I feel guilty and dirty for buying from Amazon

[Fermion]

Another false choice argument.

Is it really? My brother worked in that industry for over a decade. Big long houses is how it is done, with something like 100,000 chickens in each house. 12 houses in his location, so 1.2 million chickens raised every few months. This was a very small operation too.

I don't think you grasp how much chicken is consumed. Maybe why everything "tastes like chicken?"

 

[travelover]

Is it really? My brother worked in that industry for over a decade. Big long houses is how it is done, with something like 100,000 chickens in each house. 12 houses in his location, so 1.2 million chickens raised every few months. This was a very small operation too.

I don't think you grasp how much chicken is consumed. Maybe why everything "tastes like chicken?"

I don't think you grasp that so much chicken is eaten because the cost has been driven so low by inhumane production means. Historically Americans ate much less meat and not coincidentally were much trimmer and healthier. There is a reason it is illegal to photograph the conditions on these 'farms", in some states, though I'm sure your brother has told you about the beak clipping and massive antibiotic feeding that is normal practice.

 

[Music Lover]

I don't think you grasp that so much chicken is eaten because the cost has been driven so low by inhumane production means.

I agree

Historically Americans ate much less meat and not coincidentally were much trimmer and healthier.

They also worked a lot harder and for longer hours, and no one sat in front of the TV all day long.

 

[travelover]

..........They also worked a lot harder and for longer hours, and no one sat in front of the TV all day long.

You bring up a good point. Maybe these Amazon work rules are really a healthy change for sedentary workers.

 

[6miths]

Historically Americans ate much less meat and not coincidentally were much trimmer and healthier.

Sorry, off topic but you don't think that maybe the thirty-fold increase in sugar consumption had more to do with the diabesity epidemic than how much meat was being eaten.

 

[euro]

Sorry, off topic but you don't think that maybe the thirty-fold increase in sugar consumption had more to do with the diabesity epidemic than how much meat was being eaten.

This ^^^^^!!!!, as well as (and in addition to) all the other massive carbohydrate sources, high fructose corn syrup, etc.

 

[jrcunniff]

Interesting the place I retired from did 12 hour shifts, 3 days on/3 days off, days to nights and vv every 12 days. We offered them various 8 hour shifts, they were adamantly against anything but their 12 hour rotation - for the 18+ years I was there, and they’re still on 12s. It was tougher on older employees but none of them wanted to give up 3 days off.

Same. My employees work 10hr days/4 days a week, 3 days off. Every so often I ask about splitting up shifts, the answer is always “no”. Can’t say I’d feel differently in their shoes... For me, the hardest part of working was getting up in the morning!

 

[travelover]

Sorry, off topic but you don't think that maybe the thirty-fold increase in sugar consumption had more to do with the diabesity epidemic than how much meat was being eaten.

I definitely think that is a huge factor but I've created enough thread drift as it is.

 

[Sunset]

Strangely I recall reading some articles about RV retired folks that would work at Amazon warehouses for a few months to earn $$ so they could continue their nomadic lifestyle.
Many had left regular jobs where you had to work all year long, year after year.

I don't like buying stuff from Amazon, as they mix various vendor things together, so counterfeit items are mixed in with the real ones, and when you buy, it's random which one you get.

 

[harley]

I blame Jeff Bezos for the inhumane treatment of Costco chickens. And Mark Zuckerberg.

As far as the people who buy local because they don't like the practices/politics of Amazon or whatever, I suspect if someone did in-depth research on the local owners, a lot of them would be less than admirable too. Very few people could withstand that kind of scrutiny and come out looking sparkly.

That's not saying don't buy local or small or whatever. Just that people are human, and humans are fallible. I suspect if you sat down with Jeff Bezos and asked him if he was venal or evil, he'd be outraged. He probably thinks he's making the world better.

 

[tmm99]

I use Amazon for their superb service (the best and easiest return policy!), speedy delivery, convenience and prices. I've never been this satisfied with any company EVER. I feel bad if the company is treating its employees poorly.

I used to boycott Walmart because of some of their practices. A friend of mine said, "I see a bunch of people shopping there all the time, which means their prices are good. I bet you'll shop there too when you get older." He was right. (And there is no Target in Canada!!!)

 

[Chuckanut]

IHistorically Americans ate much less meat and not coincidentally were much trimmer and healthier.

I'm not sure what this has to do with Amazon, but I would love to see some documentation of that. My experience is that sugar and highly processed carbs are my enemy. YMMV/

 

[Ready]

Amazon has improved the quality of people’s lives by making online shopping incredibly convenient. For those who don’t have time to go to brick and mortar stores or perhaps don’t feel comfortable going during the pandemic, Amazon has been a huge benefit.

