4 ms·

We might imagine a future where US and UK grocery stores aren't 3/4 alcohol and junk food.

justinator 2y ago
For the longest time, laws in my State prohibited grocery stores from carrying any alcohol, but that has changed. Now new laws are in place to not allow for example random baskets of wine to just be plunked in random isles as it all got ridiculous how much alcohol was being pushed out.
- 15155 2y ago
  Liquor stores had regulatory capture in many states for quite a while - this is slowly changing.
  - justinator 2y ago
    What is the advantage of booze in grocery stores?
    - 15155 2y ago
      I don't have to go to two stores to obtain it? Normally these same laws restricting sales to private liquor stores also come with a convenient quota on the number of licenses issued to protect sales. Most areas that remove the liquor store limitations also remove the license quota out of necessity.
      - justinator 2y ago
        Hmm -- I found more booze in grocery stores means less you know: food selection. Seems a bad deal to swap food for an addictive drug, but: "give me convenience or give me death" and all.
        15155 2y ago
        > less .. food selection Often, grocery stores that sell liquor have entirely dedicated wings for it. > give me convenience or give me death This is a product that one drinks - like juices and milk - introducing arbitrary inconvenience to obtaining it doesn't really track. > swap food for an addictive drug What are soda, sugar, candy, ice cream for some folks?
        justinator 2y ago
        >Often, grocery stores that sell liquor have entirely dedicated wings for it. When alcohol was allowed into the grocery stores here (before only liquor stores could sell alchohol), food was removed -- the store wasn't expanded. >This is a product that one drinks - like juices and milk - introducing arbitrary inconvenience to obtaining it doesn't really track. Alcoholic beverages rarely contain any nutritional value. Juices and milk do. Really -- milk? >What are soda, sugar, candy, ice cream for some folks? Are you serious? There isn't a Candy Anonymous. There's no Mother's Against Indulging in Ice Cream and Driving. There's no Adult Children of Parents who Really Really Like Skittles.
- ghaff 2y ago
  Eh. MA has gotten a lot more sane post-blue laws but it's still a pain, in many cases, to have to go to a different store to get a bottle of wine. (Yes, grocery stores can carry beer/wine these days but a limited number of stores within the state in the chain.) MA also didn't used to allow shopping in general on Sundays.
  - justinator 2y ago
    >in many cases, to have to go to a different store to get a bottle of wine Package stores where I grew up in NE were basically adjacent to grocery stores - not a huge deal honestly.
JKCalhoun 2y ago
It's wild. There are several whole aisles that I never enter — just chips, soda, etc. If you didn't know any better you might assume that everything in a grocery store is in fact "food".
- jfengel 2y ago
  The long-standing advice has been to shop around the edges of the store. That's where they keep the fresh produce, meat, and dairy. (It's also frozen foods in a lot of stores. Frozen vegetables are as good as fresh. Ice cream, not so much.) For the most part the aisles are more processed (read: calorie dense and nutrients removed). They should be eaten more sparingly.
  - Fluorescence 2y ago
    > shop around the edges of the store. That's where they keep the fresh produce, meat, and dairy. That doesn't work too well in the UK. Fruit/Veg tends to be a whole zone with aisles/central islands and maybe some edge. Meat and dairy is often in an aisle. Speciality stuff is on the edges e.g. deli, butcher, bakery, cheese counters if you have them. Going around the edge of my supermarket clockwise in order: Near door: bulk snacks and cases of beer. Left edge: in store baked goods: donuts/bread. Packaged baked goods: cake, bread. Freezer goods: three way split of veg, junk and deserts. Back wall: Imported regional products - mix of basics and junk food for African/Chinese/Korean/Japanese residents. Breakfast cereals: mostly sugary rubbish but some oatmeal. Biscuits: mostly sugar but some rice cakes. Right edge: kitchen/bathroom products. Not fattening but an acquired taste.
    - Izkata 2y ago
      Similar in the US. If you followed the "edges" rule at my grocery store, you'd end up with meat, cookies, cakes, and alcohol. Healthy stuff is its own aisles and pods near the cookies/cakes side of the store. On the plus side, fresh fruits and vegetables are directly across from the entrance, so it's hard to miss.
paulpauper 2y ago
isn't this what a farmer's market does? if they only sold healthy stuff, they would not stay in business. they sell that stuff because people buy it.

