I happen to like a lot of fat on my steak. Preferably charred. With salt. And a nice glass of wine.
Perhaps I'm a megalomaniac. After all, that's what was sacrificed to the gods. Meat, fat, salt, wine – and, of course, the sacrificial meat and fat were burnt. No. I don't think I'm a god. It's just that I like a fatty piece of meat.
But where can I get it? Nowadays all the meat that's available is trimmed of all visible fat, as much as they can get. Fat, after all, is bad for you.i
I have to admit, though, that I'm ambivalent. Not about the fat, but its source. There are very few butchers left – especially if you're looking for kosher meat. Sure, there are some cuts available at kosher supermarkets, but the choice isn't very good and there's no one who will trim it the way I want it, or provide the types of meat in which I'm interested. If it's not what sells the fastest to the most consumers, the giant chains aren't interested. They won't carry it.ii Even the middle-size supermarkets tend to avoid anything but the common cuts cut commonly. Money's the monarch and one size fits all. That, however, allows lower prices, which is something I like. I suppose that if I looked hard enough I'd be able to find a butcher who would give me what I want, the way I want it. But the search would be a great effort, matched only by the prices. So proximity and parsimony win almost every time.
The problem, though, is not limited to food, for it involves virtually all consumer products. The “big box” stores and major chains are rapidly displacing the smaller operations – the “Mom and Pop” stores – in which I shopped when I was young. They were solitary operations without franchises or other evidences of plurality. And the staff – usually the family of the owner – paid attention to your requests. That was a time when the customer, not the purchasing agent, was always right.
That was also the time of the “five and ten.”iii It had whatever you were looking for, rather than what was being remaindered. The focus was on the products, not the profits. Perhaps that's why those stores are out of business now. The current trend's example of a similar kind of operation is the dollar store, but they tend to have different stock each day.iv Whatever is a bargain for the vendor. Whatever guarantees a profit. Take it or leave it. Don't expect them to order something else for you. Ditto the chains. The small mom and pop operations have been driven out of business by the giants.v
But there's a lot more to it than that. A small store that sells something will usually stand behind it and provide whatever service is necessary if there is a problem. The person you spoke to when you made the purchase is your neighborvi – the same person to whom you will address your questions, and there isn't likely to be finger pointing and blame of the manufacturer or distributor. If a repair or replacement is necessary it won't require a reference to a higher authority – like a service desk or department on a different floorvii – or the issuance of store credit. The price may be a little higher, but the ulcers will probably be fewer.
And there is also an international aspect to the issue.viii I'm not suggesting that my steak has to be imported, but that the relentless search for a lower price for everything will probably lead not only to the chain store, but to products manufactured outside of the United States by underpaid or underage workers. Choosing that bargain requires the trading of personal financial interest for a national economic handicap. It's hard to argue with the search for higher quality wherever it may lead, but if the only goal is a lower price, an argument can be made for nationalism. At a time when we are suffering with a high unemployment rate, actions which preferentially encourage importation are certain to increase our problem. However chauvinistic that sounds, it cannot be easily dismissed.
Lest I seem too much the patriot, I'm not. I can't resist a bargain any more than anyone else. When faced with a tempting price I don't know anything about slave labor, and I make no effort to find out. But part of the calculus of a bargain involves what happens after the purchase. If I'm apprehensive about the service I may require, I'm more likely to shop locally than more distantly – especially on line. I don't like sitting on the telephone waiting for someone overseas, who doesn't really understand me or my problem, trying to talk me through a solution. And, I admit, I have trouble on occasion understanding what is being said to me.
So it really boils down to that calculus. It seems to me that it's reasonable to seek a genuine bargain if I can be sure that the low price I get more than compensates for any possible complications – like having to go back to a distant store or repackage what I got from one of the package delivery services. But when local services and products are available for a reasonable price, I prefer to encourage small, local businesses. After all, I like my meatix like I like my meat. One size doesn't fit all.
Next episode: “Because I Said So” -- Admit it. You've used that line.
i I remember walking through an open-air market in Morocco with my wife. All the cuts of meat that were displayed showed the same degree of overtrimming that I see here in the United States. They, too, had accepted the gospel that fat is unhealthy. So the flies and other insects swarmed over well-trimmed meat.
ii We live in the age of green. Not only environmentalism, but money, dough, jack, greenbacks, scratch, or whatever the common currency of the day is called.
iii Known by many as the “five and dime,” signifying the cost of the merchandise.
iv The same is true of many of the big box and chain businesses. The selection is governed by what is available at a good wholesale price, and can give the store a good profit. If only one brand or model of a particular product is being promoted by the manufacturers, that's all you'll find. And it may be different next time.
v That's also the case with rural operations. The family farm is gone – replaced by agricultural production in the hands of huge corporations.
vi I know that has a Frank Capra ring to it, but local businesses are usually run by local people – often those you know. Especially in a small town setting.
vii Somewhere far off and with a long line.
viii Apart from the fact that most of the stores and farms are owned by multi-national corporations.
ix And fat.
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