Earth Fare & Food Culture

Last Wednesday, Earth Fare, a healthy supermarket, had its grand opening at Hamilton Town Center in Noblesville, Indiana. On Saturday, I went with my sister and brother-in-law to the new store. As I was walking around the very busy store, I noticed the abundance of organic foods and products, encouraging people to make healthier choices when it comes to the foods they eat and the products they use. According to their website, Earth Fare strives to provide its customers with more healthier food choices. “As one of the largest natural food retailers in the nation, Earth Fare makes healthy eating convenient, affordable, fun and – of course – delicious! With 28 stores in eight states, we offer everything from ready-to-go meal options, local and organic farm fresh fruits and vegetables, and full service meat, poultry and seafood departments.”

With the grand opening of Earth Fare, which is the company's first location in Indiana, I was reminded of the issues that we discussed earlier in the semester. The popularity of the new location proved the “food movement,” which Michael Pollan discusses in his article “The Food Movement, Rising,” continues to grow across the country. Pollan states that “the food movement's strongest claim on public attention today is the fact that the American diet of highly processed food laced with added fats and sugars is responsible for the epidemic of chronic diseases that threatens to bankrupt the healthcare system.” The cheap, fast, and highly processed food that remains dominates the food industry threatens our health. In contrast to stores like Walmart and Meijer, Earth Fare does not offer products that have artificial trans fats and sweeteners, high fructose corn syrup, and synthetic growth hormones.

However, even though Earth Fare offers its customers much more healthy products, I also noticed just how expensive a lot of those items can be. I think that more people would be encouraged to eat healthier if the prices were cheaper. Furthermore, much like the readings and Food Inc. emphasized, the cycle of fast and cheap food has in return made food “big” business and has dominated our society. I believe that the domination of big business within the food industry has put the profits of corporations over the health and well-being of society.

Earth Fare, the Healthy Supermarket. <http://www.earthfare.com/>

"Who's Your Hoosier? Earth Fare Comes to Noblesville, Indiana." Who's Your Hoosier? Earth Fare Comes to Noblesville, Indiana. 7 Nov. 2012. Web. <http://tomatotalk.earthfare.com/2012/11/07/whos-your-hoosier-earth-fare-comes-to-noblesville-indiana/>.