People watching in the supermarket
Posted by yabbitgirl on May 21, 2007 · Member since Apr 2006 · 14266 posts
Surely I'm not the only person who people watches based on what people have in their carts! I have caught myself thinking "what a waste of money" when I see a cart full of sodas, cheeze curls, chips and other junk...and the sight of kitty litter and pet food in a cart always makes me smile!
i think that just shows that if fake meat is tasty and available, omnis will eat it.
it's a good thing. the more yummy fake products there are the less real meat will be consumed.
my mom (who was raised vegan) is currently consuming some types of meat (god knows why ::))... yet she won't eat ground beef at all (thanks to me loaning her fast food nation LOL), loves veggie burgers and does buy fake meat stuff from TJ's a lot. but i'm sure she gets chicken or something too... so i can see easily how that can happen.
There's only about 3 of us that keep the whole "Nature's Market" section and the Organic section in business at my local Kroger. Best part.....we are all musicians! :D
Jam session in aisle 8!! LOL
I love seeing what other people buy and then seeing how completely different it is from my stuff. I definitely do get comments though, like "wow, you must eat really healthy" (little do they know I keep a selection of vegan cookies, etc in my freezer ;) One time the checker said "It would be so nice if everyone could afford food like this," refering to the soy yogurt and organic stuff in my basket. I'm a college student in a small town, so I imagine that many students come through with easy mac and what not. So, the omnis behind me in line probably wonder why/how a student can buy organic items. But if they really added it up, the cheese/meat/dairy and packaged "snack foods" probably cost just as much, and even more in the long run in terms of health issues. So I felt kinda guilty but I like food/cooking :)
Scary. Very Scary.
Agreed
I play a little game in the checkout - I give myself a "point" for every time the cashier has to ask me what something is that's in my cart. Or how one eats what I'm buying. Two best point-getters: tofu and eggplant!
Yeah, in the midwest and in the south, I feel like I'm shopping in a grocery for another species with different nutritional requirements from my own. The only way I keep poeple from catching on that I'm really an alien is that I buy for the omnis in the family, too ;) Mine's that cart with the pork, velveeta, tofu and kale all in the same purchase! (and no, I'm not making a dish that contains them all ;D)
I agree about people in line buying all the "junk." I don't usually look, but when I see a mother with her already "chubby" daughter are checking out with a basket full of garbage ..... That's desturbing to me.
I do feel weird sometimes, because I have a basket full of vegan AND meater eater stuff (my SO is a meat eater). I buy his meat items once a month or so in bulk, so that doesn't happen as much anymore. But then again, my local grocery store has both a health food section and regular stuff.
I play a little game in the checkout - I give myself a "point" for every time the cashier has to ask me what something is that's in my cart. Or how one eats what I'm buying. Two best point-getters: tofu and eggplant!
LOL! I love that game! I'm in the midwest, too. One time the cashier had to ask me what asparagus was. I was amused... and a little sad.
You ever laugh at the interesting combinations some people have in their baskets. I'm usually in the 10 or less aisle and I'm always cracking up. Here's a couple that I couldn't help but laugh at in the store:
-The infamous candy bar and diet coke
-Sushi and condoms
-Batteries, bread and lotion
-Tangerines, Beer and Light Bulbs
I know more than likely that person has forgotten a couple things and just coming back to get those items but I just find it funny... I'm a dork! LOL!!!
Tamika
I'm seventeen, and I shop with my omni parents, so I will always have the meat in the cart. I do look in other people's carts just to see what other people are buying. I'm amazed at the amount of junk that some people buy. Sometimes I'll get an ovewhelming craving for Fritos, and I feel like people are judging me when I pick them up. Like I'm so out of shape and whatnot. Sometimes when I see chubby families buying a lot of junk I just want to drop my groceries and jog back home. I'm always the one with the healthy lunch too, and whenever I have something "junky" in my lunch I feel really self-concious about that too. Sometimes I think I'm paranoid.
I thought of this thread today while at our grocery down the street (most of my shopping is done at the co-op and farmers market, so honestly when I shop at my local grocery store, it's a crap shoot as to the "healthiness" of my purchases...ie. beer, olives and enchilada sauce for today's trip).
Anyway, I passed this poor kid, maybe 8 or 10 y/o, obese, shoving a donut from the deli case into her mouth between swipes of cheese chunks from the sample tray by the olive station.
