At this very minute my wife is at Trader Joes picking up more goodies. One of the perks of living once again in an area where there is plentiful choice and variety in terms of where to buy things.

At least around here, supermarkets have improved enormously in the past few decades. I seem to remember when you could buy apples (just “apples”), oranges, head lettuce, gnarly carrots, tomatoes…and maybe one or two seasonal items. Now? At our neighborhood market, at least (“neighborhood”=a ten-minute walk away), fruits & veggies I’d never heard of 15 years ago, six different pear varieties in season, signs explaining the significance of new varieties and growing methods…and that’s just the produce section. By law, all fish is now labeled as to whether it’s farm-raised or wild, its origin, and whether it’s ever been frozen (which is frequently an advantage). That market offers a “double satisfaction” guarantee on meat and produce–if you don’t like it, they replace it and give your money back.

Sometimes I think there are too many choices. But better choices, which is what we’re getting, with more knowledge as to where things came from, how they were produced, and the effects on sustainability–that’s all good. Tomatoes that taste like tomatoes: Hard to argue with that.

Around our parts, I think it’s competition: TJ’s keeps Safeway honest on one side, Whole Foods on another, and the locals, farmers’ markets, smaller chains, and the like all exert their own pressures.

At any rate, I am constantly amazed how much better the supermarkets are in the US than at home in Australia. So much organic produce (depending where you go of course) huge selections, etc. We have two Whole Foods-esque organic supermarkets in Sydney. Neither near enough to me to shop at.