Reflections and Thoughts

This past week was quite an interesting one, we learned about the departmentalizing of certain stores such as Macy’s, the trend of eliminating the “Jobber”, and the reformation of packaging and the processing of goods.

As a New Yorker, I know that Macy’s at Herald’s Square is the one of the staples on NYC. It is truly the largest department store next to Harrod’s that I have ever seen. Macy’s at Herald’s Square is 9 floors of clothing, kitchen wear, and everything else but the kitchen sink…on second thought, they may have kitchen sinks! Just as Susan Stasser states in Satisfaction Guaranteed, it includes a post office on the top floor, food and places to sit and hang out. Its not just a shopping trip, it is truly an experience.

I would like to switch gears and talk about the attempts to reform packaging and processing of food products. I read the Jungle by Upton Sinclair a long time ago but I still remember the horror and the exploitation of the workers in the meat packing industry. Not unlike many of the images that Eric Schlosser dipicts in his book Fast Food Nation. It makes me think that though we have come a long way from Upton Sinclair’s day, we still have a ways to go. Schlosser talks about the exploitation of workers for Tyson Chicken, the less than desirable conditions of the processing plants and even an explanation of what we are ACTUALLY consuming in our meat. Now I have to admit, neither Upton Sinclair’s of Eric Schlosser’s accounts did not sway me from eating meat, but it really concerns me that we are still dealing with these types of issues.

Uncategorized | Comment (0)