Customers call for Whole Foods boycott

Source: BBC



By Claire Prentice
BBC News, Washington


Russell Mokhiber leads picketers outside a Whole Foods store

It's the shop where wealthy American liberals buy their groceries.

But the American supermarket chain Whole Foods Market has found itself at the centre of a storm of controversy after its chief executive, John Mackey, wrote an op-ed piece in the Wall Street Journal presenting a free market alternative to President Obama's proposed healthcare reforms.

Mr Mackey began his article with a quote from Margaret Thatcher and went on to add that Americans do not have an intrinsic right to healthcare - an idea strongly at odds with the views of a large proportion of Whole Foods' customer base.

The company, which has 270 stores in North America and the UK, sells organic vegetables, biodegradable washing powder and sustainable seafood to a well-heeled clientele and champions its liberal credentials.

--snip--

Read more: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/8216685.stm

---

It's getting traction.

NT

The CEO was only offering an opinion and an alternative option. He didn't attack President Obama or the Democrats so this is one boycott I cant support. Glen Beck advertisers are another matter.

But as for me, I'm finished with them.

guess that is good for America? (uh, yea, right) no more money into Whole Foods or any of their subsidiaries when their CEO is part of the problem, it all trickles down to the corporation

http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/company/history.php

I'll shop at co-ops and farmers markets.

Why can't these people see a great corporation has to live on a two way street?

Me, too. But this CEO's actions are just the icing on the cake. The last time I visited Whole Foods, I noticed that many of the items that I used to buy cheaply in bulk are now pre-packaged and much more expensive. I now understand that the almighty PROFIT is much more important to these people than healthy, affordable food.

Oh, and a private whinge: my favorite cookie there (the dried fruit and nut, with no added sugar) has been shrunk to less than half its original size, but still costs $1. No, thank you.

I haven't shopped there since.

he does for a paycheck. His advertisers buy time on Fox to sell product (yet 20 of them pulled out).

This guy went out of his way to help a murdering industry that doesn't even employ him. (I'm guessing he owns stock in it, though.)

IMO

...but believe what you want.

Self serving that blew up in his face. Reap the whirlwind Mr. CEO. He started a business to sell
to the left, open minded, enviro/health food earth lovers that I am so proud to be a member of....
But he doesn't even believe what he's selling. He's just out for a buck...nothing wrong with that.
He will pay for that op-ed, maybe with his company. It will be sad to see all those people unemployed
if it goes tits-up.

Maybe there is something wrong with being "just out for a buck." Perhaps, when acquiring buckages becomes one's raison d'etre? Especially at the expense of others?

He's been in trouble in the past for anonymously posting to message boards pumping WF's stock value, which is borderline illegal...

He's also lead his company into swallowing up many other alternative food stores like Wild Oats to build an "alternative monopoly". And even to the point of getting a Bush era court to issue a downright stupid subpoena to get a competitor (New Seasons) to provide internal sales and data figures to prove they weren't a monpoly here in Portland (as if that action wasn't going to help CAUSE a monopoly with them getting access to competitor's proprietary data!). That prompted an earlier boycott of WF's up here in Portland.

If I were a WF's investor, I would say that this is three strikes and YOUR OUT to the board!!

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=389&topic_id=6303740

It prolly is one!

From Wikipedia:

Political views

Libertarian ideas

In a debate in Reason Magazine among Mackey, Milton Friedman, and T.J. Rodgers, Mackey said that he is a free market libertarian. He has said that he used to be a "democratic socialist" in college, but when he began a business and barely made money while being accused by workers of not paying them enough and customers of charging too high prices, he began to take a more capitalistic worldview and discovered the works of Ludwig von Mises, Friedrich Hayek and Friedman. According to an article published in The New York Times on August 2, 2009, Mackey is an admirer of author Ayn Rand.


Unions

Mackey has said about unions, "The union is like having herpes. It doesn't kill you, but it's unpleasant and inconvenient, and it stops a lot of people from becoming your lover."


>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>.

So there you have it. He's a jerk.



I don't go there often. Maybe because I'm a "poor liberal" and not a "wealthy liberal".

I'm not sure it's fair though to boycott a company just because it's CEO expresses regressive political views

Fair employers are not afraid of unions!

A business must earn its customers, they're not entitled to them. By making such stupid statements, Mackey has alienated those potential customers. This boycott operates under the capitalist system he loves so much. I hope he learns his lesson the hard way.

there are many good Democrats that own business's, treat their employees well and support unions. And, gasp! still make money.

mackey is nothing more than an opportunist. How, honestly, does a person go from a "Democratic Socialist" to a libertarian? unless he had some sort of massive head trauma, 180 turn is really hard to explain in rational conversation.

he's a colossal bullshitter of the highest order.

he's an average business man. whole foods only took off on a national scale AFTER he got ex-walmart execs on the whole foods board.

bottom line: mackey is full of shit.

I live in austin and wacky mackey, as we call him here, is a nut case and has always been a nut case.

boiling down his "editorial" or as I like to call it free advertising for his store, he does nothing more than shill for his business.

I would frequent the local store here in austin in the mornings for breakfast taco and a muffin.

no more.

I get my eggs from a local farm now. On sunday night, I make a quick frittata, cut it up and have a piece of it every morning now. I also am baking my own muffins with bulk flour I get off the net. My milk and butter I get from a farmer and all other baking ingredients I get from another local supermarket (much cheaper).

wacky mackey can now screw off.

I can go on and on about the bullshit that goes on at whole foods, since many of my friends work there, but that's for another rant. :)

Cheers.

They're non-union and have had some labor issues as well.

