Thursday, March 31, 2005
Supermarket "Schlock Shock"
My friends and family know my husband and I normally shop either at (1) the local, natural, vegetarian market, Freshmart, or (2) our neighborhood market, named Los Robles, which has charm and a hand-picked selection. One evening, we ventured into a regular supermarket for a change, only for me to come out in shock. Mind you, we were at an upscale supermarket, next to one of San Juan's wealthiest neighborhoods close to where my husband grew up, so it's not that the market happened to be located in a less affluent area to justify the selection.
The plastic bottles of soda reminded me of weapons for self-inflicted violence and the detergent aisle did not have a single, natural, environmentally-friendly choice. Neither did the paper goods. To find a fruit preserve without sugar or Splenda, I had to wait until we made it back to the Freshmart. The Romaine Lettuce my husband picked out turned out to be genetically modified to the point of becoming cardboard.
We bought (if you wonder why: I don't like to give my husband a hard time, he seldom has any spare time to go shopping with me and he seemed to enjoy reminiscing about his childhood if only for one trip to the market) some canned vegetables which when I had a chance to read the labels included sugar which I can't have. My husband's Tomato Soup choice included High Fructose Corn Syrup, which he doesn't like. Heads up: Neither manufacturer website has nutritional information displayed for consumers.
All those cans are still unused in our kitchen, I wish I could return (here my "don't disturb your husband" rule applies) them. From now on, without inconveniencing my husband, I plan to boycott those manufacturers, I hope you do too.
I fear for my nieces and for all the children whose parents have no choice but to shop @ supermarkets like the one we were in. Understanding how in our country obesity has reached epidemic rates became a lot easier after that visit.
My family knows I've advocated for healthy foods since my nieces were exposed to the evils of fast food, now I know I should dedicate part of this blog to help all of you make wise, healthy food choices.
The plastic bottles of soda reminded me of weapons for self-inflicted violence and the detergent aisle did not have a single, natural, environmentally-friendly choice. Neither did the paper goods. To find a fruit preserve without sugar or Splenda, I had to wait until we made it back to the Freshmart. The Romaine Lettuce my husband picked out turned out to be genetically modified to the point of becoming cardboard.
We bought (if you wonder why: I don't like to give my husband a hard time, he seldom has any spare time to go shopping with me and he seemed to enjoy reminiscing about his childhood if only for one trip to the market) some canned vegetables which when I had a chance to read the labels included sugar which I can't have. My husband's Tomato Soup choice included High Fructose Corn Syrup, which he doesn't like. Heads up: Neither manufacturer website has nutritional information displayed for consumers.
All those cans are still unused in our kitchen, I wish I could return (here my "don't disturb your husband" rule applies) them. From now on, without inconveniencing my husband, I plan to boycott those manufacturers, I hope you do too.
I fear for my nieces and for all the children whose parents have no choice but to shop @ supermarkets like the one we were in. Understanding how in our country obesity has reached epidemic rates became a lot easier after that visit.
My family knows I've advocated for healthy foods since my nieces were exposed to the evils of fast food, now I know I should dedicate part of this blog to help all of you make wise, healthy food choices.
