But Costco goes further, partly by offering only a few varieties, or just one variety, of a given item.
After all, Thoreau was offended that orchardists cultivated only a few varieties from nature's virtually infinite stock.
Shoppers, usually overwhelmed by choice, have much simpler decisions to make when faced with only a few varieties of cola or toilet roll.
A decade ago we seemed to be facing a future with only a few varieties of apples, potatoes or flavour-free, fat-free pigs.
Not much happens in the first few months, or rather, Walter is careful to say, we can find traces of only a few varieties of humans.
The Irish potato famine was so devastating because in the 19th century only a few varieties of potato were planted in Ireland, and these all happened to be vulnerable to the same disease.
Shiva's idea was that a decentralized approach to agriculture, based upon a diverse array of locally adapted seeds, would be more likely to weather the vagaries of a changing climate than a system relying on only a few varieties.
But only a limited number of varieties produce standard or higher quality wines, three varieties account for most of the raisins of commerce, only 15 to 20 varieties are grown extensively as table grapes, a single variety yields the bulk of sweet juice produced in the United States, and only a few varieties are used for canning.
However, Europeans propagated the potato by planting a piece of potato essentially growing clones of only a few varieties.
Nearly the same percentage of respondents said that only a few varieties of organic vegetables are available in organic stores and that the vegetables that they consume are oftentimes not available in organic stores.
