Got into it with a manager at Wal-marts!

[HALEY]

I was so excited when I saw Wal-mart now has USDA grade meats, so i went shopping yesterday at Wal-marts and there was a big display with pictures of chicken, steaks, pork chops USDA !!! I was so excited now i didn't have to go grocery shopping somewhere else to get my meat!
Then as i was looking at all the meat i didn't notice any USDA grade stamps on them, so i asked the guy that was working there where are the stamps at, and he showed me a little Wal-mart stamp that said US.. he couldn't answer my questions so he called the manager over, and i asked the manager, i said you have a big sign that says USDA meats.. but there not !!!! he showed me a couple steaks that had the USDA stamp on it, but he couldn't show me anything else, i told him that is false advertisment and that i am going to report the store for that, he was asking me for my name etc. i just got pissed off and left, i can't believe Wal mart is advertising that they have USDA grade meats when they don't is that legal for them to do that ????

[judy]

You should write to the head of the company, and send a copy to the Better Business Bureau.

[donna1990]

Good for you, there meat is awful.

[Janet]

Wal Mart is a horrible place. When Sam Walton was alive, it really was about the customer. His greedy children took over and not only treat their customers bad, but their employees. I try to do as little as possible in our store here in town. It's the only discount store we really have. I do more grocery shopping at Marsh, Aldi's and another locally owned store. I honestly wish they never came to Frankfort. There is another city here, about an hours drive that is fighting them. They don't want a store near them, because Wal Mart puts smaller stores out of business.

[HALEY]

You should write to the head of the company, and send a copy to the Better Business Bureau.

Judy i wrote a letter to the USDA Pa inspectors, see if i get a response from them, i'll also send the one to the better business Bureau too, good idea girl !!

[HALEY]

Good for you, there meat is awful.

Donna i know, plus you don't know where there meat is coming from, just a couple of month ago a family got ribs from wal marts and they all ended up in the hospital, here there was a buck shot bullet in the meat !!! :eek:

[HALEY]

Wal Mart is a horrible place. When Sam Walton was alive, it really was about the customer. His greedy children took over and not only treat their customers bad, but their employees. I try to do as little as possible in our store here in town. It's the only discount store we really have. I do more grocery shopping at Marsh, Aldi's and another locally owned store. I honestly wish they never came to Frankfort. There is another city here, about an hours drive that is fighting them. They don't want a store near them, because Wal Mart puts smaller stores out of business.

i do the same Janet, i get all my meats from Giant Eagle, and the baby stuff is cheaper up wal marts, but that's such a pain to run to all those stores, plus i get my cleaning supplies at General dollar cause there cheaper,, it's hard to run to all these places working full time and taking Micah with me! sometimes i can leave him with Daddy if he's not working OT... that is nice i can shop much faster ..

[Tiramisu]

I could be totally wrong, but I believe all meat is USDA inspected. I think our taxes pay for that. We can check it out on the net. Are you talking about USDA grading? Maybe they aren't required to grade the meat, but it should have indeed been inspected.

It's a fact that I spend more money on cheaper things at Wal-Mart. If I go to Kroger and spend $200 for "groceries", I'd spend $400 at Wal-Mart BECAUSE I'D PICK UP STUFF THAT I PROBABLY DIDN'T EVEN NEED! I'm trying to get back into the habit of going to a grocery store, a clothing store, etc. So far, I am seeing a difference - in money spent and quality. I've fallen in love with dollar stores for my cleaning supplies and paperware!

[Marilyn]

I don't like Walmart at all!! With what is happening to our economy, with all our manufacturing moving to ASIA, I think Walmart was one of the big drivers of all the lower cost, cheaply produced goods, which in turn increased their profit margins. We think they are saving us money and blindly keep going there when they are the reason the jobs are moving overseas and we have less money. It's a vicious cycle that seems to be spiraling down, resulting in an overall lower standard of living for most of us.

It's disgusting, and I don't know what the solution is for the problem, now. We're so dependent on expensive foreign oil and cheap foreign labor. We're improving their economies and they are over here buying our country right out from under us.

I know it's a political slogan, but we need change we can believe in!!

[Tink]

I have to drive at least half an hour to get to any Wal Mart stores, so with the gas prices as they are, I don't think it's worth it unless I'm planning to do a major shopping. I've been trying as much as possible, to buy locally. I figure if we're to keep the local stores alive we need to all chip in to support them.

