Ethical Shopping

I like avocados, I put them in salads. The trouble is; they are quite expensive and I find that about one in six of the ones I buy is black and mushy, inside. I do examine them thoroughly before I pop them into my trolly but, as yet, haven’t managed to find a way of accurately predicting their internal condition.

I don’t doubt for a minute that the store would immediately replace any inedible ones, with no questions asked, but it’s a fifteen minute drive each way and it really doesn’t seem worth the bother, and I really don’t want to hang on to mangy avocados until the next time I go shopping.

I do my shopping by the scan as you go method, so when I get to the checkout everything is already in my bags and all I have to do is pay for it. This means I only pay for what I have scanned. So, to come to the point, I’ve been wondering if it would be morally acceptable to not scan every sixth avocado that I put in my shopping. I’m sure the store’s position on this would be, no, definitely not, but they would be looking at the situation from an entirely different point of view to me. If they were to allow the practice, everyone would be not scanning half of their shopping on the grounds that there is always a possibility that something might not be up to standard.

My solution to our differing perspectives and the store’s argument against my proposal would be to not tell the store I was doing it. From both a philosophical and practical standpoint, this seems the optimal strategy. My problem would be solved and, by maintaining secrecy, no one else would be encouraged to do the same thing.

I do, of course, realise that a good deal of caution will be necessary in the execution of my plan, as the police tend not to be very imaginative regarding the distinction between creative problem solving and shoplifting.