At least, that what was discussed at the office the other day. While none of us shop at WalMart, they do offer heath insurance and they now allow unions.

perhaps walmarts improvements are due to the fact that they shed the crap who then moved over to whole foods. LOL

Some Board members move around like locusts.

and you have one borderline whacko incredibly selfish jerk.

Only expressing his opinion, my sweet Aunt Rosie.

but hey, your money and your conscience. Just don't expect changes if you decide to sit on the sidelines.

I can help it. Unfortunately, until I can find a better alternative, I still have to buy my cat's food there. But that's all.

I don't know how the prices compare to WF's but I always buy online in bulk, both canned & dry.

meets the requirements AND he eats it AND it's 99 cents a can. The other foods that meet the requirements either he doesn't like or are way too expensive. I used to give him the Newman's Own, which he liked, but it shot up to anywhere from $1.75-2.50 a can (even online). This is cheaper than having him back on insulin, but still quite expensive. I did find him a frozen food that he really liked, and that turned out to be about the same price per serving as the 365 brand, but you have to buy 12 rolls at a time. I have a teeny tiny freezer and no room for that. The only place that carried the rolls individually was, guess who, Whole Foods. :eyes:

Anyway, thank for the help. I'm always looking for a better alternative but so far haven't found one. Online or in stores.

but ONLY for your kitty's needs ;)

There is no point in endangering your cat for principles.
you are his guardian, and im ho that takes precedence.

flame away.

I will keep looking for an alternative. I wish there was a way to let them really see what a difference it will be to lose my money. I bought a lot of things there.

of high quality no-grain cat food:

http://www.preciouspets.org/healthypetnet/catfood.htm

http://www.sitstay.com/dog/supplies/servlet/CategoryDisplay?catalogId=10001&storeId=10001&categoryId=36928&langId=-1&parent_category_rn=36927&top_category=

I like to give a variety so I buy from both places. Also I supplement with canned sardines in spring water and occasionally canned salmon.. not as expensive as you might expect.

I've tried this one and Frankie does like it, but it's about twice the price (3 oz can) which I can't afford at the moment. It's good stuff though, and will definitely help prevent diabetes. :hi:

will be publicized.

I wont stop shopping there .. This CEO offered his solution to the Health care problem, he did Not Condemn health care . He is Pro Health care for all.

Yeah, all that can afford to buy $6-a-pound broccoli in his overpriced stores or cover a $2500 deductible while being paid below-average wages and not allowed to unionize. Did you even READ his op ed??? :crazy:

I think it's highly unlikely. If you read the entire op-ed, it becomes clear that Mackey thinks we should all be personally responsible for our health, which means we should eat healthy foods, drink only in moderation (phew, thank god he left THAT one in...), exercise regularly (crap, just when I thought being a couch potato was a good thing...), and avoid cigarette smoke (no duh!).

How condescending. Does Mackey propose to eliminate all cancers, genetic anomalies, and accidental injuries? Sigh...I could go on, but what's the use?

By the way, I could not afford my employer's high-deductible insurance, and the deductible for my insurance was only $750/year.

:9

I would think that since you have spoken about being upset about the directions Obama's policies have taken, that you would also support the heath care reform.

People are free to do what they want - including disagree or financially support someone who is fighting against good cause - but just as he's free to say his side, I am free to decide to not give any more of my money. They're over-priced anyway and I can find better elsewhere for less.

ANYone is going to announce that he is against health care, no matter what the reality is.

not just that it is a non Union shop, which it is, but the CEO speaks against unions in general and in disgusting terms. He sees organization of workers as a disease, and let me tell you this, the reason I have and have always had decent health care is my Union.
Plus their food is of low quality, better than Walmart but far below my standards for fresh foods. Far. But then again, I have actual Farmer's markets and small local shops to give my custom, we refused to allow Whole Foods into this town.
The boycott is going to hurt them badly, because most of their customers only shop there out of laziness. There are better options everywhere. Once people taste real quality, they will demand real quality.

you want to know the "options" he gives his employees?

The employees were given a new health care plan, they were to choice one from 5 plans.

they were whittled down to 2. By whom? no one at whole foods will say, but they claim it was by the employees.

The two that are left are: one plan raises the deductible 20% year on year. The other plan raises the deductible upfront and the copay.

The first plan is more attractive to the short time employees (which they have a lot of) the second plan is more attractive to the long time employees (which they are losing do to lay offs and general disgruntled-ness)

So which screw job would you pick?

So mr. asshole mackey says "just eat better food, and all will be well!" fails to point up the fact that his own employees are getting screwed by the health care bullshit plan that he so proudly endorses.

Oh and one more than, the "wellness" account bullshit. Sure you can sock away 2500 bucks over a year for med expenses, but at the end of the year, you don't get that money back. And god forbid you get something that costs more than that, you are in a word, fucked.

So please tell me again just how wonderful whole foods is to their employees when it comes to a health plan? Oh and you must remember that whole foods now has several ex walmart execs on their board. whole foods learned fast to screw their employees.

mr. wacky mackey who used to be a "Democratic Socialist" is now a die hard libertarian. You know those nut jobs, they are the ones that enjoy all the government services but don't want to pay for them.

in the end mackey is an ignorant selfish tool.

to your employers or Mackey directly?

and not just supposedly innocently expressed his feelingsin one WSJ article. I'm not a wonk on this issue but you could check the boycott's rapidly growing FaceBook site (from zero to 10s of thousands in just a couple of weeks), including the links there to their website, etc.
http://www.facebook.com/topic.php?topic=11557&post=70680&uid=119099537379#/group.php?gid=119099537379

Attacking healthcare reform is attacking Obama and the Democratic Party.

so anyone who is cool with "other options", while not ever listing or detailing what those options are, is not for the platform of this party.

