X-Post, mildly OT, [Un-]Safeway

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 10/17/2003 11:03:56 AM Central Daylight Time, sng@...

writes:

> no wonder we, as a nation are getting so fat and unhealthy! Junk food is

> not just in take-out restaurants; it's all over the friggin' place!

> -------------------------------------

Darned tootin', Steve. I find my grocery list gets smaller and smaller all

the time, as I stick harder and harder to " just the basics. " But in addition to

the crapola they're hawking, their prices (out here in Illinois, the

Dominick's chain is owned by Safeway) on just the basics are outta sight. I can

get the

same fresh produce at the mom-and-pop or small local chains for ONE-THIRD

what Dominick's is charging (or Jewel--the other big chain out here). I honestly

cannot understand why ANYone shops at either of the two on any consistent

basis. A year or 2 ago, there was a huge flap in the media about price-fixing

between the 2 big chains on milk. They were keeping their prices the same as

each

other's, and they were 2-3 times more expensive than the smaller stores. In

fact, I can get a gallon of milk at a small local grocery here for 99 cents if I

buy $15 worth of other groceries. Can't touch it at the Jewel or Dominick's

for much less than just a tad under $3.

There oughtta be a law................

Carol A

[Guest guest]

Folks,

(For those in Oz and other non-US locations, Safeway is one of the

largest nationwide food stores in the US. It is a mega-merchant of

what I would call run-of-the-mill quality foodstuffs, but wait,

there's more:)

I don't normally shop at Safeway. Mainly because I usually stop at

COSTCO and do the heavy lifting (meats, fruits, vegetables, dairy and

French bread) there, and then fill in at Magruder (local chain with

good, cheap, produce) or Whole Foods (natural food " boutique " ).

Also, because usually, the wait at the Safeway ckeckout seems

interminable. But, this morning I had an eye doctor appointment a

few shops away from a local Safeway store, and I needed some sour

cream and eggs to make a bread pudding with some stale bread. So,

after my appointment, I stopped in the Safeway. WOW! What a

difference from the last time I was there, perhaps six months ago:

REAL FOOD IS HARD TO FIND!

I had to really search for raisins, for example.

Crapola fruit " snacks " were blatantly displayed, however.

Processed and junk food is everywhere;

I'd estimate that it outnumbers unprocessed food by at least 3:1.

Non-food " stuff " is in ever-increasing abundance,

not just wrappings, kitchen utensils, etc.

It appears that what is being stocked and sole is the " stuff, "

foodstuff or otherwise, that yields the highest unit profit.

It appears that basic, unprocessed food is stocked because

they have to keep up appearances and draw the customer in

to be tempted by all that other high-profit junk.

(And, I succumbed by buying some frozen pizzas--

one of my too-oft-neglected basic food groups).

And, to boot, two big stores to the left of the Safeway (which is

medium-sized) have been vacated, and there are signs in their windows

" Future Safeway Expansion. " What the heck are they going to hawk

when they double their floorspace, I wonder?

Bottom line: no wonder we, as a nation are getting so fat and

unhealthy! Junk food is not just in take-out restaurants; it's all

over the friggin' place!

--Steve

[Guest guest]

Sorry Steve, we the public did it. We stopped buying food and stopped

cooking. We eat out, order in or frozen food. Watch the fresh food sections.

No

one there. I am a big sinner myself. my 2 cents.

Fay Bayuk

**300/166

10/23/01

Dr.

Open RNY 150 cm

Click for My Profile

http://obesityhelp.com/morbidobesity/profile.phtml?N=Bayuk951061008

[Guest guest]

The only thing I really like best from Safeway is their store brand of kitty

litter, so I do go in there occasionally. For protein bars and other high

protein snacks, my favorite place is Trader Joe's.

Judy

Lap Proximal RNY 7/23/02

Drs. and Rabkin/SF

54/5'3 " - 257/140

size 22/XXL - 6-8/S

bmi 46/24

-66 inches

[Guest guest]

> Sorry Steve, we the public did it.

Yep, we did. We could blame marketing or the food industry's bottom line

fixation. But the sad truth is that the DIET industry spends about twice as

much on marketing as the food industry.

It's been my experience that for every new junk food that comes out, there's

an equal " healthy " food marketed, but it depends greatly what your

definition of healthy is. You can find fat-free anything, but always loaded

with carbs. Some companies are learning that lo-carb sells, but so far, it's

still the low-fat camp that wins when it comes to what companies market for.

Look at Subway -- " only 6 grams of fat in this meal, " and the newest Burger

King offering, a chicken sandwich on a mini baguette " only 10 grams of fat "

or something like that. " Healthy " new salads at Mc's. And if you look

at Safeway and other places like it, you'll find all sorts of " healthy "

alternatives to almost everything. There's a whole new section in the dairy

case for soy milk. A new section in Produce for organic veggies and fruits

(at twice the price of regular, of course). Lean meats with fancy labelling

to distinguish them from the full fat versions. Lean Cuisine, Healthy

Choice, you name it. It's all out there. And America buys it, and gets

fatter.

Not Safeway's fault. They couldn't make a profit selling it if we didn't buy

into the myths.

~~ Lyn G

[Guest guest]

And I'm perverted enough to think the diet industry is behind it

conspiracy theory? Whatever. I think they did the fat free fad that fattened

upthe nation.

m

X-Post, mildly OT, [un-]Safeway

> Folks,

>

> (For those in Oz and other non-US locations, Safeway is one of the

> largest nationwide food stores in the US. It is a mega-merchant of

> what I would call run-of-the-mill quality foodstuffs, but wait,

> there's more:)

>

> I don't normally shop at Safeway. Mainly because I usually stop at

> COSTCO and do the heavy lifting (meats, fruits, vegetables, dairy and

> French bread) there, and then fill in at Magruder (local chain with

> good, cheap, produce) or Whole Foods (natural food " boutique " ).

