Supermarket Trouble

[frindro]

Is it a sin to buy groceries from supermarkets that sell pornography and condoms? I read this article and I fear I may be co-operating in evil.

 

[NHInsider]

Hmm. I don’t think there is a supermarket in this state that doesn’t sell products of that objectionable nature. So - I somehow don’t think the Lord would expect you to give up eating in order to avoid contributing to the profits of a company that also sells such things in addition to your staples.

It would be virtuous to find another source of your food, I think, but not sinful not to.

But that’s just my opinion . . . .

 

[ConstantineTG]

You are cooperating in only if you purchase those specific items. Supermarkets can easily drop entire product lines if they are not selling. So buying chicken wings from your grocery store is not contributing to pornography. If their adult magazines are not selling, they will drop them and not sell them anymore, while continue to sell chicken wings.

 

[frindro]

You are cooperating in only if you purchase those specific items.

I figure I would be co-operating if I shopped on those particular stores because they sold those things, but that beside the point.

Do I have any obligation to shop at a supermarket that does not carry condoms, even if it’s a bit of a journey to get there?

 

[fermat]

I figure I would be co-operating if I shopped on those particular stores because they sold those things, but that beside the point.

Do I have any obligation to shop at a supermarket that does not carry condoms, even if it’s a bit of a journey to get there?

You can always write to the store and let them know that because they sell those items, you will not be a customer any longer and shop somewhere else. If you can shop somewhere else that does not sell offensive items and the amount of effort it takes is proportional to the situation (no one expects you to drive an hour just to avoid a store that sells condoms) then it would not hurt to do it.

At the end of the day, if you don’t buy those products, then you are not contributing. You certainly could write to the store and let them know you opinion.

 

[ConstantineTG]

I figure I would be co-operating if I shopped on those particular stores because they sold those things, but that beside the point.

Thats not how retail works. If in one month a supermarket has 10,000 customers, and all customers bought everything in the store except condoms, then the grocery store will stop selling condoms. They will not close down because they cannot sell condoms. Is that a better explanation?

Each product is rated separately on their saleability and the success or failure of the store as a whole is not dependent on a specific product. So to say that one product makes a big store like a grocery store is wrong.

Do I have any obligation to shop at a supermarket that does not carry condoms, even if it’s a bit of a journey to get there?

First, you’d be hard pressed to find a supermarket that doesn’t sell condoms. Unless you’re willing to go to a public market, butcher shop and produce store separately. But you are missing the point. If you simply want a supermarket not to sell condoms, then simply don’t buy condoms. They will not carry a product that doesn’t sell. You don’t have to boycott the store entirely.