I'm at Whole Foods Market again, where things just keep on trucking!

As you know, I was not in support of the boycott of Whole Foods Market, even though the CEO insulted the health care plan of President Obama (who I have been known to defend). As you also know, I feel that the boycott is counterproductive because I feel that he did not really have much of an effect on the health care debate, and Whole Foods supports a vast network of companies who champion progressive business practices.

Now I come here and see that they have this thing called the "Eco-Scale", where cleaning products are rated according to certain criteria of disclosure and not testing on animals. They have different levels, green, yellow, I think orange, and I don't know what they really mean because the sign was in the elevator and I didn't want to just stand there, but it looks like the higher the level, the more stuff that they do that is progressive. Does your regular grocery store have that?

I went to a regular grocery store, and I wasn't disgusted, but I wasn't impressed like I am at Whole Foods. It's time to come home, liberals. Come home to Whole Foods!

:beer:

Not to insult my grandparents, but I don't hear the term much anymore. I don't know if they are illegal in Chicago but I don't think I ever hear about a "happy hour" around here.

I have not been drinking.

It's all the rage.

I do buy some things there, but geebus...

There are 1,000 good reasons to MAKE IT SO

Or Fred Meyer.

You have to try their chedder cheese with carmalized onion... it's like crack :D Sucks we don't have them here in Denver.

but my food co-op used to do that and more. A non-profit, community-owned business.

And then Whole Foods strongarmed the distributors to stop working with the food co-op and it shut down.

And Costco, and... well, a bunch of places. :)

But I like Whole Foods for their produce, and their wine selection.

I mean, I found 'Three Wishes' Merlot, Cabernet, and Chardonnay, for $3 a bottle. You can't beat that with a 2"x4".

It is illegal to sell wine and spirits anywhere other than a liquor store. Whole Foods wants to be able to cell wine. Liquor stores are worried that it will kill their business. I would normally support this change, but I'm worried that the liquor stores are right. It would kill them.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/08/nyregion/westchester/08winewe.html

In our capitalist society, liquor stores are not entitled to protection from competition. Nor should they be.

There have been other companies that had their moment in the sun. Some prospered, some perished, and some evolved.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fisher_Body

Doesn't NH have government liquor stores? Atlantic City only sells beer to-go at bars. You can't get it at 7/11. Some states allow drive thru liquor stores. This is the way it is in NY. I'm not convinced it needs to change, especially if it puts family liquor stores under.

and come to a reasonable conclusion based on facts that I do not have in my possession.

So I'm sure your position is fair and reasonable given the facts for the state of New York.

And as you pointed out, other states have other rules and other points of view.

Peace.

Oh yeah I forgot:smoke:I still miss them and its been 2 years nopity:

I do acknowledge that the service the employees provide is excellent. Still can't bring myself to do it. First it was moving old favorites off the shelf in favor of theirs, some of which didn't even say organic. Then it was the Muir and Cascadian stuff I read on DU awhile ago. Then it was the CEO. Then it was the announcement that Organic Valley, Stonyfield, and Whole Foods were not going to fight the last go-around regarding all milk products.

I feel strongly about it all.

I still won't go to Target.

Haven't bought any GE product in about 18 years, not even a light bulb.

:thumbsup:

(LOL, 'cuz I'm posting in the dark and can't find the plus sign...or the close-parentheses...

and i'm wasted and i can't find my way home...

The only supermarket we have out here in the boonies is a Walmart. It sucks.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CYJl3DOMGM8

Could it be any more obvious that he is merely buffering his image in order to appeal to "Conscious Consumers"?

I love the swaying plants in the background --pretty lame subliminal work.

I could see if you could point out "yes, he says A and B like a progressive would, but when he says C and D I can tell that A and B are being said with a different motive".

I am saying that anyone that tries to fob off capitalism as being anything more than a tool to amass capital is trying to shine a turd.

I think he does so much more than I would expect the CEOs of the other major supermarket chains to do so.

I actually thought the video was pretty cool!

I am happy that he does what he does, but it is, as you say, a naive and manipulative idea.

animal tested products from the getgo. It also lists the actual name of the farms or point of origin on their fresh food and dairy right on the shelf so you don't have to memorize colors on the elevator. I like that they have the commitment, for their customers, for their suppliers, and for themselves, to do the research for me. If you go to the information desk, you can get the address of those farms and visit, if you'd like. I also like that they have bulk containers for shampoo, laundry detergent, etc., so I can bring in my bottles, month after month, year after year, and fill up. Some of my bottles are decades old.

I like how there produce is heavily "in season". Don't expect to get strawberries in February. In season fruits and vegetables are the tastiest. And I enjoy the anticipation. Whole Foods, on the other hand, will buy any old tasteless crap commercially produced merely because customers are accustomed to out of season tasteless crap.

Seniors get discounts. There are 20% off coupon 4 months out of the year and every employee is an owner.

