Where da brown rice?

My Prince and I just returned from a trip to our warehouse store. Buying bulk can really save us money--as long as we can use up what we buy and don't end up throwing some of it out because it has spoiled before we can consume it. We tend not to buy as much of the fresh items there but focus on multi-packs of favorite canned goods and big bales of necessary paper products for that very reason.

Today I was on the lookout for brown rice. We've eaten a lot of it this past week, so I need to rebuild my stock. I've noticed before that there were several varieties of white rice available, but never any brown rice.

Today I put the absence of brown rice together with my understanding that one of the "missions" of this warehouse store is to support small business by making the tools and supplies needed for small restaurants and convenience stores available in comparatively small (although humongous for a small family) quantities at discount prices. That "mission" paired with the absence of brown rice means that a healthy food choice will not be easily/cheaply available at the establishments run by their clients. This forces the small businesses and institutions that use the warehouse store as their supplier to offer a less healthy food choice to their customers, saving everyone a few pennies in the process but adding yet one more challenge to the health of everyone but those at the top of the chain.

Now, I know that I am making a judgment about the shaping of "food policy" by a corporation, and I have to acknowledge that brown rice is actually deemed inferior in most of the culture groups that use rice as a staple. Still it's sad to see 20- and 50-lb sacks of white and jasmine and basmati rice stacked on a good part of a very large aisle and not a single bag of brown. There is, however, instant and parboiled white rice in large containers to make even the cooking of white rice go faster. Brown rice is harder to cook and might not be the choice of other customers, perhaps making it uneconomical for the warehouse store to stock.

If I want to replenish my supply, I will have to do that at Fiesta, where I can get a 4-lb bag of brown rice. That's the biggest I've ever been able to find.

If I want to change our food culture, I have a much bigger chore, and I'm not entirely disposed to think that (a) I know enough to argue what changes we should be making or (b) I have the will to want to get involved in such a battle. If I did, one place to start would simply be a customer comment at the warehouse store, asking them to stock brown rice and telling them why. It worked for almonds! ;)