Whole Foods is in a whole lot of trouble
I am torn between disgust with and admiration for John Mackey, the ceo of Whole Foods Market. In an Op-Ed published in the Wall Street Journal, the organic food guru takes a swipe at universal health care as proposed by the Dems and gives his recommendations for reform. Here’s my favorite gem:
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.
Translation: "We wouldn't be in this mess if you people would just shop at my stores!"
And how does Mackey suggest we pay for health care for those whiners without insurance who pretend they can't afford Whole Paycheck? This part is delicous:
That's right, pass the hat!
So where does my admiration come in? Well, if nothing else, he's a man of his convictions. He puts principles over profit. Because hordes of yoga mat-toting, wheatgrass drinking progressives -- you know, the ones who made him rich and keep Whole Foods afloat -- are livid.
Yesterday the company was besieged by enraged alfalfa eaters and had to set up a forum on its blog and a telephone hotline to handle the outpouring of anger. Boycott campaigns are popping up all over, including on facebook.
Mackey’s piece begins with a quote about socialism and the problem with living off other people’s money; now it looks as if some of his customers are going to help him out and take theirs elsewhere.
How about a national plan to really educate our consumers????? Don't give that job to the FDA though....... they could give a crap less about giving us the real scoop on what's in our food
......and alas some people could care less about their own health and smoke drink etc, knowing the results....the real solution is what Canada and Europe have already been doing and that is National Healthcare for all
not everyone cares that much about their health even if you did educate them...
everyone has that choice but does not choose right....and the poor will continue to buy McDonald's.....
Posted by: jennifer bowen | November 11, 2009 at 10:58 AM
Looks like we've found the real "death panels" in all those people who would rather let folks die than take a dime from their pocket to subsidize a system that works for everyone regardless of their personal wealth.
I'm all for people being encouraged (hell, practically forced) to make healthier choices but I won't sit by while my fellow Americans die every day for lack of care, especially when 30% of diseases are not preventable and may have contributing genetic factors (i.e. not a choice-driven thing).
We're afraid the bureaucrats in Washington want to be involved in our health care decisions but we're NOT afraid of bureaucracts at Aetna and Blue Shield making those same decisions where the cost of your care is in direct conflict with shareholder profits?
My idea? No perfect answers but start by ending sugar and corn subsidies. Ban high-fructose corn syrup. Healthcare reform is tied to agriculture reform. Our food will cost more (more like organic prices actually) but our national health bill will plummet. Then we can afford universal access to healthcare without any budget adjustments and the average food store will be more like Whole Foods.
Posted by: A McClure | September 29, 2009 at 11:19 PM
Here's a solution to all of the neo-con John Mackey's of the world....
Make cigarettes cost the consumer what THEY REALLY COST...ABOUT $35 A PACK...
Have progressive rates for people overweight to save us money if we lose weight....
Give everyone $25 of free gasoline per month and after that make gasoline cost $10 a gallon, and we'll get the tax money for all of the other programs from THAT surplus coming from the rich who have sucked the life out of the rest of us "non-capitalist fatcats" for the past 3 generations....
And tell the conservatives to keep their big mouths shut now that the dumb Bushies are no longer cheating their way into the White House...
Pay attention former Bushies: It is now time for you to do what Dick Cheney told us to do for EIGHT MISERABLE YEARS...SIT DOWN AND S.T.F.U. as the other 70% of Americans do our best to save your sorry butts from a total meltdown.
And I am totally for the blogger who suggested having bake sales to help the pentagon and take the Halliburton Billions and turn it into our schools, healthcare, and infrastructure that serves the people who get things done in America: THE WORKING-CLASS!!!!
FRANCE FOUGHT IN AFGANISTAN FOR, WHAT 20 YEARS? AND WHAT DID IT CHANGE? ABSOLUTELY NOTHING! IT IS A BIG PILE OF SAND WITH OPIUM POPPIES GROWING IN THE MIDDLE, AND WOMEN ARE CONSIDERED LESS THAN LIVESTOCK. GET US OUT OF THERE!
