# Why doesn't WalMart carry real margarine? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 10, 2011, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-walmart-carry-real-margarine/595786 "2011-09-10T02:57:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2012, 5:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-walmart-carry-real-margarine/595786/41 "2012-11-21T05:46:23Z")
> [@Ulfreida](#): > > I like butter myself. Yes, last time I talked to an actual nutritionist (well, nutrition educator) she assured me that butter was nutritionally superior to margarine (in which I think she meant to include the “spreads” we have been talking about). Of course, that was quite the opposite of what nutritionists had been telling us for any years before that time, and I think her main issue was the trans-fats, whose evils had only recently started to be publicized then. I am under the impression that trans-fats have since been largely removed from most margarines/spreads, at least in the USA. (When I was last in the USA, about 18 months ago, the spreads and margarines were almost all labelled 0% trans fat". Here in Britain I am not seeing that, so I do not really know where we stand on the trans fat issue over here.) ---
**Author:** ![LouisB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/dfb087/32.png) [@LouisB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LouisB)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2012, 9:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-walmart-carry-real-margarine/595786/42 "2012-11-21T09:16:03Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > Corn starch traditionally. Early forms of margerine provided the oil and powder seperately and you had to mix them together. Lot’s of American cheese is just a form of margerine, some oil and solids mixed together. > > ETA: Whups, that’s not exactly the answer to the question, though it might be. I thought you were asking about the basic constituents of real margerine. I clearly remember my mother mixing goop to get margarine; I think I remember that it was called olio-margarine, not that this is relevant. ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2012, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-walmart-carry-real-margarine/595786/43 "2012-11-21T14:53:04Z")
stick margarine is a solid. it can be dyed yellow to look like butter. in some locations, in the distant past, selling that was not legal and it had to be sold as a white stick and a dye packet; you warmed it and kneaded the two together. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2012, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-walmart-carry-real-margarine/595786/44 "2012-11-21T15:21:06Z")
> [@handsomeharry](#): > > I cannot, usually, say enough good about WalMart, but, I am confused: Why do they not carry margarine? I mean the real stuff, not Country Crock’s ‘Margarine Spread’ or some such clones of that. I love margarine, ten times more than butter! And WM doesn’t carry it. At least not in any here in town, and I think there are about 10-20 of them here. > Thanks, > hh I’m reasonably sure that neither the purchasing agent nor the CEO of WM frequent our board. Perhaps you should send an email to the company, as I doubt you’ll get an answer here. ---
**Author:** ![Michael63129](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3da27b/32.png) [@Michael63129](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Michael63129)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2012, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-walmart-carry-real-margarine/595786/45 "2012-11-21T17:40:15Z")
> [@njtt](#): > > Well, vegetable oils, “Mono and Diglycerides”, “Polyglycerol Esters of Fatty Acids”, and, very arguably, lecithin (and even, arguably “Vitamin A Palmitate”), are all types of fat. As for the others, apart from the water and perhaps the whey, they all appear to be flavoring, coloring, preservative, nutritional (added vitamins), and texture control agents that are all very unlikely to be present in more than very small amounts. I doubt whether there is very much whey either, because I should imagine that it is relatively expensive compared to the oils. In any case, a fair proportion of [whey](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whey) is itself fat. I am still not seeing how fat can only constitute about 40% of this mixture. (Although if one goes by volume rather than weight, I suppose a fair proportion of a whipped spread will be air.) I get 35.7% fat if I divide the weight per serving (14 grams) by the fat content (5 grams), which is less than the percentage of vegetable oil, but then fat is lighter than water (more volume per weight) and the other fat sources probably add up to another percent or two; these numbers may also be rounded up/down (e.g. 5.4 grams of fat and 13.5 grams total per serving is 40% fat by weight, more if you go by volume). For comparison, [here](http://caloriecount.about.com/calories-lowes-foods-spread-48-percent-i120465) is another spread that is 48% vegetable oil from the description (no ingredient list shown but probably similar); this gives 50% fat by weight, again, subject to rounding. ---
**Author:** ![md2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/73ab20/32.png) [@md2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md2000)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2012, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-walmart-carry-real-margarine/595786/46 "2012-11-21T18:14:35Z")
Does anyone from Ontaio remember the good old days, when margarine manufacturers were not allowed to use the word “butter” in their ads, thanks to the dairy lobby. “I like this much better than the more expensive spread!” Like, duh, did they think most of the public did not understand those code words? One issue with plam oil, as I understand, is it’s much less healthy, more saturated (but cheaper) than substitutes like canola oil. Keep in mind Walmart practices the Japanese Management method known as “the 800 pound gorilla” (Management by sumo). They will start using a supplier; buy from them. Then, when they become a significant part of that manufacturer’s business, they will apply the thumbscrews - “play ball with us, give us a big discount, or we will stop buying and switch to your competitor”. Many smaller retailers complain they cannot evn buy wholesale at Walmart’s retail price. Another tactic is to undercut the product with a similar, but cheaper one through a generic house brand manufacturer. Sometimes, the compromise is like you see with new children’s movie releases - for the same price as others charge for the movie, Wally sells the movie and a bonus DVD or book. Unlike most grocery stores, which would try to give you a decent variety of competing products, Wally World will aim to give you a smaller choice, but that limited supply is a big business to everyone in the chain. _(“I’m losing money on every transaction, but I’m making up for it in volume.”)_ So it’s possible your choice of “margarine” is not on the shelves because Walmart has decided to limit the selection to a few products - and more expensive, but better quality brands did not meet the amrket criteria. After all, these people - [http://www.peopleofwalmart.com/photos/](http://www.peopleofwalmart.com/photos/) - are not going to pay an extra 30 cents for a product just because it’s “real” margarine. ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2012, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-walmart-carry-real-margarine/595786/47 "2012-11-21T18:30:30Z")
> [@njtt](#): > > I am still not seeing how fat can only constitute about 40% of this mixture. (Although if one goes by volume rather than weight, I suppose a fair proportion of a whipped spread will be air.) Ingredients lists are done by weight, and yes, “light” spreads are often more than 50% water by weight. Even good old butter is about 20% water. ---
**Author:** ![D-bear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@D-bear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D-bear)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2012, 7:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-walmart-carry-real-margarine/595786/48 "2012-11-22T07:34:50Z")
> [@md2000](#): > > Does anyone from Ontaio remember the good old days, when margarine manufacturers were not allowed to use the word “butter” in their ads, thanks to the dairy lobby. Thank God for the good old U.S.A. [If you think it’s butter, but it’s not…](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LLrTPrp-fW8) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-walmart-carry-real-margarine/595786.md?page=2)