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Sysco Is Not "Ruining Restaurants"

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Re: Sysco Is Not "Ruining Restaurants"

#41

Post by nemomarx »

gruez wrote: post #40
dj_mc_merlin wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> If consumers actually want unique local flavors an non-frozen foods, and are willing to pay a premium for it, sysco would have never gotten a foothold. This is rooted in the assumption that capitalism provides what people want, rather than the worst that they will still accept. Endlessly cutting costs and then blaming the tastes of the consumer is why people put out anti-corporation pieces like the original video.…

>This is rooted in the assumption that capitalism provides what people want, rather than the worst that they will still accept. Can you really say people "want" more expensive/unique/non-frozen food when they choose the cheap one every time? It's like with flights. People complain about how shitty flying is, but most people are also sorting by price and buying the cheapest.

I think it's kind of a lemon market effect. I could pay 50 more for a flight but how do I know I'll have more leg room anyway? Maybe they'll just upcharge me. Same for restaurants if you're a traveler and don't have time to get familiar with the reputation.

You can go off marketing, but every place will try to present it's food as unique and well crafted even if it's premade.

Re: Sysco Is Not "Ruining Restaurants"

#42

Post by dsr_ »

nemomarx wrote: post #21
camel_Snake wrote: post #17

I didn't really follow the premise of the original video. Can you find identical food at various locations throughout the country? Yes. Are you required to eat this same food? No! You could likely order the things that local restaurant/pub does make in house, rather than go for the variety of items on the menu that are simply there to appease customers' fancies. Or you could go to a proper restaurant that makes the m…

What's a good way to tell which things are made in house and which are mass market? And I think Sysco acquiring other local suppliers does suggest that more menu items might be from them than were in the last at least

Ask.

Re: Sysco Is Not "Ruining Restaurants"

#45

Post by queenkjuul »

Well when it says the video "doesn't even mention US Foods or Performance Food Group" when i know for absolute fact the video in fact mentioned both, it's hard to take it seriously.

I also find it ridiculous to counter "they abuse animals in factory farms" with "well they also sell free range eggs if you're willing to pay". Okay so you admit that they are abusing animals in factory farms, though. The latter doesn't in any way excuse or absolve the former.

Re: Sysco Is Not "Ruining Restaurants"

#46

Post by queenkjuul »

gruez wrote: post #22
dj_mc_merlin wrote: post #8

I can't say I agree fully with the original video either but this is just blatantly trying to reframe the same facts presented in said video, but placing the blame on consumers rather than businesses, which is a really dirty tactic. > Sysco serves poor quality products. They also serve great quality products. Remember, if restaurants are buying poor quality products, it’s because it’s all you, the consumer, will pay…

>"feel bad about being poor" Getting rid of Sysco isn't going to magically make them able to afford pricier options either. >"feel bad about eating meat" Feeling bad about eating meat feels bad, but if meat production is ethically and environmentally questionable why should we let the consumers off the hook? Should we let gas guzzling SUV drivers off the hook as well for their choices because it might make them feel…

I actually don't really care about the SUV drivers themselves and care far more about the companies that stopped selling other types of car, because of government policies that incentivized them to do so.

Individuals can't reasonably be blamed for systemic problems.

Re: Sysco Is Not "Ruining Restaurants"

#47

Post by altairprime »

silexia wrote: post #44

Why is this flagged? It is a well written thoughtful article with a very good point.

Personally, I flagged it because:

- It opens with clear derision of its opponents’ main point as a “meme”. Not a good look out of the gate.

- It slips from talking about ‘them’ to talking about ‘you’, and ends with a direct challenge to the ego of those it disagrees with, suggesting their ability to provide, to “cook”, for their household is more at fault than Sysco.

- It is oblivious to the continuous decrease in effective household spending power and increase in household hours worked since Reagan, suggesting that, regardless of the author’s intent, that the resulting post is either a corporate shill or a capitalism evangelism piece.

- It uses a variety of conversational warfare tactics of argumentation that I don’t view as acceptable for submissions to HN. Rhetorical styles are not exempt from judgment, etc. (This alone would be sufficient cause for me to consider flagging it.)

Re: Sysco Is Not "Ruining Restaurants"

#48

Post by nkurz »

altairprime wrote: post #47
silexia wrote: post #44

Why is this flagged? It is a well written thoughtful article with a very good point.

Personally, I flagged it because: - It opens with clear derision of its opponents’ main point as a “meme”. Not a good look out of the gate. - It slips from talking about ‘them’ to talking about ‘you’, and ends with a direct challenge to the ego of those it disagrees with, suggesting their ability to provide, to “cook”, for their household is more at fault than Sysco. - It is oblivious to the continuous decrease in ef…

I disagree, and think it's usually better to discuss articles like this than to flag them, but I appreciate your excellent explanation. Flagged or not, your explanation would have been a great standalone comment on the article.

Re: Sysco Is Not "Ruining Restaurants"

#49

Post by Freedom2 »

mcphage wrote: post #38
techblueberry wrote: post #36

I don’t love this argument and I think it comes down to - and maybe this is an elitist anti-populist argument or whatever but, like consequentially - one could say about Walmart that Walmart didn’t destroy small-town American main streets, consumer preferences did. And of course, this is loosely speaking true, but this is tangentially similar to “Fentanyl didn’t ruin small-town America, consumer preferences did.” Lik…

> one could say about Walmart that Walmart didn’t destroy small-town American main streets, consumer preferences did Except that’s not even true—Walmart doesn’t merely sell products, it does plenty of anticompetitive tactics itself, like opening a store in a town, waiting until smaller retailers nearby go out of business, then close that Walmart and open a new one in the next town over. People in the first town have…

Most American small towns lean libertarian and espouse rugged individualism - wouldn't they have just opened a competing business with competitive prices instead? Or did they forget how?

Re: Sysco Is Not "Ruining Restaurants"

#50

Post by mcphage »

Freedom2 wrote: post #49
mcphage wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> one could say about Walmart that Walmart didn’t destroy small-town American main streets, consumer preferences did Except that’s not even true—Walmart doesn’t merely sell products, it does plenty of anticompetitive tactics itself, like opening a store in a town, waiting until smaller retailers nearby go out of business, then close that Walmart and open a new one in the next town over. People in the first town have…

Most American small towns lean libertarian and espouse rugged individualism - wouldn't they have just opened a competing business with competitive prices instead? Or did they forget how?

Maybe they forgot, maybe the banks wouldn’t extend them loans to open the stores.
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