I wanted to go up to her mother and shake her.... :P
(BTW, thanks Litte2ant for the enchilada recommendation, you're right, fantastic!)
I do that too, but it doesn't happen all that much anymore. I don't buy at large groceries anymore, but mostly at the local co-op, which is a small place where everyone knows each other. I always run into people from my college and some other people I've met in town. There are only four aisles: frozen food and canned; bulk section; ethnic foods, bulk liquids (oil, syrup), and dry processed foods; and sweets, baked goods, and fresh produce in the last aisle. The refrigerated products are in the back and the hygiene products in the front. There are no carts because there is no room for them. People use baskets or their own bags.
I do look at other people's groceries, but they are not all that interesting to me unless someone is buying something "exotic" that the co-op hasn't been carrying before.
My purchases there would look extremely weird and out-of-place at a normal grocery store (organic bulk lentils, brown rice, cumin, and cornstarch, a bunch of different kinds of apples, some greens, and a large tub of plain soy yogurt for example), but at the co-op, if I happen to make an hungry-impulse-buy of a box of Mac&Chreese, soy icecream, Amy's canned tomato soup, and vegan cookies, I feel embarrassed because I know the volunteers at the check-out know me and my usual buying habits. They never comment on that, we always talk about other topics or the fact that I'm distilling essential oils out of the 10 organic oranges I'm buying, lol!
wow. all the entertainment i've been missing. i don't know why it's never occurred to me to do this. i've been in some pretty long lines, but somehow i always find myself obsessing over the "what the heck am i forgetting" question. strange too, because i thought veggies were supposed to be brain food. though maybe that's fish. (must be. ;))
anyhow, i'm kind of relieved to find out this is such a popular hobby because there have been times when i've picked up some pretty strange vibes from my cohorts in the checkout. i'm sure there could be a few reasons for this, but i kinda like the thought that it's because they're cart watchers. maybe next time i'll ask. stare back at them and say "you want to be a vegetarian, don't you?" while nodding understandingly. then i'll offer them some tofu. and a kleenex. you never know where this could lead.
i've picked up some pretty strange vibes from my cohorts in the checkout. i'm sure there could be a few reasons for this, but i kinda like the thought that it's because they're cart watchers. maybe next time i'll ask. stare back at them and say "you want to be a vegetarian, don't you?" while nodding understandingly. then i'll offer them some tofu. and a kleenex. you never know where this could lead.
Haha. I hate to say that I have similar imaginings (maybe I should call them vegan fantasies? :o ), and thus always carry a few Why Vegans/etc with me should an opportunity arise ;)
And to everyone else, do not lose hope for the chubby/obese kid accompanied by a cart full of Kraft, Fritos, and Haagen Daz. Not too too long ago *I* was an obese kid (though my mom still insists I was "chubby") with the worst diet I could ever imagine, and here I am vegan and munching on lettuce, tofu, and calcium chews (the story of my life) ;D
(my SO is a meat eater). I buy his meat items once a month or so in bulk
I do this too. Meat is SO expensive here, that I go to a particular market for it and buy a month's supply for him. I'm so glad our "stash" should last till he can go with me, I hate that place normally because you either have to get in quick when they open or stand in line at the butcher's forever, staring at the chunks and smelling blood! But going in with him at least means no pushy person is going to try to jump the queue ahead of the "stupid foriegn woman who won't notice" (yeah right) and I can get home ASAP. Then I bag up the portions of meat for freezing, and wash my hands...and wash my hands...and wash my hands...and we're safe for about another month.
Faunablues: Isn't "chubby" the most degrading word in the language to apply to a child! When I was a kid my mother made my clothes (urg) and all of the patterns she bought for me were marked "Chubbee" (as if the 2 e's made it "cute" instead of stupid!) Not bad enough my mother had no colour sense and didn't give a darn what other kids were wearing--I had to see that "label" every time. No wonder I hate to shop for clothes!
A few yrs ago I was given a bunch of photos from my childhood and after being labelled "fat" all my life, I discover I was just big for my age, tall and broad. The sewing pattern people just hadn't kept up with the shift from the 40's-50's pattern blocks to the 60's. I now have living proof that I wasn't indecently obese. Trouble is, I learned to think I was, and later became so. Sigh!