For the longest time, laws in my State prohibited grocery stores from carrying any alcohol, but that has changed. Now new laws are in place to not allow for example random baskets of wine to just be plunked in random isles as it all got ridiculous how much alcohol was being pushed out.

15155 2y ago
Liquor stores had regulatory capture in many states for quite a while - this is slowly changing.
- justinator 2y ago
  What is the advantage of booze in grocery stores?
  - 15155 2y ago
    I don't have to go to two stores to obtain it? Normally these same laws restricting sales to private liquor stores also come with a convenient quota on the number of licenses issued to protect sales. Most areas that remove the liquor store limitations also remove the license quota out of necessity.
    - justinator 2y ago
      Hmm -- I found more booze in grocery stores means less you know: food selection. Seems a bad deal to swap food for an addictive drug, but: "give me convenience or give me death" and all.
      - 15155 2y ago
        > less .. food selection Often, grocery stores that sell liquor have entirely dedicated wings for it. > give me convenience or give me death This is a product that one drinks - like juices and milk - introducing arbitrary inconvenience to obtaining it doesn't really track. > swap food for an addictive drug What are soda, sugar, candy, ice cream for some folks?
        justinator 2y ago
        >Often, grocery stores that sell liquor have entirely dedicated wings for it. When alcohol was allowed into the grocery stores here (before only liquor stores could sell alchohol), food was removed -- the store wasn't expanded. >This is a product that one drinks - like juices and milk - introducing arbitrary inconvenience to obtaining it doesn't really track. Alcoholic beverages rarely contain any nutritional value. Juices and milk do. Really -- milk? >What are soda, sugar, candy, ice cream for some folks? Are you serious? There isn't a Candy Anonymous. There's no Mother's Against Indulging in Ice Cream and Driving. There's no Adult Children of Parents who Really Really Like Skittles.
ghaff 2y ago
Eh. MA has gotten a lot more sane post-blue laws but it's still a pain, in many cases, to have to go to a different store to get a bottle of wine. (Yes, grocery stores can carry beer/wine these days but a limited number of stores within the state in the chain.) MA also didn't used to allow shopping in general on Sundays.
- justinator 2y ago
  >in many cases, to have to go to a different store to get a bottle of wine Package stores where I grew up in NE were basically adjacent to grocery stores - not a huge deal honestly.

JKCalhoun 2y ago

It's wild. There are several whole aisles that I never enter — just chips, soda, etc. If you didn't know any better you might assume that everything in a grocery store is in fact "food".

jfengel 2y ago
The long-standing advice has been to shop around the edges of the store. That's where they keep the fresh produce, meat, and dairy. (It's also frozen foods in a lot of stores. Frozen vegetables are as good as fresh. Ice cream, not so much.) For the most part the aisles are more processed (read: calorie dense and nutrients removed). They should be eaten more sparingly.
- Fluorescence 2y ago
  > shop around the edges of the store. That's where they keep the fresh produce, meat, and dairy. That doesn't work too well in the UK. Fruit/Veg tends to be a whole zone with aisles/central islands and maybe some edge. Meat and dairy is often in an aisle. Speciality stuff is on the edges e.g. deli, butcher, bakery, cheese counters if you have them. Going around the edge of my supermarket clockwise in order: Near door: bulk snacks and cases of beer. Left edge: in store baked goods: donuts/bread. Packaged baked goods: cake, bread. Freezer goods: three way split of veg, junk and deserts. Back wall: Imported regional products - mix of basics and junk food for African/Chinese/Korean/Japanese residents. Breakfast cereals: mostly sugary rubbish but some oatmeal. Biscuits: mostly sugar but some rice cakes. Right edge: kitchen/bathroom products. Not fattening but an acquired taste.
  - Izkata 2y ago
    Similar in the US. If you followed the "edges" rule at my grocery store, you'd end up with meat, cookies, cakes, and alcohol. Healthy stuff is its own aisles and pods near the cookies/cakes side of the store. On the plus side, fresh fruits and vegetables are directly across from the entrance, so it's hard to miss.

paulpauper 2y ago

isn't this what a farmer's market does? if they only sold healthy stuff, they would not stay in business. they sell that stuff because people buy it.