Screw that!

A few weeks ago I made a post about voting with your dollars, i.e., buying organic and fair trade products so major manufacturers are forced to take note and change their ways. Well, I still think that's the right thing to do, but I may have been a little naive in believing it would only produce positive results. From what I've been reading, Wal-Mart's choice to sell organics in response to consumer demand is a double-edged sword. Yes, a wider audience will be educated (hopefully) on the benefits of organic farming, but a large corporation like Wal-Mart actually has the power to weaken organic standards. Whaaaa? Yeah, that's right, and don't think they won't do it either if it means greater profit for them. They're apparently already exposing loopholes in the existing laws. Frankly, I'm a little disenchanted. Wal-Mart? Smiley face? I thought I could trust that little guy. I guess the lesson is that it's always wrong to be optimistic when there's money involved. You are right to laugh at me.