Healthcare for ALL. It's just civilized. And this "other option" business is all we keep hearing from the pukes, while they never seem to have another option, except for:

Let them Eat Cake.

You know--the same kind of thinking that led to companies getting "too big to fail," the funny money mortgage derivatives market, killer lead toys, Bernie Madoff, etc.

The Republican health care reform option can be described the way most of their policies can be described:

"Government and regulation, bad; more money for the rich, good. Screw Mr. amd Mrs. Six Pack and their kids and their whole damn planet. And don't try to point that out or we'll start babbling about reverse classism, class wars, unfairness to rich people and any other divisive horse manure we can conjure."

Nothing less will do. If we don't get it now, we have to vote out all the Rep's & Senators that vote
against it. I am so tired of the "I got mine ...Fuck You " retarded repugs. We have the power now...
and we can't let the spineless blue dog bullshit dems get away with derailing it.
:nuke: :kick: :banghead:

when they are ill or go bankrupt despite being insured. And even more who will no longer be able to afford care, drugs, or insurance in another ten years or less.

There are larger issues and larger principles than Obama or even the Democratic Party.

FYI the first to propose Universal Health Care was Teddy Roosevelt, who was a Republican at the time. This is a human issue, not a person issue or a Pary issue. Nixon took a stab at it, too. Making it about Obama or the Democrats when almost 80% of Americans want reform would be self-defeating, IMO.

Overpriced crap that gives yuppies a way to show off and make themselves look better then us hoi polloi.

Rationalize away and happy shopping.

"The problem with socialism is that eventually you run out
of other people's money."

And the assholery doesn't get any better. This is not "an alternative option." This is drowning government in a bathtub.

AND -- How about two wars bankrupting our Treasury?

First, Margaret Thatcher might be noting about now that capitalism has crashed again due to its own suicidal instincts - greed and exploitation -- and that it is BEING SUBSIDIZED AGAIN BY AMERICAN TAXPAYERS!!!



John Mackey QUOTE: “A careful reading of both the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution will not reveal any intrinsic right to health care, food or shelter,” Mackey wrote in the letter. “That’s because there isn’t any. This ‘right’ has never existed in America.”UNQUOTE Right, and originally only white males who owned property could vote -- Africans were slaves and women are still not full citizens! Social conscience, however, has provided for change -- and that's what's required when we look at meeting human needs. That's the role of a "people's" government. Mr. Mackey might also look at the United Nations Human Rights Proclamation -- it includes foods, shelter, clothing -- and HEALTH CARE. I'm already disgusted with the Whole Foods stores ... I continue to limit what I buy there -- but I will now being looking for those organic products elsewhere. Mr. Mackey owes all of America an apology -- and Whole Foods needs to undergo some CHANGES, itself!!!

America is spending TWICE what it would cost to provide every American with
health care -- something every other nation has managed to do!!!

MEDICARE FOR ALL -- EVERYONE IN, NO ONE OUT

A declaratioin of our independence from England. It was written by Jefferson, and never voted on by anyone. It never was a document with legal effect on the rights of American citizens. Some think it was. It might be nice in some ways if it were. But it isn't.

So, now we go to the Constitution and only the Constitution.

There's no right in the Constitution to corporate welfare or tax cuts for the only rich, either, but what does that have to do with the price of tea in China?

The issue is not whether the Constituion gives a right to health care--though both sides can certainly be debated. The issue is what an affluent (arguably), moral and civilized society should do and what its economic interests requires it do.

Stop building straw men in a desperate attempt to cloak your obscene greed and inhumanity with legalese and STFU.

There's no right in the Constitution to corporate welfare or tax cuts for only the rich, either

GREAT POINT . . . keep it out there!!!



:)

money.

Who do you think uses more government services and infrastructure and more natural resources, someone who buses table for a living or those with boats, private planes, etc.? Yet Republicans give them tax cuts AND they get to pontificate about who lives off them.

meant as an attack? Really????

:crazy:

It was corporate selfishness and propaganda. Companies have no business speaking out like this.

He must step down.

Sorry you found out!

It helps us separate the 'wheat from the chaff'. The head of Costco for example would never say anything so stupid.
Further, I've often thought that corporations should be limited in their 'free speech rights' to writing letters to the editor, to bring them on parity with ordinary humans, rather than throwing around oodles of cash.

I rarely shop at Whole Foods anymore (for a few years) but I've always had the sense that it was fake-liberal. Now I have another reason to avoid it.

I disagree, in a free market customers can chose to shop wherever they want and if the CEO (who represents the values of the company) gives an opinion in contrast to their public corporate identity and the values of the majority of his customers then the customers should decide NOT to shop there.

Many reasons:

He has a right to his opinion and i support his right. He mentioned Whole foods many times in the article and it's clear as the chairman of the board, co-founder, and CEO he runs the show. He's is totally out of tune with his customers values and sense of community. His libertarian views in general are an offense to his majority liberal customer base, including myself.

The company has made a practice of swallowing up small independent stores and chains and created regional monopolies. Their corporate model is much like Walmart but with high prices. not good for communities or small businesses. Here in Portland ME, they bought and closed a small independent health food store and bought and closed a popular Wild Oats store in a hostile merger. It was discovered during the acquisition that Mackey had been posting on financial web sites under pseudonyms positive comments about his company and negative ones about Wild Oats. He did this to presumably to lower the stock price of Wild Oats, a highly unethical business practice. He even posted that he like the CEO's (his own)haircut " i think he looks cute"

He also sued another GREAT health food chain "New Seasons" for their financial records during the merger with wild oats claiming he needed them to prove he wasn't creating a monopoly. Right, just more info to help their predatory and anti-competitive practices.

He's anti-union. I used to shop at Bread and Circus in Cambridge and the employees seemed happier and more "organic". The feeling in WFM is corporate and not so friendly.

