Whole Foods Boycott?

Written by: Tom Alba on Aug 17, 2009 12:46 PM EDT

Linked to groups: Asheville Democracy for America, Montco DFA, Philly for Change

I was invited to join a Whole Foods boycott group (facebook), by a friend in Asheville, NC.

I read the CEO's letter to the WSJ. Typical corporate hogwash. But at the end he says something I agree with: many illnesses are self-inflicted through poor eating.

I'll add a gullible segment is induced, by the junk food interests, into eating high fat, salt and sugar, including hydrogenated fats and high fructose corn syrup. Their weak minds are readily molded by the advertising that "Food Inc." feeds them via the boob tube.

Another segment is ignorant of nutrition and another simply refuse to believe facts (just as they refuse to accept fact about and readily accept lies about HR 3200 - you know the type).

Me? - I care about what I eat and know why I should eat what I do eat.

I lived in Asheville for 4.5 years. The nearest Whole Foods to Asheville is in Greenville SC, 56 miles away. So, it's easy for Ashevilleans to "boycott" them. Additionally, Asheville has so many good food choices, so close. It's remarkable, for such a small city. It might very well be the "healthy food capital of the nation", especially considering its size at about 75k population. I learned a lot about food while there.

Here in Ambler, we don't have such sophisticated food sources. Whole Foods fills a true need for us. The nearest one to me is 4 miles away.

My carbon foot print is very important to me. I try to minimize travel. So I choose Whole Foods. By the way, their workers are friendly, helpful and seem happy. I know the group has cited labor issues. If there are serious problem, they're not apparent to me.

The Whole Foods store I go to has green and community initiatives always active. So, as much as I found John Mackey's remarks loathsome, I can't, for all the reasons stated above, boycott the store and substitute one further away and without the desirable aspects I've found.

Believe me, if a store opened nearby that equalled Whole Foods, I would switch in a heart beat.

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