Whole Foods Forever
I may be crossing the dreaded line of political correctness, but who cares? These days, it seems to be the fashion to bash Whole Foods (you know, that big supermarket that doesn’t sell Pepsi or chickens spiked with antibiotics, hormones, heroin, cyanide, or whatever it is that commercial grower use these days).
The CEO of Whole Foods has now become the poster child for everything that is wrong with the world, and single handedly responsible for defeating the singer payer measure for healthcare reform. Really. But if you boycott Whole Foods, that will put immense pressure on Congress, the Senate, President Obama, his dog, his wife Michelle, the insurance industry and all of their lobbyists, the pharma industry, agri-business, Rush Limbaugh, and even Sarah Palin–to turn around and demand a single payer plan.
The demise of the single payer option, and the faltering of getting any kind of healthcare reform accomplished, is solely due to one man–John Mackey, CEO of Whole Foods.
In a nutshell, Mackey wrote an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal, which he was asked to write, and now an unusually vocal number of people got their knickers in a twist over it. To the point where they are calling for a boycott for the store, as though that is going to solve the problem of healthcare reform.
One person on twitter, who I sparred back and forth with, said that she is now boycotting Whole Foods and feels so good that she is helping the economy and healthcare. I don’t know, does trying to put a store out of business helpful to the economy? Especially one like Whole Foods, which pays their employees well and provides them with excellent benefit, like HEALTH INSURANCE? And how her boycott will help healthcare is out there in the Twilight Zone.
But the comments coming from people who otherwise seem to normal and rational are truly insane. Because Mackey gave his views, and they disagree, they are boycotting a store that they may enjoy shopping in. But let’s get a few facts, straight, shall we?
Whole Foods is a huge organization, employing 50,000 people, and many undoubtedly disagree with Mackey. And that’s okay, I don’t see Mackey sending around a hit squad to get rid of the infidels.
Second important point is that Mackey does not own the company. He is an employee. Shocking fact, isn’t it. Whole Foods is a public company. Mackey is not Whole Foods and he clearly said on his blog (which is on the Whole Foods website), that this was HIS opinion. And that Whole Foods, as a company, does not have a position on healthcare reform.
So in other words, people are boycotting a company which does not have a position on the subject.
I have even seen nonsense spreading that Mackey is the one spearheading a movement to defeat the single payer proposition. You know, the reason that it hasn’t moved in Congress is all due to Mackey. His article is being seen as an organized campaign to defeat a single payer health insurance system.
While I don’t agree with everything that he wrote in his op-ed and blog, I do agree with some of it. Especially his appraisal of the heart of the problem–we’re not going to cut healthcare costs until we improve our own health. One person at a time.
Unfortunately many of our health-care problems are self-inflicted: two-thirds of Americans are now overweight and one-third are obese. Most of the diseases that kill us and account for about 70% of all health-care spending—heart disease, cancer, stroke, diabetes and obesity—are mostly preventable through proper diet, exercise, not smoking, minimal alcohol consumption and other healthy lifestyle choices.
Recent scientific and medical evidence shows that a diet consisting of foods that are plant-based, nutrient dense and low-fat will help prevent and often reverse most degenerative diseases that kill us and are expensive to treat. We should be able to live largely disease-free lives until we are well into our 90s and even past 100 years of age.
Of course, those comments provoked screeching from the sidelines–especially from those who didn’t really read it. Or those who don’t want to change their habits, and prefer to blame it on someone else.
Personally, I love Whole Foods and have shopped there for 20 years. Since I live about 90 miles from one right now, I do most of my shopping at the Farmer’s Market, local co-op, and trader Joe’s, but go to WF every time I am in Seattle. And no, I do not plan on boycotting the company. While it is a big corporation, WF has done a tremendous service for the organic/natural foods industry. Their popularity was a big impetus for the “regular” supermarkets to start offering healthier food.
So you know, if you want to do something constructive for healthcare reform, get off your butt and email/call/visit your representative. Get involved at the local or state level. Write your own op-ed letters or letters to the editor. Join HCAN, join Move-on, call your neighbors, canvass your neighborhood, call your local radio/TV stations–but just do something. Boycotting a good company is not going to accomplish anything at all.
Mackey’s article is generally consistent with the views many others who have weighed in on the healthcare reform bill. So why is Mackey drawing so much ire? Should people not be allowed to offer opinions? Should he have to apologize for his own views? Do you apologize for your views, even if they are in conflict with the status quo?
How about contributing your own ideas.
Finally, this is part of an excellent post made by someone on the Whole Foods forum. It pretty much sums up the boycott nicely, and how ridiculous it is:
Most people who are boycotting are not doing so because of concerns over actions of the company. I am not aware of the company making contributions to a PAC or a lobbyist on these issues. And while some will say they want better health insurance for the employees, it is unusual that most of these same people were not concerned with this issue a week ago, and the health insurance I have seen described seems quite reasonable.
The folks who are boycotting seem to be boycotting because they do not agree with the political views of the CEO, and the temerity he has shown by expressing those views publicly. Not for his actions as CEO, or the actions of the company.
If I were to use the terminology of some on the left, I would say that those who boycott are punishing a thought-crime.
Obviously, all of us are free to do as we choose. But do you really want to be a person who makes a significant decision such as this based solely on the views of a person? How would you feel about someone who would not purchase products from a store because the CEO was openly homosexual? How would you feel about those on the right that do not purchase from co-ops or stores like Whole Foods because they view them as leftist bastions (then again, these organizations do engage in left-leaning activities all the time, so perhaps they have a basis for their feelings, no?). I know I think of them as being unreasonable.
So I ask you one favor. Briefly step back and observe what you are saying and doing.
Is this who you want to be? Are you ok with being that type of person? Or do you want to be someone different?
Its up to you.