I lucked out recently when a neighbor offered us to buy some beef that he'd had butchered. I love being able to buy it in bulk from the local meat market because I know it's GOOD quality and fresh.

[DianaB]

We have to drive 35 miles to get to a Wal-mart. I've been doing most of my shopping in town because of the price of gas. It's not a bargain if I add the price of gas onto what I'm buying. Plus, I've cut back on shopping there any way. I've heard some stories about how the producers of products for Wal-mart aren't treated well. Personally I think that when Sam Walton died the store went down hill.

[judy]

There is no Walmart in Brooklyn, nor in any of the five boroughs of NYC. I don't know why. They are good for some things, from what I've seen. I'm not used to the one stop shopping way of life though. We just don't have that here. I don't think I would enjoy it.

What can I tell you - I'm in a New York state of mind.

I forget which country - it may be Brazil - where they use a mixture of ethanol and something, and are completely self-reliant. They don't need gas and oil It's also a renewable resource because the composition has something to do with corn, which they grow and grow and then grow again. Their cars are made to run on this fuel. The trick is that their government has made it so that a large percentage of gas stations must carry that fuel. In the U.S., only a small %
of our gas stations have to carry it.

I wonder why that is? :mad:

" I know it's a political slogan, but we need change we can believe in!! " __________________

[Marilyn]

I actually went to Walmart this evening to get some embroidery thread. We have a Super Walmart about 3 or 4 miles from our house. The craft and fabric stores were all closed and Walmart has a big fabric and craft section with knitting, crochet, scrapbooking, Wilton cake decorating stuff. Lots of things, so I was sure they would have embroidery thread, but nope, they had none. I did find a bottle of craft glue that looked like what I need for another project, so I grabbed it and headed for the registers. All the self check registers were out of order and the only open register on the side of the store where I was had a long line. There is no way that I was going to stand there in that line to buy one bottle of glue. There was a cart there where others had ditched their small purchases, so I tossed the glue on the pile and headed out of there.

Tomorrow I may just have to take off work early so I can make it to one of the craft or fabric stores. So frustrating.

We need change that we can believe in!!

[Tink]

Marilyn, I think that's typical of Walmart. They have like 20 check out lines and only one or 2 open. It's insane! They've definitely gone downhill and they have no one to blame but themselves.

[HALEY]

I could be totally wrong, but I believe all meat is USDA inspected. I think our taxes pay for that. We can check it out on the net. Are you talking about USDA grading? Maybe they aren't required to grade the meat, but it should have indeed been inspected.

It's a fact that I spend more money on cheaper things at Wal-Mart. If I go to Kroger and spend $200 for "groceries", I'd spend $400 at Wal-Mart BECAUSE I'D PICK UP STUFF THAT I PROBABLY DIDN'T EVEN NEED! I'm trying to get back into the habit of going to a grocery store, a clothing store, etc. So far, I am seeing a difference - in money spent and quality. I've fallen in love with dollar stores for my cleaning supplies and paperware!

If the meat was inspected it would have a USDA stamp on it... i look for the stamp whenever i purchase meat, i dont want meat unless it came from the good old USA.. i don't know where the meat came from if it don't have the stamp on it. it could come from China as far as i know...

[Janet]

Marilyn, I think that's typical of Walmart. They have like 20 check out lines and only one or 2 open. It's insane! They've definitely gone downhill and they have no one to blame but themselves.

The thing is Tink, they aren't blaming anyone for anything. They come into town, put some of the smaller business out..and rake in the money all the while treating the customers like they KNOW they have them under a barrel. Such a thoughtless company.

[Marilyn]

Haley, I believe SandySue is right, all meat sold in the US is USDA inspected, even if it comes from foreign countries. Here's a link to information on meat inspection.

http://www.fsis.usda.gov/regulations_&_policies/federal_inspection_programs/index.asp

Hope this helps. This does not mean all meat is handled properly by every supplier. I agree, some stores carry better quality meats from better quality sources, and they handle it much better than others.

[Tiramisu]

If the meat was inspected it would have a USDA stamp on it... i look for the stamp whenever i purchase meat, i dont want meat unless it came from the good old USA.. i don't know where the meat came from if it don't have the stamp on it. it could come from China as far as i know...

They only stamp the carcass.

[Tink]

Here our meat is processed and cut by one of 2 local meat markets. It's very good quality, fresh, and I've never heard anyone complain about it. The same 2 markets sell to most of the local groceries and have a retail sales area of their own. None of my meat is stamped.
My son used to work at one of them, and he said the business is USDA inspected, but no one is there on a daily basis checking things out.

