summer. - You cut out the middleman, and support local businesses instead of mu…

Just be aware you will be (indirectly) emitting more CO2, and using more pesticides and fertilizer by buying from Farmers Markets. So you have to decide what's more important to you. (Small farms are less efficient, less efficient means uses more energy and other inputs.) There is a middle ground between the "processed foods from these mega corporations" (which I agree you should not buy) and farmers markets though:…

Megacorporate agriculture industry can save the climate? No wonder their lobbyists are so beloved.

Re: These 10 companies control all foods you buy

#18

Post by 11thEarlOfMar »

The combined revenue of these 10 is ~$393 Billion in 2015. The US spent $1.7 Trillion on food & beverages in 2018[0]. That's 23% of just the US market, and these are international brands, yes? Whoever said click bait was, well... we're talking about BI after all.

[0] https://www.fb.org/market-intel/u.s.-food-expenditures-at-ho...

Re: These 10 companies control all foods you buy

#19

Post by madvoid »

ars wrote: post #13
samcheng wrote: post #4

If you can, please buy whole (not processed) foods at a farmers' market instead of processed foods from these mega corporations. - You end up eating a much wider variety of food, depending on what is in season. - You end up eating delicious foods that may not travel well, such as amazing heirloom strawberry and tomato varieties during the summer. - You cut out the middleman, and support local businesses instead of mu…

Just be aware you will be (indirectly) emitting more CO2, and using more pesticides and fertilizer by buying from Farmers Markets. So you have to decide what's more important to you. (Small farms are less efficient, less efficient means uses more energy and other inputs.) There is a middle ground between the "processed foods from these mega corporations" (which I agree you should not buy) and farmers markets though:…

I actually think what you eat is the dominating factor in food CO2 production: https://ourworldindata.org/uploads/2020/02/Environmental-imp... Transport and processing are fairly minor components overall for all foods. The claim about pesticides and fertilizers I know nothing about though.

Re: These 10 companies control all foods you buy

#20

Post by samcheng »

ars wrote: post #13
samcheng wrote: post #4

If you can, please buy whole (not processed) foods at a farmers' market instead of processed foods from these mega corporations. - You end up eating a much wider variety of food, depending on what is in season. - You end up eating delicious foods that may not travel well, such as amazing heirloom strawberry and tomato varieties during the summer. - You cut out the middleman, and support local businesses instead of mu…

Just be aware you will be (indirectly) emitting more CO2, and using more pesticides and fertilizer by buying from Farmers Markets. So you have to decide what's more important to you. (Small farms are less efficient, less efficient means uses more energy and other inputs.) There is a middle ground between the "processed foods from these mega corporations" (which I agree you should not buy) and farmers markets though:…

You should buy organic at the farmers' market AND the supermarket, but that's a different topic.

It's definitely not clear to me that farmers' markets are worse for the environment - in many cases, it's the same farmer looking for a direct-to-consumer outlet for some of their product.

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