Looks like I'm one of the few people who don't check out other people's carts. I may be staring at the cart in front of me, but only because I'm spacing out, waiting to get the hell out of the store. Especially in Costco. I loathe going to Costco. Costconians (people who shop at Costco) are the worst. They are either shoving their cart up my butt or they are as slow as snails. One day I got trapped in an isle between two Costconian "snails" and one of them farted---UGH!! Shopping isn't my favorite activity.
A few yrs ago I was given a bunch of photos from my childhood and after being labelled "fat" all my life, I discover I was just big for my age, tall and broad. The sewing pattern people just hadn't kept up with the shift from the 40's-50's pattern blocks to the 60's. I now have living proof that I wasn't indecently obese. Trouble is, I learned to think I was, and later became so. Sigh!
Ah, yabbit, almost the same thing happened to me. The whole time I was in elementary school I thought I was fat--thus I became so gradually. I have been the proverbial yo-yo most of my adult life. Anyway, years and years later I saw a picture of myself when I was about 12. I was not fat; I was not even "chubby." I WAS taller than most of my peers and therefore was bigger than most of them as well. Unfortunately, I translated that into "fat" and the rest is history. :-\
lol...I like buying in bulk. I can only imagine what ppl think when they see me (yes, I live alone!) buying a pack of 30 something rolls of toilet paper...
I know, that is the only time I am ever embarrassed--when I am carrying that humongous pack of Costco tp through the store. It's as big as me!
When I talked bad about "Costconians" I didn't mean you Apstaats! I shop there, too, unfortunately. I'm a Costconian myself I guess :-).
lol...I like buying in bulk. I can only imagine what ppl think when they see me (yes, I live alone!) buying a pack of 30 something rolls of toilet paper...
I know, that is the only time I am ever embarrassed--when I am carrying that humongous pack of Costco tp through the store. It's as big as me!
When I talked bad about "Costconians" I didn't mean you Apstaats! I shop there, too, unfortunately. I'm a Costconian myself I guess :-).
Oh, I knew you didn't mean that! I try to avoid Costco as much as I can. I feel similarly to you--for some reason, people think that because the aisles are wide, that means it's ok to park your cart perpendicularly... anyway, sometimes you just need 36 rolls of toilet paper and you have no other choice!
When I talked bad about "Costconians" I didn't mean you Apstaats! I shop there, too, unfortunately. I'm a Costconian myself I guess :-).
Oh, I knew you didn't mean that! I try to avoid Costco as much as I can. I feel similarly to you--for some reason, people think that because the aisles are wide, that means it's ok to park your cart perpendicularly... anyway, sometimes you just need 36 rolls of toilet paper and you have no other choice!
I just thought I'd make sure. :) I've walked out of Coscto with my cart full of toilet paper, too!!
I think I have a slight phobia about running out of tp....weird, I know. lol!
What one person needs that much???? hehe
Nothing wrong with stocking up if you have enough room for it. It's not like it's going to go bad or anything! !! :P
(another live-aloner who buys the big things of TP)
Which reminds me, I think I only have half a dozen rolls or so left!!!!
A few yrs ago I was given a bunch of photos from my childhood and after being labelled "fat" all my life, I discover I was just big for my age, tall and broad. The sewing pattern people just hadn't kept up with the shift from the 40's-50's pattern blocks to the 60's. I now have living proof that I wasn't indecently obese. Trouble is, I learned to think I was, and later became so. Sigh!
Ah, yabbit, almost the same thing happened to me. The whole time I was in elementary school I thought I was fat--thus I became so gradually. I have been the proverbial yo-yo most of my adult life. Anyway, years and years later I saw a picture of myself when I was about 12. I was not fat; I was not even "chubby." I WAS taller than most of my peers and therefore was bigger than most of them as well. Unfortunately, I translated that into "fat" and the rest is history. :-\
I really was a fat little kid! My (otherwise outstanding) mom -no doubt unknowingly influenced by the then popular first Atkins diet- was convinced that meat was healthy and starches and fruits were fattening.
All-you-can-eat barbecue ribs =good.
A second banana=bad.
Don't want the rest of your lunch? Well, finish the meat and throw away the bread and veggies. ::)
Yup, there's hope for those kids in the supermarket line! 8)
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