Even if I wanted to shop elsewhere, I have no way of knowing whether the next company I’m buying from treats their workers well or even worse than Amazon. I’ve worked for many small businesses that treated their employees horribly. Buying local does not provide any assurance that you are buying from a company that treats its workers any better than Amazon.

 

[harley]

Historically Americans ate much less meat and not coincidentally were much trimmer and healthier.

I'm not sure what this has to do with Amazon, but I would love to see some documentation of that.

I'm pretty sure this is correct. Historically Americans ate less meat, vegetables, fruit, bread, potatoes, rice, sugar, etc. And were much trimmer and healthier. Supersize me!

 

[RobbieB]

Yeah, we damn near starved to death on Plymouth rock.

 

[Sunset]

Yeah, we damn near starved to death on Plymouth rock.

You must be older than me...

 

[Koolau]

At first, you might think that everything goes to Bezos. But, there are tens of thousands of micro, small and medium size businesses and individual business who depend on the Amazon platform to sell their products.

True, but I'm sure Bezos gets a cut of it all. Otherwise, how did he get so rich? YMMV

 

[Gotadimple]

True, but I'm sure Bezos gets a cut of it all. Otherwise, how did he get so rich? YMMV

Of course Amazon gets a cut of every transaction on their small business platform, and a fee if they hold the inventory and ship to the customer. But. So does Google and so does Walmart.

They are aggregators. They have to be paid for the services they provide the small business. And all of them have been very successful at this.

- Rita

 

[ExFlyBoy5]

Well, seems as though the AMZN growth is far from abating. A lawyer's forum I am on had quite the discussion from the patent/trademark folks and it seems that there is quite the backlog at the USTPO because of AMZN submitting a whole messload of new trademarks and patents. Also, I heard on the truckers channel on Sirius XM (you would be amazed at what you can learn on there) that AMZN will probably buy out a fairly large trucking company and a dispatch company that is used by a LOT of independent truckers.

Perhaps I need to shift some of my "parked cash" into AMZN.

 

[timo2]

I blame Jeff Bezos for the inhumane treatment of Costco chickens. And Mark Zuckerberg.

As far as the people who buy local because they don't like the practices/politics of Amazon or whatever, I suspect if someone did in-depth research on the local owners, a lot of them would be less than admirable too. Very few people could withstand that kind of scrutiny and come out looking sparkly.

That's not saying don't buy local or small or whatever. Just that people are human, and humans are fallible. I suspect if you sat down with Jeff Bezos and asked him if he was venal or evil, he'd be outraged. He probably thinks he's making the world better.

If a person boycotted every business they disagreed with politically, that person would end up sitting naked in a hole drinking rainwater and eating grubs. My only issue is when a business owner advertises their politics like a badge of honor, thus losing some customers on purpose. That's just arrogance, IMO. I don't recall Bezos doing that, beside people knowing about him because he's a big-shot.

And in the future, when Soylent Green is delivered directly to my residence by Amazon drones because the Pandemic Du Jour restricts any movement of the 20 billion people on earth, I want to hear "Soylent Green is Chicken!" instead of "Soylent Green is Soy Paste fortified by Melamine!".

 

[ExFlyBoy5]

And in the future, when Soylent Green is delivered directly to my residence by Amazon drones because the Pandemic Du Jour restricts any movement, I want to hear "Soylent Green is Chicken!" instead of "Soylent Green is Soy Paste fortified by Melamine!".

Hey, as long as you wear [-]a mask[/-] TWO MASKS, you should be fine...right?

 

[Koolau]

Of course Amazon gets a cut of every transaction on their small business platform, and a fee if they hold the inventory and ship to the customer. But. So does Google and so does Walmart.

They are aggregators. They have to be paid for the services they provide the small business. And all of them have been very successful at this.

- Rita

Yeah, thanks. I kinda put that together myself. I have no problem with Amazon getting their due. I don't even have a problem with Bezos getting rich. Again, considering the title of the thread, I think I'll leave it at that 'cause YMMV.

 

[MRSPOCK]

Can't say I agree with all of the social correctness issues of Amazon but they have a good product. I try not to spend all of my money there but there are many small businesses that benefit from the Amazon platform

 

[JJpop]

To my mind they really are the Evil Empire

https://www.vice.com/en/article/y3gk3w/amazon-is-forcing-its-warehouse-workers-into-brutal-megacycle-shifts

https://www.vice.com/en/article/v7mq5m/amazon-will-pay-gig-workers-dollar617-million-for-stealing-tips



I am not going to shop on their website unless I cannot buy the item anywhere else.
I will use their website for my purposes and discard it like trash when I don't need it.

.

Then you have no business shopping there at all.

 

[VanWinkle]

Amazon is successful, and I like companies that are successful. They are also usually targets of many people who don't like the way they succeeded.