His health care plan, the one he is proposing for the country is a high deductible plan with HSA's which are great for the corporation (saves them money and lowers risk)and the insurance business (increases profits), but not for workers. It discourages preventative care among other problems. It's the same one republicans like McCain were pushing on us during the campaign.

I will not shop there again, and plan to shop at farmers markets and travel a bit for a small local independent health food store. All are less expensive and support local business and communities.

When WFM reforms their ways and Mackey steps down, i may consider returning, not until then.

I recently posted a response to Mackey's op-ed from the co-founder of WFM, Renee Hardy. She makes a very thoughful and respectful rebuke to his narrow minded libertarian diatribe.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=6369152&mesg_id=6369152

I find it beyond foul when someone of his Makeys ilk buys up smaller competitors, drives them out, and puts employees on the street out of work. I was driving today looking for another store and think I found one. I hope this yo-yo gets the hint when his sales figures start falling for 3rd-Qtr.

I know two people who were injured due to unsafe conditions at Whole Foods. The company fights like hell to prevent them from collecting reasonable compensation for their injuries.

It's a fucking yuppie shit-hole! :thumbsdown:

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/16/technology/16blog.html?_r=2&oref=slogin&pagewanted=all

As much as I want to like Whole Foods, the behavior of their CEO over and over again really puts me off.

fascism works. This is how it started.

I like this, "The CEO was only offering an opinion and alternate option." I believe we have heard quite enough RW opinions. Fuck RW opinions!

The same fascists that would prevent us from implementing a better health care system here would dismantle the British system. They are the same fascists.

They buy from agribusiness and NOT local farmers. I know, I've tried to sell my produce to them.

And they actively discourage their workers from Unionizing just like Wal-Mart.

So, it's really no better than Wal-Mart.

compared to what we can get from out local farms and local markets. And frankly, the CEO is far more vocally anti-union than the Walton family has been. He says Unions are like herpes. So really it is far worse than Walmart, for it is the same while holding pretense of being better than that.

The CEO sets the tone for a corporation. If this guy runs Whole Foods, then I want nothing to do with Whole Foods. It's that simple.

and be 'eco green' at the same time than this place.

yes it's convenient, but isn't it better to goto a small local shop, or better, a local farmer?

Any place that promotes the healthy eating/living mantra and then disses health care for everyone is out.

Mr. Mackey

And this BS with the CEO isn't going to change it. The workers have good benefits compared to other hourly jobs and Whole Foods does a lot to promote good eating and environmentalism.

He chose to use his column inches to fuck them over.

Fuck Mackey, and fuck all the apologists for the status quo.

hitler had an "alternative opinion". opinions matter. one needs to be sure to have a good one.

And an OP-Ed piece is hardly expressing his little old opinion around a dinner table. Those of us that cannot get health insurance unless they reform it, choose not to shop and enrich him any further.

there is more to life than making money. Mr. Mackey has built up a huge corporation selling things that are inherently liberal in their purpose or reason for being. Doesn't poison free food, grown so as to not destroy the environment and the people who eat it, sound liberal?
He failed to realize the very people who made him rich support the idea of health care reform. This is so ironic it's hilarious :)

which is not all that unusual in the health foods biz, believe it or not.

However, he made the amazing blunder of not seeming to realize most of his customers are left liberal, not libertarian.

I do resent the characterization of his customer base as wealthy. That certainly isn't the case here, where his customer base is the whole foods movement of all income levels. The poorer ones buy the bulk items. The richer ones buy the prepared foods.

An egregious mistake since everyone knows libertarians are tighter than skin on a hotdog and would rather cut off their arm than shell out the kind of dough Whole Paycheck demands for its wares.

:rofl:

that, from what I've observed, the health foods biz is extremely profit driven. The prices for vitamins, supplements and other items at our local health food stores are astronomical. Easy to understand what's happening when you find out that its the owner's Lexus parked outside the shop. Much cheaper to buy in bulk online.

Our local mom and pop health food store is barely hanging in there out here in the boonies. Sure the prices are higher, organic generally costs more. And they treat their employees like human beings.

It's the only store in walking distance and its on my way to work. I try to stick to the cheaper aisles.

the "not our best, but still a bargain" racks in the cheapest supermarkets they can find and, in those same supermarkets, for their baked goods from the allegedly day old bakery rack that is still selling Christmas cupcakes as Valentine's Day approaches.

I've shopped in Whole Foods and I've shopped in a supermarket in an area of really poor people and the two client bases do not look or dress anything alike.

Now, that's how it is in Boston. Maybe in your area it's very, very different.

............about them and it seems like their business practices are somewhat shady too. The ass hole stuck his size 13 in his mouth and he now deserves everything he gets.

I know the local producers deserve more of our support anyway AND they ARE organizing.

and be conspicuous as you shop elsewhere.

Shades of Robert Kennedy and the lettuce boycott.


God, I love Democrats when they are active for all the right reasons.

Then you'll be giving them the negative publicity they deserve.

written on it in fat, thick letters. She can still be green and use the bags to shop but she's getting the boycott messsage out too. Brilliant.

Any if anyone asks me about them, it will give me a chance to tell them why I'm not shopping there.

and easy to remove when Mackey gets ousted.

If you can't find red adhesive tape, just color some masking tape.

You're making me regret my utilitarian plain canvas jobs.

You can make your own with a marker! Here's a template I found online, the creator released the image for free use by anybody:



And that's where I got the idea. Wish I had thought of it, but no matter, I'm happy to put it on my own plain canvas bag with permanent fabric markers. I was trying to decide what to put on there anyway.

