Tim Violino’s Reviews > The Secret Life of Groceries: The Dark Miracle of the American Supermarket > Status Update
Tim Violino
is 30% done
Part 2 is a deep dive into grocery trucking. It’s heavy stuff. The author spent a large amount of time riding with a trucker named Lynn who demonstrates to him just how cruel, unfair, and exhausting the job can be. Low wages, sexual harassment, poor sleep, hopeless debt; it’s a lot to take in. I am fully engrossed by the journalism, and my sympathy goes out to anyone suffering in this thankless and difficult job.
— Dec 08, 2023 03:14PM
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Tim’s Previous Updates
Tim Violino
is 70% done
The female shrimp acceleration of puberty after losing one eye story is utterly outrageous. The author posits that this discovery led to a shrimp revolution.
— Dec 13, 2023 02:24PM
Tim Violino
is 60% done
Parts 3 and 4 went by in a breeze. There was a somewhat whimsical anecdote about slawlsa that revealed the insane busyness in the life of a food entrepreneur and a deep dive into the life of a Whole Foods employee. I found the conclusion that forced happiness amongst employees being low on their perceived grievances to be interesting, and thought the mechanization of employees championed by Amazon concerning.
— Dec 13, 2023 01:27PM
Tim Violino
is 20% done
The second half of part one gets pretty stimulating. The Germans just bought Trader Joe’s to create an international grocery empire with Aldi. Joe and the Germans didn’t see eye to eye as he wanted a quirky, healthy, and responsible store while they wanted minimalism and the lowest prices.
Prior the story about 2 Buck Chuck is pretty great, also Joe’s decision to target over educated/underpaid customers.
— Dec 08, 2023 12:53PM
Prior the story about 2 Buck Chuck is pretty great, also Joe’s decision to target over educated/underpaid customers.
Tim Violino
is 10% done
Interesting read so far, it heavily focuses on the rise of Trader Joe’s and speculates on why the store is popular. Joe’s focus on maximizing profit per volume of item and matching wages to cost of living are insightful strats. The author’s style is verbose; he spends a bit too much time developing a depressing / emotional tone to statements that would be as strikingly effective if left neutral and objective.
— Dec 08, 2023 11:50AM