My husband was a security guard at a much larger meat processing plant many years ago. He said that in the larger plants they do have full time USDA inspectors who supervise and check quality and storage and so on daily. So it sounds like the size of the business determines how often the place is inspected and if it's not stamped, it likely comes from a smaller plant.

[HALEY]

Haley, I believe SandySue is right, all meat sold in the US is USDA inspected, even if it comes from foreign countries. Here's a link to information on meat inspection.

http://www.fsis.usda.gov/regulations_&_policies/federal_inspection_programs/index.asp

Hope this helps. This does not mean all meat is handled properly by every supplier. I agree, some stores carry better quality meats from better quality sources, and they handle it much better than others.

wow that is scary, i thought when it was stamped USDA, it was inspected and made in the USA, i learned something today.... thanks ladies.... i'll still buy my meats at Giant Eagle or Fredrick town bucher shop... I hate Wal marts meats, they still look terrrible...

[Marilyn]

wow that is scary, i thought when it was stamped USDA, it was inspected and made in the USA, i learned something today.... thanks ladies.... i'll still buy my meats at Giant Eagle or Fredrick town bucher shop... I hate Wal marts meats, they still look terrrible...

Oh, I agree with you about the Walmart meat. I don't trust them either. Like I said, USDA inspected is not a guarantee of quality, just that it hopefully meets some standard, if the inspector is doing his/her job.

We used to raise all our own beef. The slaughter house we used to process it was USDA inspected, and our own meat came back with a stamp on the edge of some of the steaks. That did not guarantee the quality, only that the animal looked healthy and the processing met certain health standards.

We knew how the animal had been treated though, what it's diet had been. We did not vaccinate our cattle at all, just fed them feed we mostly grew and made sure they were always well fed and watered. Now we, too, are at the mercy of the grocery. However, we eat very little beef or poultry for this reason. Don't want all the hormones and other junk in our diet.

[HALEY]

my husband loves steaks, and now that it is summer time were cooking out on the grill more, hamburgers, hot dogs, etc. i always try to get the best angus hot dogs and good hamburgers, i use to buy the hebrew hot dogs but my husband hate them, he's not into natural foods like i like and buy also for Micah.
i miss going to a good butcher shop, it's so far away from us, when we use to go i would take a good $200.00 dollars with us and stock up for a couple of months. i would get good chicken, steaks, pork chops, you name it...

[Tiramisu]

my husband loves steaks, and now that it is summer time were cooking out on the grill more, hamburgers, hot dogs, etc. i always try to get the best angus hot dogs and good hamburgers, i use to buy the hebrew hot dogs but my husband hate them, he's not into natural foods like i like and buy also for Micah.
i miss going to a good butcher shop, it's so far away from us, when we use to go i would take a good $200.00 dollars with us and stock up for a couple of months. i would get good chicken, steaks, pork chops, you name it...

Hubby and I made the butcher shop run this past Saturday. Can't beat getting it cut the way you want it.

[HALEY]

I wish we could make a run to our butcher shop its to far with the price of gas, i'll make one as soon as i get caught up with these credit cards,,,

[Tiramisu]

my husband loves steaks, and now that it is summer time were cooking out on the grill more, hamburgers, hot dogs, etc. i always try to get the best angus hot dogs and good hamburgers, i use to buy the hebrew hot dogs but my husband hate them, he's not into natural foods like i like and buy also for Micah.
i miss going to a good butcher shop, it's so far away from us, when we use to go i would take a good $200.00 dollars with us and stock up for a couple of months. i would get good chicken, steaks, pork chops, you name it...

I'm glad to see that it seems you and your hubby are working things out and staying together?!

[HALEY]

I'm glad to see that it seems you and your hubby are working things out and staying together?!

Still alot of stuff to work out, but thanks for asking, he still sometimes says he leaving when he gets his company truck, but i don't think he'll leave Micah, so i'm dealing with things the way they are for now, if it was meant to be, then everything will fall into place i guess, i just pray alot and bite my tongue alot too. ;) I think now that his family is out of the picture, things are improving without them butting into our business! that was alot of our fights right there... we still argue, but not as much.... i'm trying to keep the peace, but our marriage is far from a couple marriage, there's no sex at all.. so that's driving me crazy, but my main concern right now is raising my son. so i'll focus on that for now.