Serious Eats - seriouseats.com

I went to one of those once, a lot of their goods were expensive.

A boycott is silly and does damned near nothing. I recall hearing how everyone has a right to free speech, but then maybe the Govt. should take that over too... Feel free to boycott, but remember down the line when it does nothing... I told you so.

This is an aside but what I find humorous about the whole thing is those who shop at Whole Foods that think its mission is anything different from that of any other business which is to make money. Everything else is just marketing. People seem to feel they are making some sort of political statement by shopping there. You're not.

exactly cstone...and it doesn't.

I'm a WFM lover.
After reading the article written by CEO John Mackey I decided that:

a) The guy is a complete hypocrite,

b) He's lacking direction and education and is perhaps swayed too much by his republican "role models" who cannot accept change OR loss of profits

c) Mr. Mackey doesn't understand his target audience, otherwise he would have kept his opinions to himself!

d) anyone who idolizes margaret thatcher gets analyzed in my books. I'm not a fan of any of her viewpoints; really.

On the latter-side:
I'm sure the High-Class US consumer who purchases whole foods for self-righteousness of their own good will still buy from WFM. The numbers might shift momentarily.

Anyone else notice that the entire article was centred on "money" and not sustainability (as intended) ahaha No offense meant in any way but: As a Canadian I LOVE OUR SOCIALIZED HEALTHCARE. Don't know if my opinion matters in regards to the existing structure to our Southern Neighbours.

That was my personal little human-rights political rant *smirk*

What gives the government a "right" to price a doctor's time and expertise? Shouldn't the doctor have freedom also?

So people actually listen to a guy who leads a company that sells overpriced food in this economy?
Might as well ask Paris Hilton's opinion on the North Korea armament issues....

You know when you watch the news about some distant country where people are passionately fighting AGAINST something that you consider a basic right, like free elections, or freedom of religion, or women's rights.

And you just want to give those people a shake and say "WTF is WRONG with you? Why don't you want this basic human right?"

That's what it feels like as a Canadian watching the US healthcare debate. I consider universal healthcare to be one of my rights as a citizen, and I can not for the life of me understand why Americans would demand less.

Seriously, is there a lot of mercury in the water down there?

I thought he had some good things to say. I don't really shop at Whole Foods that often, but I love it when I do. I generally agree with Mackey on the health care stuff, and generally agree with his mission in running WFM. But it's two different issues, two different parts of my brain. Let's not get overwhelmed with misplaced anger over misunderstandings of his use of the word "right".

Isn't Mackey the dude who used to post on stock trading forums under a pseudonym, where he would bash the competition's stock while talking up his own?

Mackey's points were mostly talking points pushed by Republicans and have been debunked. Tort reform does not lower health care costs and there are studies to prove it. And sure Americans should eat better, but they are not. We are getting fatter and fatter every year despite the gloom and doom news from our doctors and health organizations. incentives to get us to eat better should be in addition to not instead of health care reform.

If Mackey was interested in real reform - which he is not - then he should talk about dismantling insurance monopolies and agribusiness (if he's so concerned about what we eat).

Give me something new not the same old debunked garbage. He should be boycotted for being an idiot.

Gotta love the hypocrate bleeding hearts... You aren't allowed to voice an opinion that is contrary to mine. They are trying to turn this country into that beacon of democracy in Venezuela.

Bogus lawsuits & Ambulance chasing lawyers are a big part of
the healthcare cost problem. So why is tort reform not part of the
debate?
Oh yeah I forgot most politicians ARE LAWYERS!

I think it's a bad idea for a business that depends on consumers to make a political statement one way or the other. My only exception is when it involves speaking out against prejudice and discrimination. It is his right to free speech to say whatever he wants, true, but it is his responsibility to his share holders to not alienate the market. I think people get mad at consumers for boycotts and not respecting free speech, but that is how the free market rolls. As a business you should be careful.

Whole Foods in Austin has this thing I call the Wall of Shame. You go up this strange electronic walkway thingy, and you see all these optimistic posters of the beginning stages of Whole Foods and the stores they opened. Then when you go down you just see the word "acquired," "acquired," "acquired," repeatedly, and I may be wrong, but it is seems to me that the acquiring was really a buying out of small independent stores.

