Number 7

Should I be ashamed for shopping at Walmart?

Known as one of the most ecological countries in the world,  Costa Rica is proud to say that it has gone 75 days (and counting) using only 100% renewable energy.  Costa Rica achieves a “Happy Planet Index” score of 64.0 and ranks #1 of all the countries analyzed.  Costa Rica's  HPI score reflects a high life expectancy, high levels of experienced well-being, and a moderate ecological footprint.  As The Guardian’s headline wrote “Costa Rica is world's greenest, happiest country”

Today we went to Walmart to go shopping.  I made my trusty list and off we go. 

  I did not go without some internal turmoil.  Why do I need to go to Walmart when I can get just about everything I “need” at the local markets?  Well if I am honest with myself and everyone else, it’s not always about “need” but more about “want”.  I want a selection.  I want to walk up and down the aisles looking and browsing at my choices.  I want to feel like I know what I’m doing.  And, I want Lays potato chips, there are you happy I said it!  Plus, there is something comforting about seeing everything at your fingertips.

In Costa Rica at the store when you want your pastries, you go over and pick up a tray and serve yourself, walking around with a tray and whatever food you picked out.  So this is a real story, I’m not kidding.  I will refer to this gentleman by his initials to protect the guilty.  Oh yea, J.T. you know who you are.  So J.T. goes into Walmart and sees a woman with a tray of food she has so carefully selected.  J.T thinks he’s in Costco in the US where people are giving away samples and eats a sandwich off the woman’s tray.  Being the kind and gentle people of Costa Rica she actually says nothing, just stares at him.  J.T. needs his wife to explain that in Costa Rica the stores do not give out samples.

OK let’s get back to the Walmartization of the world.  We could have the entire discussion about what The United States is exporting to the world  (Walmart, KFC, McDonalds etc, etc), and again it creates enough guilt in me to make me feel really bad, but not enough guilt to not go! I just hope somewhere in the BIG picture that I and the people of the United States will be forgiven.