Their CEO is a bonehead, but Whole Foods does a lot of good for the local food scene. They have almost singlehandedly put organic and local food in all supermarkets. I love Whole Foods. They are not beyond criticism. I'm not sure that there's much controversy about Whole Foods on DU.

Whole Foods has better produce than my other local options. They have more organics that I want than my other options. They have more local options than other choices other than farmers markets. The other supermarkets jack up the prices on organics way beyond Whole Foods and I think the only reason is to gouge people looking for that.

that's what they pay at wal-mart.

If there were no unions they would drop that pay and the benefits in a heartbeat.

"They have different levels, green, yellow, I think orange, and I don't know what they really mean because the sign was in the elevator and I didn't want to just stand there, but it looks like the higher the level, the more stuff that they do that is progressive. Does your regular grocery store have that?"

So some corporation defines for itself what's progressive, slaps a bunch of labels on stuff, you can't give a shit to read it, and you call it progressive. :rofl:

My grocery store has a collective bargaining agreement with its workers, and I buy union-made goods. I know they're union-made because I DID want to "just stand there" and figure out for myself if I wanted to support that particular company, or because I've done my research and know what to buy.

I figured that I'd be able to find the information elsewhere, and I did:

http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/eco-scale/ratingsystem.php

Eeeew.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Mackey_%28businessman%29

There's 2 genuinely liberal hippie locally owned places near where I live with better prices and good products that I'd rather support. And they are less expensive than Hole Foods. I stock up at Trader Joe's every few weeks for other stuff that I can't get locally.

from Winning the Battle for Freedom and Prosperity, text of speech Mackey gave in 2004 and published in Liberty magazine 2006.

http://www.libertyunbound.com/sites/files/printarchive/Liberty_Magazine_June_2006.pdf (page 17)

















- John Mackey, CEO Whole Foods

:puke: What a douche.

so I appreciate it in spite of cost, and the swat team guarding the liquor, etc.

Still expensive as heck.

But now I want to check it out. Better/bigger than Venice, wow.

Can't understand why folks still reward companies for abusing animals.

I had no idea about this. Thanks for posting, LoZo. Excellent find.

:hug:

but one has to chose carefully. My rule is to spend under $25, grocery store w/coupons for the rest.

wherever I can find them... Whole Foods is fun, but... we should all support local food co-ops and if there isn't one... start one!!

And Mackey is STILL an ass.

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grocery store....and Whole Foods tried very hard to force them to disclose their financials during the ongoing Wild Oats/Whole Foods merger. Plus their CEO John Mackey was caught posting derogatory information online about Wild Oats, using a made up screen name.

Below are a few excerpts of Whole Foods’ comments in regards to Wild Oats:

“Wild Oats needs to be removed from the playing field...”

“…my goal is simple – I want to crush them and am willing to spend a lot of money in the process.”

“...elimination of a competitor in the marketplace, competition for sites, competition for acquisitions, and operational economies of scale. We become the Microsoft of the natural foods industry.”



So, no thanks.

TJ's is cool. And cheaper.

I hear Hitler runs a juice bar.

I need for a boycott, and I am sure I am not alone in this... :)

Poor you, slumming it at a "regular" store like "regular" people have to do. You sound like you're typing with a monocle.

I love their Ethiopian Chicken Stew .... But this kind of frontal embrace of a Texas based RW controlled operation is rather disgusting ....

This thread is worse than the store ....

Plus: They are super expensive and unfriendly to families due to excessively high pricing ....

Screw them, and their supporters too ...

But damn .. That chicken stew is divine ....

Wish we had an actual cheese shop, but we don't so we go there for cheese from DH's hometown.

Union Busting in Hippie Clothing?
Something Stinks at Whole Foods
http://www.counterpunch.org/sharon05082009.html

Should Whole Foods, like Google, get out of China?

The “natural and organic” supermarket chain has been generating unwanted attention for the foods that it sources from China for at least a couple of years. The most recent bit of news is a Florida lawsuit that adds an incendiary charge–that one of Whole Foods’ big suppliers relies on forced labor. This is only an allegation, and the evidence is skimpy, to say the least, but it’s another reason that branded companies like Whole Foods had better fully understand their supply chains, wherever they may lead.

http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=411272950357

if whole foods is a union-buster, you can bet that most of their suppliers are that or worse too.

Why?

i've heard the "shop your values" mantra since the 70s.

We can see what a successful political program that's been.

Consumerism is not a substitute for politics.

when my maid goes there to buy grass fed beef she has to
stand in line too long when I'm hungry waiting at home

I hate anything that reeks of Big Box Store. Besides, we have our own local version that way predates Whole Foods Mega Store and I don't have to pay $8.00 for a frickin' potato.

Especially since they roast their own beans on site and have pretty much everything Whole Foods has but a lot less expensive