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Food & Water Watch works to ensure the food, water and
sh we consume is sofe, occessible ond susIoinoble. So we
con oll en|oy ond IrusI in whoI we eoI ond drink, we help
people Ioke chorge of where Iheir food comes from, keep
cleon, offordoble, public Iop woIer owing freely Io our
homes, proIecI Ihe environmenIol quoliIy of oceons, force
governmenI Io do iIs |ob proIecIing ciIizens, ond educoIe
obouI Ihe imporIonce of keeping shored resources under
public conIrol.
Food & Water Watch
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Copyright February 2012 by Food & Water Watch.
All righIs reserved.
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Why Walmart Cant Fix the Food System 1
Walmart is the biggest company in the United States
and the countrys largest food retailer.
1
Walmart is
so big that it has an unprecedented amount of power
in all sectors of the economy. Food is no exception.
When there is one player this large connecting food
producers and food consumers, consumers are no
longer the food industrys customers Walmart is.
And the saying the customer is always right has
never been more appropriate.
Walmart is such a large customer that even large food
processors cannot refuse any demands that Walmart
makes upon them. The companys model is based on
practices that drive consolidation; take money away
from farmers, workers and processors; and drive
agriculture to get more industrialized.
Walmarts business model is part of the problem,
which means the company is not going to be a mean-
ingful part of the solution to problems in the food
supply. Instead of succumbing to Walmarts public
relations oensive and pressure to be allowed in new
urban areas, all levels of government should look for
other solutions to increase communities access to
healthy food.
L S
2 Food & Water Watch
I
What started as a single discount store in Rogers,
Arkansas, in 1962
2
has over the last 50 years morphed
into the largest retailer in the world.
3
Walmart is
the biggest company in the United States and the
countrys largest food retailer.
4
Walmart is the worlds
largest private employer, with 2.1 million employees,
1.4 million of whom are in the United States.
5
Walmart has almost 4,000 (3,804) U.S. stores and over
4,500 (4,557) stores internationally in 14 countries.
6
Walmarts 2010 sales were $419 billion,
7
with the
company making $1.87 million in prot every hour.
8
Walmart opened its rst supercenter in 1988 in the
town of Washington, Missouri, selling food alongside
other retail products, and within only 12 years became
the largest food retailer in the United States.
16
Now
just over half of Walmarts business comes from
grocery sales.
17
One out of every three dollars spent on
groceries in this country goes to Walmart.
18
Walmart is so big that it has an unprecedented
amount of power in all sectors of the economy. Food
is no exception. When there is one player this large
connecting food producers and food consumers,
consumers are no longer the food industrys customers
Walmart is. And the saying the customer is always
right has never been more appropriate.
The company continually puts downward pressure on
its suppliers, forcing them to cut costs. With Walmart
as their biggest customer, suppliers have no choice but
to comply. When Walmart makes a decision to change
the way it does business, an entire industry will shift
to keep up. And despite what Walmart would have
the public believe, this decision is made with prots
in mind. As consumers and policymakers continue
to be bombarded with PR messages about Walmarts
eorts to help people live better, it is time to look at
the impact that Walmarts rise has had on our food
system and to reconsider whether the Walmart
model has any place in trying to x it.
US I
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9
3,804 4,557
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10
700,000
ns or InNunnv
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13
M W
14
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