If you have something to say...
Say it on the Huffington Post
If you have something to say...
Say it on the Huffington Post
The Blog
This week, Wal-Mart announced the release of its home-grown, front-of-pack nutrition guidance system. Can we possibly be that gullible? If so, we probably all deserve to be eating whatever the big companies selling food tell us we should.
An everyday low price for a life -- from the company that made its fortune on cheap imported products -- like the labor of Romulo de Oliveira Santos.
I shudder to think of the consequences to America's already suffering urban populations if Walmart succeeds in duplicating its rural retail takeover.
I want people to understand how they are exactly the same as the person in the slum. In that uniquely human way, they are no better and no worse than them -- they are the same.
Here are some retail events I'd like to see in the year(s) ahead. Some are more likely than others, but the holidays are a time for dreaming, aren't they?
When I received a call from Faye Williams of Sisterspace and Books asking me to come rock at Occupy D.C. with hip-hop legends Dead Prez to do a "Keep D.C. Wal-Mart Free" presentation and rally, I eagerly replied "Yes."
The six Waltons, heirs to Walmart founder Sam Walton, not only have a net worth equal to the combined wealth of the bottom 30 percent of Americans, but they also own and control nearly half of Walmart, the world's largest corporation. That's an astounding fact.
The sourcing decisions that major food and beverage companies make on a daily basis can help improve the lives of the world's smallest and poorest farmers in the developing world.
Society doesn't seem so civil anymore. Black Friday this year has given a black eye to the start of the official holiday season, a season that used to be associated with the phrase, "Peace on earth, goodwill to men." Is society really less civil or has it always been and I'm just now hearing about it?
India's government battled pressure from a united opposition on its November 25 decision to open up the country's retail sector, worth an estimated $4...
I grew up in an era where there were only a handful of logical explanations for getting up in the middle of the night. We did not wake up to go shopping. Anywhere. For anything. Ever.
Respect for the retail workers who are the heart of events like Black Friday means fair compensation for holiday hours and a voice in scheduling. When we support workers coming together to make positive changes in the workplace, we all win.
It is amazing to me that, with all the very public knowledge begging for serious questioning of the integrity of Walmart, that D.C. elected officials and community leaders are all accepting the company's propaganda campaigns.
Remember Dukes v. Walmart, the case that the Supreme Court threw out because the company claimed it was too big to be sued for sex discrimination. Well, like Freddy Krueger every Halloween, it's ba-a-a-ck.
We are told that the American economy is driven by consumer spending. But so much of that spending results in cannibalization within the retail market, it is no wonder that our future as a nation of baggers and stockers is a dismal prospect to contemplate.
