Can Walmart Compete With Whole Foods?

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Walmart has a program called Heritage Agriculture that's bringing local and organic produce and meat into its stores. The Atlantic's Corby Kummer bought a big supply of ingredients from Walmart's local selection, bought the same ingredients from Whole Foods, and staged a blind taste test with a bunch of foodies.The Grub Street blog summarizes the results:

Kummer called it a draw: Walmart's almonds, mixed greens, and spinach handily beat their Whole Foods competitors, but Whole Foods' chicken, milk, and pomegranates reigned supreme in their categories. Worth noting: Walmart's ingredients were also $50 cheaper.

Why is Walmart moving into the local and organic food market? To make money. They're hoping to get some of those locavores as customers and cut down on transportation costs. So it's not altruism, but that's all fine and good. That just shows that real business considerations are aligning in favor of smarter eating.You can watch Kummer tour the Walmart produce section (and hear him pronounce "produce" in an entirely novel way) in this video.