Posted by: Jeff Martin | September 16, 2009 at 09:00 AM
I do not think I have ever been in a Whole Food Store, but tomorrow I will look for one to spend my money at.I am a 100% Disabled Vet that believes in Freedom of Speech and of Freedom of Choice. Thank you Mr. Mackey for your great suggestion.
Posted by: Martin Hands | September 01, 2009 at 08:00 PM
Whether the CEO of Whole Foods was right or wrong, his JOB as CEO is not to go around promoting or debunking a hot political question, but rather to promote the brand Whole Foods for the customers, shareholders, employees, and suppliers. I, as a lifelong progressive, spent hundreds on the overpriced organics at the store religiously. So what if it costs too much when you believe so strongly in the mission! Organics to me, is a HOLY QUEST! No more at WF, not another cent. Austin has alternatives. Wheatsville Co-op, Sun Harvest Farms, The Farmers Market, etc. There are many alternatives all over town. I never shall return to Whole Foods again WITH my wallet, and not without a protest sign.
Posted by: west king | August 30, 2009 at 10:12 AM
Mackey walks his talk, and for that he should be commended, not vilified.
He has been an engine of change to the way people think about food, which is THE cornerstone of health.
Nutritious organic food can be purchased cost effectively at WF (and at their competitors' stores)...focus on bulk food items and fresh produce that is in season (and be willing to cook a little), and the wallet will fare just fine. There is now real competition for food-conscious buyers, and Mackey is not shying away from the contest. In fact, he invites it as being good for the food industry and the customers.
May self reliance and entrepreneurship always have currency in the USA!
Posted by: David | August 29, 2009 at 12:21 PM
I've never been a Whole Foods committed shopper because it's a little more expensive than the comparable supermarkets; however, since the alleged boycotts, Whole Foods has been getting my faithful patronage. By the way, the food is better along with the company since these Deadbeat Medical Entitlement People (DMEP) no longer shop there....Good Riddance...
Posted by: TheBigPicture | August 27, 2009 at 10:25 AM
As a responsible adult to tries to eat healthy I can't always afford it. I can only walk through WF's doors once in a blue moon. It will be a long, blue moon before I go there again.
I am amused by the statement released by their representative that Mr. Mackey's opinion did not reflect that of Whole Foods. Please, don't insult us. It is reasonable to to say that we all take our moral and social standards to work and base our opinions and decisions on these standards. To say that Mr. Mackey's opinion does not reflect WF is ludicrous. Mr. Mackey's opinion will be his only when he no longer represents WF. Until then anything he and other leaders of that company say reflects on the company as a unit.
Shame on you, Mr. Mackey. Easy for you to say. I am sure that your lucrative job provides you and your family with all your earthly needs including healthcare choices that most of us don't have.
Posted by: Idania | August 20, 2009 at 03:14 PM
Healthy people need health insurance, too. It shouldn't cost you a week's pay out of pocket to get well-health checkups (preventative medicine) and a chat with your doc. Immunizations, pap smears, STD testing, prenatal care all save money in the long run. If you can avoid getting sick/sicker in the first place, you're one step ahead. And of course, accidents happen. The healthiest person in America can still get hit by a car in the middle of their daily 5K walk or run. Or break their toe on the stairs, or nearly cut their finger off while preparing chard lentils for dinner...
Posted by: Melissa Brown | August 18, 2009 at 05:10 PM
Leftists are dreadful bullies. They refuse to tolerate dissent, which is why left-wing governments, given enough power, rarely permit free speech or press. The same people who adore Hugo Chavez feel the desperate urge to obliterate John Mackey.
Posted by: Nicolas Martin | August 18, 2009 at 05:02 PM
I am delighted that someone is willing to speak a modicum of truth to the face of a generation of mid-50's Woodstock refugees who still seem to believe everyone is entitled to everything for nothing. While I don't know that I agree with Mackey in the detail of his suggestion, I *love* the spirit of truth that surrounds it.