:hi:

He must have a sweet contract with WF that they haven't gotten rid of him yet. Either way the company will pay.... loss of customers or big payout to the company sabotaging CEO

I think people are angry enough about this to do at least that.

I don't know how it is in other areas, but supermarkets here all carry whole grains and many are carrying vegetarian frozen foods.

A lot of them better priced too. WF's hopes of an organic food monopoly may have been thwarted, by all of this. There's a giant spotlight on WF right now.

however, i find there's always a small local store, veg &/or ethnic, that'll carry veg stuff; but that's in nyc. while that may not always be an option in the 'burbs or rural, there's plenty of alternatives for on-line shoppers. those not willing to buy off the 'net, may not be that lucky.

speaking as a vegetarian - this mckey guy was always a hypocrite & grandstander. i remember the bullshit "no sale of lobsters @ whole foods" stunt he pulled, while continuing to peddle all manner of seafood & animal flesh. and most of anything in the way of policy at wf, comes out of his ass.

now, the only thing i'm really gonna miss from wf is Lindeman's beer. but, i'm sure someone will pick up the slack.

and I'm surprised there aren't hole in the wall food stores selling whole grains and the like there. There sure were in Boston. There were also food co-ops in Boston that were open to non members, just walk in and bag up your beans, pay at the register.

I agree about the hypocrisy surrounding the no lobster policy. Lobsters are basically bugs who lack the brain structure to interpret pain. The stuff in the case all had those structures up and working overtime at slaughter. Mackey probably didn't want to pay for the tanks for live storage, the only way to sell lobster.

I'm less pious than I used to be and eat some seafood. However, even if Whole Paycheck was the only game in town, I'd still avoid them. Groceries here are starting to stock whole foods, some of them stock them in bulk.

There are always alternatives, even for veg heads.

agree on the beer; there's plenty of good stuff to be had. just that i have this unreasoning addiction to lindeman's. but i'm certain i'll find it around town.

there's no problem with food. the thing with wf was: they always had stocks of soap & stuff, when the little guys run out.

still, for me - it's time to draw a line.

cheers.

Whole Foods is overpriced, anyway.

(I hope I'm able to wash this stuff out of my hair! I've read that shea butter and coconut oil are great for the hair. We'll see. But I'll be buying it at some other store.)

I love that Shea butter. Nothing else works.

Or kick his ass out.

about health care reform? Doesn't he have a right to his opinion even if it's different from yours?

I think your argument is silly. Whole Foods isn't the be all end all, and just like he has the right to express an opinion, we have the right to vote with our feet and dollars. I used to like shopping there, but I'm done with supporting them.

It seems that a lot of people want to intimidate anyone who disagrees with them on health care. I see it coming from both sides. The freepers shout down Democratic congressional representatives because of a disagreement over how to best implement health care reform. At the same time, you won't shop at a store whose CEO has a different idea from yours about health care. Where is this all going to end? We need to move forward on this issue as President Obama has said. He has also said that a discussion of health care reform that brings out different ideas is healthy. If you disagree with the CEO's prescription for health care reform, then by all means debate him. But does that really mean that you don't want to shop at his store anymore just over a disagreement over the health care issue? Can't reasonable people disagree sometimes?

And your analogy doesn't hold water. Whole Foods is not the same as congress.

I don't agree with his "different idea" - which he expressed via a national platform, the WSJ. And because of that, it is my choice not to shop at Whole Foods.

Why in the fuck would I shop somewhere I don't feel good about? Those that think a boycott is some kind of move to take away his right to free speech are missing the point. I think it would be beyond stupid for me to shop there as some kind of weird support of his right to free speech.

For many people, the lack of affordable health care means that their lives will be changed for the worse (or shortened). And what is this nonsense about "reasonable" people? What is so "reasonable" about opposing changes to a system that is hurting people?

longer be considered "reasonable people".

The health care issue is our line in the sand. Fascists on one side, us one the other. You are either with us or against us.

and his actions determine company policy, and his company policy is to deny the people who give their working lives to him the basic health care they need to live their lives without pain and illness and the fear of losing everything they have worked so hard for to the bills from one major medical incident.

It's not that the company can't afford health care for its workers, it's that the company values exhorbitant salaries and luxury items for a few "special" workers over health care for all. A few workers get yachts, and all the other workers live with miserable toothaches because they can't afford a trip to the dentist. And it's the people with the yachts, who will never have to go a day in their lives without medical attention, who seek to withhold that necessity from the very people who make it possible for them to have it.

You can call it the emotionally sterile names "capitilism" or "free enterprise" or what have you, but the bottom line is that it is a system that rewards greed and regards human workers as expendable and their suffering as a byproduct.

So we don't want to shop at Whole Foods not because someone there holds an opinion with which we disagree, but because we don't want to help finance the corporate greed and hypocrisy that turns a blind eye to the pain and suffering of its workers.

Do you get it now?

he can voice his opinion from now till sunday, but that doesn't mean his opinion is informed or well researched.

And...

Just as his opinion is allowed, so are ours.

Trying to defend his freedom of speech is nice, but defending his object stupidity, selfishness and out right ignorance is something entirely different.

If you have read the "editorial", you will see it was nothing more than an ignorant rant out to promote his store.

He's anti-union and anti-national health care. The last time I checked both of those are massive platforms of the Democratic party.

And since mr. mackey is a rabid libertarian, he better be prepared for criticism of his half witted views.

The sword cuts both ways.

Isn't disagreement over issues the American way? I disagree with a lot of people on a lot of issues but that doesn't mean I'm going to boycott them.

Why don't you resolve to spend twice as much money at whole foods to make up for the ones who are boycotting the store? Then you can feel better that you are protecting the right to free speech.

This guy doesn't want the poor to have health care. Fuck him. That's not just "disagreement." A boycott is righting a wrong.

