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Let's agree 'Boy-Weston' doesn't take a le*k without first testing the notion on a marketing panel. Of course FM's are competing with his business. That's why it's called 'doing business'. I know of one case first hand where the only large grocery store in a Canadian town spend a year and a half in court trying to prevent another large grocery store from being built there. They lost. Then the same grocery store 'salted' the local Chamber of Commerce' with it's cronies when they heard a few local 'producers' were going to apply for a license to have a FM. Result? The FM vendors had one season within the town's boundaries and then for some strange reason no property owner within the town's borders would rent the FM space. Result? The FM moved just outside the town's borders and it was a 'booming' success and it continues to grow each year. The 'bad blood' all this caused has effected the every day shopping habits of a lot of the residents. Many have sworn never to shop at certain stores again.
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estufarian
Feb 8, 2012 09:54 AM
Definitely a stupid comment.
However, didn't someone die from drinking 'farmer's market' cider a few years back?
It was east of Toronto (?Oshawa) but I definitely recall a 'major issue'.
Can't find anything on-line to substantiate (or refute).EDIT: May not have been fatal - I found this report:
"In the fall of 1998 in Ontario, 14 cases of food-borne illness including seven cases of confirmed E. coli O157:H7, were reported. Unpasteurized juice/cider was suspected in these cases. Local health officials identified one batch of unpasteurized non-commercial, custom-pressed apple cider as the most likely source."›4 Replies-
re: estufarian
Exactly what BusterRhino said, "This was a highly thought out and very effective tactic by loblaws."
A very very deliberate and well thought out quote without any direct libel. Yet another reason why I stay away from big supermarkets.Looks like the big guns are starting to get scared of the little guy these days, between the Weston quote and those ridiculous new Mcd's commercials about their beef being the same your grandmother used. Damn those commercials make me laugh.
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re: jamesm
http://www.inspection.gc.ca/english/c...
Keep selling that great "food" Mr Weston.
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I see nothing wrong with his comments. People misquoting are the problem.
“Farmers’ markets are great. . . ,” Weston said Tuesday during a speech to about 600 people at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, but added: “One day they’re going to kill some people though.”
“I’m just saying that to be dramatic though,” he quickly added."Perfectly true. How many people die every year from food poisoning? It happens. Do people really believe no one will ever get sick and die from contaminated food purchased at a Farmer's Market? He did not say Farmers Markets will kill you.
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re: wadejay26
BusterRhino
Feb 8, 2012 07:47 AM
You are right he didn't say that, what he did was put fear into people's minds that farmers markets can be unsafe and unmonitored. This was a highly thought out and very effective tactic by loblaws. It's starting to go into the market season shortly and fear, as we all know, is a major motivator in how people purchase products.
It's like Maple Leaf coming out and saying 'buying from a small butcher shop will make you sick' which it did say a couple years ago, right after they killed 20 some odd people. I had people tell me that it was unsafe to buy from a small butcher because they weren't clean. I asked them where they heard that, and it was thru the news... they couldn't remember how or in what context they just knew it wasn't smart to buy from a butcher. -
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re: jayt90
I think leaving out his "just kidding" DOES change the story. Context is important and without the second statement his meaning is different.
I am not a Loblaws defender and it isn't where I normally buy my produce, but I do think there has been a lot of incomplete reporting on this. Any produce is potentially tainted, regardless of where it comes from.
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re: CanadaGirl
Kagemusha
Feb 20, 2012 10:52 AM
Please...The link I cited at the top is complete and supplies the context. Loblaws disingenuous "buy local" campaign over the last several summers flopped. Who's taken in by some food terminal-sourced Ontario cucumbers or bruised peaches perched on hay bales? He just looks desperate and petty.
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re: Kagemusha
I was reesponding to the poster that referenced misquoting. And while the Star article may have has the entire quote, not all media sources did. Their effort to say they have local may not be a resounding success, but I'm not in Ontario, I'm in NS. None of the local stuff came far, and much listed the specific farm. I'm sure I sound like a shill, but I don't even buy much produce at Superstore (our Loblaws owned brand). But it doesn't change the fact that he's correct. I'm not losing any sleep over it, but, there is some risk in most of what we eat, regardless of its source.
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re: Kagemusha
I don't particularly care about Weston. I care about some media outlets omitting the full context of a quote or situation. On the grand scheme of things, this particular incident is not a huge deal, but, to me, the underlying issue IS a big deal. Unfortunately this type of reporting happens on some more important stories too.
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re: CanadaGirl
What he said was quite clear and premeditated. "Just kidding" doesn't change much, he said what he meant. People in his position don't just make comments like that and then say "just kidding" without meaning what they originally said. Now go have one of your re-called beef patties Weston.
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re: jayt90
I'm not damning " the whole lot" of them. I use the word "some", which clearly means there are those that had the whole context. Sorry I can't give you a specific outlet, but the first report on this I saw left out the "just kidding" part. I've seen the full context in multiple other spots, but that doesn't negate my original exposure. I tend to be somewhat suspicious of brief quotes in media reports, as I have been quoted incompletely in the past and appeared to be stating a position in total opposition to what I had actually said.
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re: Kagemusha
foodyDudey
Feb 8, 2012 07:56 AM
From his profile, he seems to be living in Alabama, so I doubt he even shopped in a Loblaws or other Weston owned store.
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re: wadejay26
His comment was mean-spirited, unnecessary, irrelevant, and more applicable to his own stores where there is far less scrutiny and examination of the products being sold than farmers who sell the produce they grow themselves and therefore have intimate knowledge of their provenance.
I can't believe you'd actually say there is nothing wrong with his comments. What are you smoking?
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foodyDudey
Feb 8, 2012 07:22 AM
He needs his head slapped. I'm sure the Maple Leaf products that made people sick (and die) were sold from his stores, not farmer's markets.
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re: foodyDudey
I am no supporter of Loblaws or Mr. Weston (in fact I despise their entire operation) but maybe he should have talked about this instead:
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/797781
That would have been more damaging to the reputation of "farmers'" markets and more helpful to his cause, than his stupid quote today which is backfiring bigtime.
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