Please count me among the *millions* of Americans who are perfectly satisfied with their health care, want the government to keep its nose out of it, and believe the best solutions to this media-manufactured "crisis" is a potion mixed with one part rationality and one part common sense. The mainstream media and the Democrat party lack all but two of these essential items...(sarcasm on).
The government has no right to dictate how I manage my personal health care. Free health care is, by no measure, any form of constitutional right. The left cannot, from some misguided sense of neo-Marxist morality, demand that I surrender my personal freedoms in the context of medical choices merely for the fact that not everyone has the *same* choices.
We must address skyrocketing insurance premiums, which are tied to skyrocketing jury malpratice awards. We must address how pharmaceutical companies engender billions of dollars in waste and artificial expense on nearly-identical drugs, yet spend fortunes in advertising trying to convince us of their differences. We must address the notion that private insurance need not be pervasive, but sources to supplant payment for "major" expenses; not every shot, BOTOX treatment, or liposuction procedure.
There's lots to be fixed, but the point is that fixability is at hand. Clearly, Obama, Pelosi, and the rest of the Evil Empire have no desire to meet at the table to construct even Step 1 of a legitimate, bipartisan plan to address any of them. Their draconian efforts to take away what millions of Americans already have will, fortunately, doom their misguided efforts.
Posted by: David W | August 18, 2009 at 05:01 PM
And this is supposed to be a serious opinion. Selective quoting from Mackey's piece to serve your arguments. Read the whole article for common sense solutions that he proposes.
Posted by: Tony Del | August 18, 2009 at 02:00 PM
John Mackey is 100% RIGHT. The government has no right to take money from me to give it to someone else. This kind of thing needs to be stopped, and I don't care WHO is the recipient. If it is government funded or government run, then it is anti-American, plain and simple.
If poor people want health care, they should do what everyone else does and work for it. Socialism was the downfall of the soviet union, and if this nazi-like law passes it will be the downfall of the united states as well.
Posted by: Wayne Rickardo | August 18, 2009 at 12:07 PM
John Mackey has run out of MY money- forever. This home health nurse's shadow will never darken the door of Whole Foods again.
Posted by: Shannon Perry | August 18, 2009 at 07:31 AM
Goodbye, Mr. Mackey. You are ignorant about us little people.
Posted by: Ginger K. | August 17, 2009 at 08:51 PM
How can American consumers be responsible for her/his health when our tax money is used to subsidize food markets that produce food with pesticides and herbicides? I would like to remind Mr. Mackey his store sells.
Posted by: Found in Yonkers | August 17, 2009 at 04:25 PM
I am not that sure Whole Foods is that committed to the organic cause... When I checked some of their brand pet foods I was very surprised about what's in there... I don't buy their supplements either. I am appalled by their huge assortment of imported produce even in their CA stores. I am very grateful to have access to a COOP store which sells, on a much smaller area than any WF store I know of, everything my skin, heart, and stomach could wish for - and that at considerably cheaper prices and sourced predominantly in the US and where possible locally. This COOP also sell organic fair trade bananas as cheaply, if not cheaper, than WF. WF isn't great on fair trade, yes they have some FT coffees but even Ralphs may have some....
It is true that many of us get sick because we don't live right. But tell this a homeless person or people who have to have 2 jobs to make ends meet!
WF, why don't you give some food coupons to the financially least fortunate among us so that they can at least eat healthier, even if they still don't have the time and means to research every labeling claim and marketing hype, at least they'd have a better chance to eat better. WF, put your money where your mouth is... :-) Just kidding, as if that would happen? (Maybe it does? One never knows what an idea expressed in words can achieve).
Posted by: Heidi Junger | August 17, 2009 at 03:13 PM
The passage quoted by Scott Davis also made me do a double-take:
"If you have a pre-existing condition and you don't have insurance, insurance is not for you. Insurance is about risk. A pre-existing condition isn't a risk, it's a liability. What you really need is a loan. "
Interestingly, that passage has since been removed from both the Wall Street Journal and the "unedited" version on Mackey's blog.