He just has a different idea on how best to get there. Personally, I prefer single payer. On the other hand President Obama wants health insurance reform plus a robust public option. Mackey wants to repeal all state laws which prevent insurance companies from competing across state lines and to make individual health insurance premiums tax deductible just like employer sponsored plans are, among other things. This is the sort of discussion about competing ideas that President Obama has said he wants. This angry intolerant attitude that the left has that it's either their way or no way is not constructive. We need to work together to find solutions rather than take a confrontational attitude.

He wants HSAs. HSAs are useless to those who cannot fund them. So no health care for the poor.

He wants to "repeal government mandates regarding what insurance companies must cover." This is simply removing the requirement that insurance companies cover pre-existing conditions. What's the point of reform if you're going to allow them to cherry pick who they'll cover? So no health care for those who are already sick.

And he wants to replace a public option with "voluntary contributions" on your taxes. This is bullshit.

But to a Randian, it probably sounds great. And I believe that's the route you're taking. I've learned long ago there's no point in even talking to someone from this bankrupt philosophic base. So enjoy your day.

If calling me stupid floats your boat then go ahead.

You bring up a lot of legitimate points about Mackey's positions. And like I said in another post, personally I support single payer, so I guess I disagree with President Obama on this issue. So does that mean that I should boycott Obama? Of course not, in the same way that Mackey's company should not be boycotted. Mackey is trying to contribute to the discussion about health care reform. While I disagree with him, I defend his right to have his positions and if one of his stores were near me I'd have no problem with shopping there.

But if stupid works for you, that's OK with me.

And almost half the national "boycotted" Obama. So, yes, if a politician's view piss you off, don't vote for him.

I defend his right to have his positions, too. I also defend everyone's right to boycott him for his positions and his crappy business practices. Again, I'm having a lot of difficulty with your supporting ONLY his expressions, but not people's correlative right to boycctt in order to express their positions about him.

I also find your reference to the confrontation left downright ridiculous. The right is showing up at town halls prominently displaying guns, as an implied threat. They are holding signs with Obama sporting a Hitler mustache and equating his concern for the health of the uninsured, underinsured, etc. with genocide of 12 million human beings. They are shouing down Congressional Representations and others who attend the meetings, not allowing them to ask questions or express their opinions. And you call the LEFT confrontational and intolerant of other views?

I'd better stop there.

John Mackey's WSJ comments . . .

QUOTE: “A careful reading of both the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution will not reveal any intrinsic right to health care, food or shelter,” Mackey wrote in the letter. “That’s because there isn’t any. This ‘right’ has never existed in America.”UNQUOTE

Right, and originally only white males who owned property could vote -- Africans were slaves and women are still not full citizens! Social conscience, however, has provided for change -- and that's what's required when we look at meeting human needs. That's the role of a "people's" government.

Mr. Mackey might also look at the United Nations Human Rights Proclamation -- it includes foods, shelter, clothing -- and HEALTH CARE.

I'm already disgusted with the Whole Foods stores ... I continue to limit what I buy there -- but I will now being looking for those organic products elsewhere. Mr. Mackey owes all of America an apology -- and Whole Foods needs to undergo some CHANGES, itself!!!

MEDICARE FOR ALL -- EVERYONE IN, NO ONE OUT

confrontational attitude. We tried the non-confrontational attitude. They brought out the brown shirts. Without a fight they will bury us in lies, obfuscation, smoke screens and stealth propaganda. DU is full of characters carrying their water, apologists for RWers speaking their minds.

Part of the reason he got the chance to write his piece is because he is the CEO of a large business

As such, his article is a reflection of how the company would/does use its resources in politics

Someone who finds his political/economic/social ideals to be an anathema has very few options in shaping how a company does its business.
Boycotting is one of them -- using money to make a political point.

Personally, I never shop there and never would -- consequently, my opinion means nothing to them.
However, other people have the choice of spending, or not spending, their money the way they see fit.
And this is a way to make the company know why they aren't spending their money there.

period is either massively disingenuous or massively naive.

Here is my blog's URL.

http://cynot1.blogspot.com/

I challenge you to find anywhere on that blog where I defended Glenn Beck. Then why don't you search my DU posts and see if you can find me defending Glenn Beck. Then if you find anything please post back.

There is a big difference between Mackey and Beck. Beck peddles fear and hate for the sake of ratings and profits. Mackey has ideas about health care reform that many of us disagree with. There's a big difference.

BTW, I haven't got around to Beck yet but here is my blog article that I wrote calling upon CNN to fire Lou Dobbs.

http://cynot1.blogspot.com/2009_08_01_archive.html#1532461404887048442

It's wrong for you make unfounded accusations against people like you did to me just because we have a disagreement over an issue. I thought that this was a forum for intelligent discussion and debate, not for accusations and innuendo. But maybe I was wrong.

wow.

practices?

His business practices stink. Going out of his way to protect health insurance companies despite their greed and inhumanity stinks. I get to express my opinion about both by boycotting his stores. Boycotts are economic speech.

People are allowed to express their opinions without resprisal from government. No one ever promised them they would not piss off their customers if they went out of their way to express an opinion contrary to that almost 80% of Americans. Actions, including speech, often have consequences.

Why are you able to see only one side of that quid pro quo?

seem to have little relation to your posts on this thread (or to your screen name).

I couldn't afford to do all of my grocery shopping there, but now I'm not going to do any shopping there.

To hell with whole foods. Taking part in the boycott just gives me more motivation to shop at the farmer's market.

And I have some loooong running boycotts.

and now if I'm ever in an area where they have a whole foods I won't be going there.