I do feel alienated by his comments on health care. I don't agree, and it is truly important to me. I know so many people that fall into these crazy categories that make it difficult to get healthcare through employers. I don't think I am self-righteous or a hypocrite that I choose not to spend my hard earned money at a business when a CEO makes it easy for me to know his opinions. I know there are a lot of bad practices out there that I could onyl find out with a bit of investigation. He made it easy for me to see that he is speaking out against something that concerns me. Just sell me your goods, hold your politics. This blog often talks about making conscientious choices in how you spend your money, why is this different?

It is easy for him to make a statement about healthcare. He could probably pay for several organ transplants and the accompanying meds with cash outright.

This economic downturn is not a time to turn away any paying customers. I used to make special trips to Whole Foods to get items unavailable at my regular market. My regular market is probably much more conservative than Whole Foods, BUT they know how to keep their mouths shut for the most part. I also have the satisfaction of knowing they are local-ish. Plus, I notice that they tend to stock anything that Whole Foods does if you just ask. I think the workers at Whole Foods could likely get a job at the local stores. In fact, a new market style store that will only carry local products is opening. They can get a job there.

That guy Mackey is nutty Mc Nut Nut. He was caught logging on some financial site touting WF's stock or something. He's anti-union. Thoroughly one of the bad guys.

WF is lowest on my hierarchy after the Farmer's Market, local grocery stores, Trader Joe's. But I go there. There seafood is swill. At least here in NYC 14 St.

I'm sorry that Mackey had a "bully pulpit" from which to receive wide distribution of his (erroneous) thoughts on health care reform. Cost and waste and future deficits didn't seem to be a concern regarding a certain platinum-plated quagmire, so I think we can have health care reform. What we really need is a single payer system, but our politicians, sadly, lack the political will for that (i.e, they are cowards concerned only with being re-elected).
He claims Canada rations it's health care...(can we get a comment on that from our Canadian friends on here?)..what does he think insurance companies do with their policies of recission, cherry-picking, and lemon-dropping?

Cuba ,Russia ,85 % of Africa, Indian Sub Continent ,Mexico ,Central America ,health ,who cares? food, hole, Whole ,organic,grass fed,his politics , your politics , are you hungry now ,will you be hungry tommorow,how far away is your food ,can you buy it . No food ,no health ,no care . Are you all that stupid?

@dasmueller - It's totally political.

In summation:
I believe the reason his customers are choosing to "boycott" the company is because the CEO's (whom runs the company) points-of-view are contradictory to a typical "liberal/democratic" stereotype/mindset that politically-eco-concious consumers tend to believe--and therefore, the politically-eco-concious-liberal consumers (WF target audience) are standing up and saying "no". "Because this company believes in something that I advocate against, I will choose not to purchase from them and contribute to their profits"

This is sort-of an ironic situation that may divide the "stereotypicals" from the "willing to learn"? Posers vs. Actualists? [Especially in a niche-grocer such as WF]

Does that help? :D
(sorry I tend to be long-winded and trail-off sometimes in regards to politics)

I too thought Whole Foods was expensive BUT
I WAS WRONG
My mother needs gluten free foods, we'd been shopping at Meijer & Kroger but their selection was poor so I checked at Whole Foods.
The had all of the same items PLUS more, the only difference was that they were all CHEAPER at Whole Foods - & by $2.50 to $3.00
I started a list of items I purchased frequently IE canned coconut milk
anyway with a list of 50 items I started a chart (Yes I may have too much time on my hands, anyway)
after 4 weeks I discovered that Whole foods was ALWAYS CHEAPER than Meijer or Kroger on the exact same items.
I was Shocked
I've come to the conclusion that I spend more at Whole Foods only because I buy all those wonderful extras

It's funny how the people who are against a public health care option either have insurance or can afford health care. I for one cannot. I got laid off and COBRA would cost me almost $500 a month, which I can't afford to pay. How come we are supposedly the best country in the world (ha) but can't provide its citizens with health care? Every other industrialized country in the world does. We're behind Costa Rica in health care for goodness' sake! I think he did a really stupid thing by stating his opinion on this, considering tons of Whole Foods shoppers are liberals. I will still be shopping at Whole Foods because I love the food, but I am saddened to be supporting this rich, entitled jerk.