> Also, because usually, the wait at the Safeway ckeckout seems

> interminable. But, this morning I had an eye doctor appointment a

> few shops away from a local Safeway store, and I needed some sour

> cream and eggs to make a bread pudding with some stale bread. So,

> after my appointment, I stopped in the Safeway. WOW! What a

> difference from the last time I was there, perhaps six months ago:

>

> REAL FOOD IS HARD TO FIND!

> I had to really search for raisins, for example.

> Crapola fruit " snacks " were blatantly displayed, however.

>

> Processed and junk food is everywhere;

> I'd estimate that it outnumbers unprocessed food by at least 3:1.

>

> Non-food " stuff " is in ever-increasing abundance,

> not just wrappings, kitchen utensils, etc.

>

> It appears that what is being stocked and sole is the " stuff, "

> foodstuff or otherwise, that yields the highest unit profit.

> It appears that basic, unprocessed food is stocked because

> they have to keep up appearances and draw the customer in

> to be tempted by all that other high-profit junk.

> (And, I succumbed by buying some frozen pizzas--

> one of my too-oft-neglected basic food groups).

>

> And, to boot, two big stores to the left of the Safeway (which is

> medium-sized) have been vacated, and there are signs in their windows

> " Future Safeway Expansion. " What the heck are they going to hawk

> when they double their floorspace, I wonder?

>

> Bottom line: no wonder we, as a nation are getting so fat and

> unhealthy! Junk food is not just in take-out restaurants; it's all

> over the friggin' place!

>

> --Steve

>

>

>

> Homepage: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Graduate-OSSG

>

> Unsubscribe: mailto:Graduate-OSSG-unsubscribe

>

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Steve,

I might add that those high carbohydrates foods are by far cheaper than the

healthy stuff. Honestly, buy a loaf of bread, pasta, cookies, crackers,

cake, potatoe whatever...then try to buy anything healthy...fruit, veggies,

meat, dairy and be prepared to spend some bucks. There are many of us in our

nation that are on a fixed income. Try being a single parent of 3 kids. You

go looking for what will go the farthest and healthy for your family. I'm

not even talking junk food or fast and easy. Back to basics and how much

healthy, lean food are you going to find? Ever buy fresh broccoli and fall

on the floor to see how much it is. You can't make anything home made

anymore either. It seems better since you eliminate what you don't want in

the food. It will cost you 3 times as much.

Dawn

[Guest guest]

Sure. Same holds true for soft (marijuana) and hard (heroin) drugs.

If there were not a ready consumer market for them in the US, nobody

would try to smuggle them into the country (or grow them in

camouflaged housing). What really got to me is the extent to which

the crapola foods had overtaken the basic foods at my Safeway. Blew

my mind, the sheer EXTENT to which we bought into it.

Yep, we sure bought into it!

He gives the kids free samples

Because he knows full well

That today's young innocent faces

Will be tomorrow's clientele.

.

.

.

It's the old dope peddler

Doing well by doing good.

Another random " gotcha: " the other night we went with friends to a

local Chinese restaurant. Normally, we get there early before the

place fills up, but the other night, it filled up while we were

there. I noticed that there were really large (MO) people--one or

more--at the majority of the tables. I was taken aback, and because

I had become friendly with the young native Shanghainese owner, I was

almost embarrassed that she, a foreigner, should see so many grossly

overweight Americans (I did not want her to be able to return to

China and tell people there that the streets of the USA are full of

" porkers, " or whatever the Chinese vernacular might be). Then it

dawned on me: heck if 2/3 of the American population is overweight,

and if 25-30% are MO, what I was seeing was an accurate cross-section

of America today. Having been delivered from the jaws of morbid

obesity by the wonders of WLS, I am beginning to see things through

different eyes. I used to be scared for me; now I am scared for my

country.

--Steve

At 4:34 PM -0700 10/17/03, Butterflye wrote:

> > Sorry Steve, we the public did it.

>

>Yep, we did.

[Guest guest]

Yes, I agree totally. Just as an example: You can get a loaf of Wonder

Bread for about $.79 - $2.00. A loaf of whole grain bread is usually around

$3.00. Big difference when you're on a fixed income.

Barbara Jean

Re: X-Post, mildly OT, [un-]Safeway

> Steve,

>

> I might add that those high carbohydrates foods are by far cheaper than

the

> healthy stuff. Honestly, buy a loaf of bread, pasta, cookies, crackers,

> cake, potatoe whatever...then try to buy anything healthy...fruit,

veggies,

> meat, dairy and be prepared to spend some bucks. There are many of us in

our

> nation that are on a fixed income. Try being a single parent of 3 kids.

You

> go looking for what will go the farthest and healthy for your family. I'm

> not even talking junk food or fast and easy. Back to basics and how much

> healthy, lean food are you going to find? Ever buy fresh broccoli and fall

> on the floor to see how much it is. You can't make anything home made

> anymore either. It seems better since you eliminate what you don't want in

> the food. It will cost you 3 times as much.

> Dawn

>

>

> Homepage: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Graduate-OSSG

>

> Unsubscribe: mailto:Graduate-OSSG-unsubscribe

>

>

>

>

>