Hell would freeze over before I bought anything at Walmart, and when someone mentions that they are going shopping there or have gotten something there, I politely cluck cluck about their employee practices and putting U.S. workers out of jobs by getting merchandise from China made by abused workers. No argument, just a polite statement.

I had read recently that Whole Foods is financially over-stretched

http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/company/service.php

If you have one nearby let them know your displeasure. :evilgrin:

I get to choose where I spend my money, and I won't shop there or at Home Depot.

Let the right wingers rot. They don't get my dimes, period.

I miss the excellent hot- and salad-bars that they have at the Fairfax VA store. Steeled my resolve and headed for Trader Joe's instead... came home with a bag of great stuff! The longer I stay away from WF, the more I realize there's nothing there that I can't get elsewhere. Too bad for Mackey.

They have great stuff at Trader Joes - try their veggie tempura and samosas in the frozen section. Also it is a heck of a lot cheaper than Whole Foods.

You can make as good or better stuff than the Whole Foods hot and salad bars have yourself with really minimal time and effort once you have a bit of practice, and also cheaper.

Organic beans I think I can find in most stores --

And, natural peanut butter with nothing in it --

Sesame Tofu which they're usually out of anyway!

Organic carrots I can find almost anywhere --

Organic bananas -- King's also has them --

Glen Muir canned crushed tomatoes w/basil --

Pasta sauce -- but it will be some other brand now --

Organic garnet potatoes -- I think King's also has them --

I'd already begun to really limit what I buy at Whole Foods --

I tried to e-mail Whole Foods but after filling out one of the forms it was

rejected???

I'll try again tomorrow --

I think stating our objections and intentions are important!!!

Talkin' about it ..way across the pond!

put a sticker for it along with your single-payer on your bag, if you have one. And mention it in your e-mails.

...in Manhattan.
She goes there 2 or 3 times a week at lunch, buys chocolate to bring home, and buys a number of their Whole Body items.
She read his WSJ piece, and hasn't been back there since.
She hasn't made a big stink, she just said that she's turned off to the whole place after reading about Mackey's attitude.
I think that may be more common than we might think.
The whole BOYCOTT!!!! thing is one thing, I think the idea of people just quietly turning off is just as important. And it's not as if she doesn't have dozens of other choices in Manhattan.

John Mackey might want to keep his mouth shut...

They can't keep their mouths shut-good thing.

own customer base is and what it thinks? Sounds like pure arrogance. He has gotten away with obvious insults to our intelliogence previously; let's make him pay this time. Several big names have been fired (excuse me have left for the good of the company) lately. maybe Mackey will become a casualty and his personnel and customers will eventually be the beneficiaries of his exit. One can hope. Until he is gone, I am gone from Whole Foods.

except some in TX. Looks like a ton in CA, some MA, more often the blue states.

http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/stores/all/index.php

though they've managed to convince every place they've spread to that they're local. Austin, fyi, is a liberal bastion in Texas.

They were asked politely not to bother showing up. So they didn't. They would have done poorly here anyway, as they are of low quality compared to our locals folks.

Wow. I hadn't considered that. I guess we should only have boycotts for issues that there is unanimity on.

What a self serving little asshole. My lovely wife, the poster known as Mrs Brady here on DU, was freaking livid. It's safe to say that the corperate offices got a major earfull that day. After reading that pathetic excuse for an op-Ed I will never set foot in a whole foods ever again. It's stricly farmers markets for us from now on.

I love this store...

Go to www.organic.org and click "store locations."

You will find a state map and then click your state.

What comes up is a list of all the organic places in your state.

You may find some locally owned/operated health food stores which are more the idea than a chain of health food and organic stores ever was.

As for myself, I'm in the midst of relocating my suppliers and it's been a total pleasure reacquainting myself with the independent health food stores and farmer's markets in my area.

Whole Foods--who needs 'em. Not me.


Cher

p.s. thanks to SoCalDem for the organic.org link. She originally posted it here days ago.

IF I can avoid it. Not that they are perfect, but Trader Joes and Costco are better for me.

Is Mackay paying posters these days?

if only they weren't so duh

And once the Company replaces this jerk, it might be worth returning to.

There are so many places around me selling fresh, organic foods that I don't need Whole Foods. But they do have certain things I can't find elsewhere.

All the posters with less than twenty posts love this store...

They're getting practice, part of a RW fundy university requirement.

3 posts, huh?

Edit, forgot link: http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20070711/174810.shtml

Being amoral is one of the qualifications to being a CEO of many corporations.

You have to be willing to hurt people, ruin their lives.

Those advocates for a free market solution to our health care problems are telling you "Just go ahead and die, we don't care."

... where WF was trying to prove they weren't a monopoly while buying up Wild Oats by suing New Seasons for their financials (as if that would solve anything!) :wtf:

Some more dirt from the inside of the Wild Oats merger, and people calling Mackey a wingnut two years ago!

http://bojack.org/2007/08/the_whole_foodswild_oats_saga_1.html

that should be illegal, gaming the market like that. apparently all he got was embarrassed. well i don't know the laws and i assume this was going on during the bushie years...

And that he even posted pseudonymous ly that he thought his (own) haircut was "cute." What a complete and total a-hole.

... about health care, and to express his admiration of and adherence to the writings of Ayn Rand. He has every right to get his opinions published in the Wall Street Journal, and to run his company as he sees fit.

After years of shopping at Whole Foods I have every right to NEVER enter one of their stores again, to NEVER purchase a Whole Foods product again. Some small part of those purchases would go to Mr. Mackey's compensation, and that very small part is too much.

Good bye Whole Foods, I'm going to miss you, but I have to live with my conscience.

... for economic reasons .....

They do have a great Food Bar, but I have been going elsewhere for some time now ....