Posted by: KenJ | August 17, 2009 at 02:57 PM
Mr. Mackey didn't generate all this energy because he commented about our personal responsibility for our health - he got himself in trouble by using intentionally loaded language - inferring the plan was socialistic and quoting the great humanitarian Maggie Thatcher. He knew exactly what he was saying and so did we, the majority of his customers. Failing to understand who his customers are and that they, like him, can express themselves - by taking their business elsewhere - is going to prove very costly. I love my local whole foods, know the workers and will miss them. Buh-bye, Mr. Mackey.
Posted by: charlie clements | August 17, 2009 at 10:59 AM
I agree that people are responisble for their own health. There are exceptions, such as accidents and childhood disease etc. I think the biggest cost factor is that insurance is involved as a middleman on most levels, even routine checkups etc, of healthcare. And they (insurance needs to make a profit).
If the majority of medical care was handled by the free market, between doctor and patient its cost would be much less.
Save the health insurance for the drastic, out of the ordinary stuff and that would cost less as well.
To Your Health!
James Reno (editor)
Raw-Food-Repair.com
http://www.Raw-Food-Repair.com
Posted by: James Reno | August 17, 2009 at 07:41 AM
Mackey is an ignorant Texan. Take a trip to the LA Forum and look at the people in line at 4AM for free checkups. We are a 3rd world country who gives better medical care to prisoners than to it's law abiding citizens. Whole Foods is a big con. Shop at your local farmers market and stop putting money into this guy's pocket (not his one dollar salary, but his huge stock options). This stock is going to tank on Monday. I'm shorting it as I speak.
Posted by: headcase447 | August 17, 2009 at 12:19 AM
What's the root of his 'root of the problem? Go into Whole Foods, or better yet, go into any grocery store that doesn't charge Whole Foods' high prices. Look at the price of the healthy foods, i.e., the fresh fruits and vegetables, juices, etc. Then take a look at the price of twinkies, and soda, chips, and every other sorry excuse for sustenance. Give people the ability to buy healthy foods and they will.
Posted by: Arthur | August 16, 2009 at 11:28 PM
I've been "boycotting" Whole Foods for years simply because it is excessively expensive. I also don't think that organic food is healthier than regular food. I don't really care about the CEO's opinions.
Posted by: Eric | August 16, 2009 at 08:56 PM
The irony of the CEO of the high-priced faux liberal 'whole foods' market spouting about health care reform is almost funny. The store that is goes by the other name of 'whole paycheck' for high priced 'natural' foods surely is positioned to give advice to the masses. Maybe Mackey can loosen his own wallet and buck up his own 'donations' to a health care fund. And the fact he mentions that WF is kind enough to pay 100% on a 'high deductible' health care plan tells me the company is skimping on care for it's own employees.
Take it somewhere else, Mackey. And I plan to not shop at WF anymore. Their food is ridiculously overpriced and often, I've found, even spoiled from sitting too long, and hardly any more fresh or natural than what I find at a regular grocery store
Posted by: carol | August 16, 2009 at 08:51 PM
To the "personal responsibility" promoters:
You ignore accidents, congenital defects, genetic disorders, pollution-induced illnesses, and more. Insurance was invented because of uncertainty, but now insurers have decided they don't like uncertainty - it cuts into their profits, so they do everything in their power to not cover serious health issues, while charging an arm and a leg (sometimes literally) for the flawed coverage they do provide. A federal program, modeled on the very successful Medicare program, that provides care at lower cost will introduce a useful competitor into the market. If insurers don't want to compete, they may choose to offer a different mix of products, but the choice should be on their shoulders, not ours. We should not be forced to accept only their non-competitive pricing and policies just because they enjoy near-monopoly power over our care.
And for many of the issues you complain about, health care coverage that allows you to consult with a physician and dietitian to devise appropriate eating and exercise programs will make that all happen, saving ton of money for all of us, by preventing the worst incidences of disease.
Posted by: mataliandy | August 16, 2009 at 03:30 PM