Save money AND live better? Really, Wal-Mart, is it you?

Wal-Mart might have toted, “Save money, live better” for a while, but now it might have something new to bring to the table. Last week the Associated Press released a story on Wal-Mart’s plan to push towards healthier selections in its stores, which includes a revamp of its products to make items that contain less sugar and sodium. This reformulation of store products comes at a time when nutrition is steaming hot in the media and sprouting on Capitol Hill. The announcement coincides with First Lady Michelle Obama’s campaign against obesity  and the new Let’s Move campaign to help inspire a healthier younger generation, as well as Bill Clinton’s recent agreement with leading food manufacturers to promote healthier school lunches, an announcement that directly followed that of Wal-Mart’s announcement. The impact and timeliness of this statement of the country’s largest grocer, which accounts for 15 percent of the industry in the United States according to the story, is much larger than it appears; when Wal-Mart moves, the rest of the industry responds. But what does this new shift mean on the country’s greening food horizon?

For one, affordability and accessibility to fresh foods. A study in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health published late last year confirmed the correlation between socioeconomic status and health and nutritional intake, noting that affordable foods and healthy options were two statement that were not synonymous. The implications of Wal-Mart’s shift is resounding in that it makes once unaffordable options accessible to a new demographic. To add to Wal-Mart’s announcement, it went on to note that it will lower the prices of fruit and vegetables by a whopping $1 billion a year, according to the article. Will Wal-Mart’s shift change the whole landscape of healthy eating in the United States? With programs like the Time for Lunch Campaign–part of the Slow Food Movement–and media attention by food-maven Michael Pollen–author of New York Times bestsellers In Defense of Food and The Omnivore’s Dilemma–nutrition, health, proper diet and the importance of knowing where you food is coming from is getting a completely new flavor. Will these new movements can the once idealized notion of longer shelf life for good?