I have a lot of choices near me. Lots of local farmers for cheap produce and local small groceries for most of the rest.

The business is a scam designed to sell overpriced food to upper-middle class yuppies that think they are being "virtuous people" while keeping on their wasteful consumerist lifestyle. It is a cross between late Medieval selling of indulgences and a perverse kind of conspicuous consumption.

because I see shoppers of ALL economic stripes there, including me...I'm neither a yuppie nor rich. I mostly shop their bulk aisles because it's cheap. I abhor Mackey's positions, and I will probably shop elsewhere as much as I can.

"Anyone who shops at Whole Paycheck is a IDIOT and a SUCKER." Is that what you think of your fellow DUers??

Great produce, though. Also n my area, most of their customers are indeed yuppies and those who used to be yuppies but are now older. I don't see there same kind of poorer looking folks I see at the Stop and Shop.

I like Whole Foods (also Trader Joe and Erewhon), but feel like you--they need to get a message from us about going out of their way to support the "health" (of their bottom line)" insurance, drug and hospital industries.

in a WF parking lot than you will at a regular grocery.
When they closed the one in south Austin some years back, I found no reason to go there anymore.
I can get better food at much better prices at the local Newflower Market and for the imported things I want I can go to the local Fiesta.

If you think it's wasteful consumerism to buy organic, healthy food then that's your issue. I don't buy everything organic (there are lots of articles explaining which items are better to buy organic), but what I do buy organic is often cheaper at WF than the standard grocery stores, and much better quality. The kale at my local grocery is not even organic and it looks like it's been run over by a truck. I prefer to buy local from farmer's markets and produce markets, but that's not always possible in the midwest.

Believe me, it's going to be painful not to shop at WF once the summer is over and the farmers markets are gone. But I'll do it because it's important and will help our cause. What DOESN'T help our cause is sitting on your high-horse making snarky proclamations.

Both are far better than Whole Paycheck.

It was time to make my trek into the 'big city' and buy some drug-alternatives and food stuffs.

They didn't see my smiling face.

Wasn't Mackey behind that last push to expand the definition of "organic" to mean things that were not, indeed, organic, that was pushed through by the corporatists when the republicans owned D.C.?

Boycott? I'm in.

http://www.grist.org/article/little-mackey/

Mackey, meanwhile, has emerged as both a hero and antihero of the environmental movement. On the one hand, he makes no apologies for running a large, consolidated operation that imports produce and displaces local farmers and small vendors. A notorious foe of unions, he's a staunch libertarian described by The New York Times Magazine as a man "who admires Ronald Reagan and prefers The Wall Street Journal editorial page to this newspaper's."

The Bush administration tried to weaken organic standards. Do you have concerns about the Bush administration's environmental policies?

M:Whole Foods is not going to take a stand on Bush administration policies. I voted for the Libertarian candidate, so I didn't vote for either Kerry or Bush or Nader.

How from a political standpoint do you reconcile strict environmental protections with your libertarian beliefs?

M:As a libertarian, I'm not opposed to all government. I support what are the legitimate functions of government, and I believe environmental protection is one of the most important jobs government has.

You get a lot of criticism for preventing unions from organizing your workers. Are these sort of employee-friendly processes ones that you really couldn't implement with unions?

M:They'd be much more difficult to implement with unions. First of all, it's a lie that Whole Foods somehow prevents unions from organizing. That's against the law. We can't prevent anybody from organizing a union; if our team members want a union, we can't stop them. Our team members can have unions, but they don't want unions because they create this adversarial relationship in the workplace.

One of the myths that unions will often talk about is that you could make a lot more money if top brass weren't so greedy and taking in profits. But if you got rid of all the profits at Whole Foods, it would hurt the workers. The team members are already getting 24 percent of the total pie. For every dollar that comes into sales at Whole Foods Market, 24.1 percent is going out to our team members in wages and benefits.

So I can say my Whole Foods boycott has been going on for longer than most of you! ;)

If you reward bad acts, you get more bad acts.

WHOLE FOODS COMPANY PIECES:

Mrs. Gooch's
Wild Oats© Markets
Fresh Fields
Bread of Life
Amrion
Merchant of Vino
Allegro Coffee
WholePeople.com (e-commerce subsidiary)
Nature's Heartland
Food for Thought
Harry's Farmers Market
Select Fish
Fresh & Wild
Whole Food Company
Wellspring Grocery
Bread & Circus

All part of Whole Foods - Keep it in mind

who stand to benefit from the public option? Are they keeping silent? Or just not getting published by the "liberal" media? Seems to me that many businesses stand to gain with healthcare reform. Why aren't business leaders clamoring for reform?

It's a douchebag CEO that runs a company that used to do more than their talk. Now they are nationwide positioned to be national grocery powerhouses...of course their management are a bunch of Yale Grad Assholes

So I won't be dropping any of my spare change for that pitiful beggar, John Mackey at his overpriced stores. I will, however, feel free to take what I can use from his dumpsters. I hope the union comes in a takes their fair share for the hard work his employees provide. And if he can't keep his mouth shut them he can go fuck himself.

to the farmers markets! Buy local!

Foods again. What a dumb ass that guy is. Most of his shoppers are middle to upper-class liberals. And then he said something about if more people would shop there and eat in a healthy manner, they wouldn't get as sick. He must be a complete idiot. Whole Foods is very pricey and many people can't afford go there.

Also, a fellow poster said that most Whole Foods are in the South but we have them all over here in California.

Anyway, it's totally Trader Joe's for me now on.

...have just joined DU???

Given Mackey's history of creating fake accounts to promote his company*, I wouldn't be surprised it this is another Makcey stunt. I could be wrong though, but the track record seems to suggest it is.

*read here for more: http://www.traderstrade.com/blog/722071