The Whole Foods boycott -- much frothing on the Web

Poor old Whole Foods Market. As if that "Whole Paycheck" joke wasn't mean enough, now there are lots of shoppers who say they won't go there to buy things anymore.

To recap: On Aug. 11,  the Wall Street Journal ran an opinion piece by the company's chief executive, John Mackey, in which he spoke against deeper government involvement in the nation's healthcare.

Americans, he said, should be responsible for their own health. Like, for example, by eating healthy food (of the kind Whole Foods sells). 

"While we clearly need health-care reform, the last thing our country needs is a massive new health-care entitlement that will create hundreds of billions of dollars of new unfunded deficits and move us much closer to a government takeover of our health-care system. Instead, we should be trying to achieve reforms by moving in the opposite direction—toward less government control and more individual empowerment," Mackey wrote.

That editorial led to a call for a Whole Foods boycott by a group called (aptly enough) Boycott Whole Foods. It says its membership now stands at more than 20,000.

There's a Boycott Whole Foods Flikr group. A Boycott Whole Foods Facebook page. (It can only be a matter of time before there are Boycott Whole Foods resistance songs.)

There are images: "Flickr member bluheron sends us this proof of her money being spent elsewhere," the Boycott Whole Foods site proclaims. It's a photo of a receipt from a different store.

"Keep the photos coming!...Send us images of … defaced WF bags, and images of picketing or pamphleteering. Show them you mean business!"

On the Boycott Whole Foods Facebook wall, tips are traded, losses shared: Where now, to buy Rice Dream ice cream? How to manage without the cheese?

"Wait -- is it a boycott if I just can't afford to shop there?" writes Richard.

Mark E Rosenthal, who started the boycott, posted as membership passed 15,000— and then posted an e-mail he received: "I see you've hit 15,000 members! What a glorious day! Unfortunately, I just looked up the "Care Bears" group. They've got 65,239 members."

An article at the Washington Postnotes that other company executives have spoken out against healthcare reform — such as Safeway Chief Executive Steve Burd -- "with nary a ripple." No surprise, it says, because Whole Foods customers are of a different stripe — more liberal and politically involved.

At The Big Money, writer Mark Gimein -- in a post titled "Has Whole Foods' CEO Gone Completely Bananas?" – says that Mackey is dreaming if he thinks people are going to radically change their behaviors:

"The solution to our health care woes, Mackey seems to believe, is for all of us to become like him—hyper-rational in evaluating our options, hyper-responsible in following through on them, and devoted to healthy living (that plant-based diet!).That, in a nutshell, usefully sums up just what we can't do. As a friend at the Wall Street Journal put it to me with a raised eyebrow, 'It's pretty strange to think that the easiest way to change health care is to change human beings.' "

At the Atlantic, Megan McArdle writes, "The CEO of Whole Foods is not allowed to have a different opinion from you on a national domestic policy issue?  Rilly?....Here's why boycotts don't work: the vast majority of customers don't care. And yes, that includes the vast majority of Whole Foods customers, a surprising number of whom drive SUVs and even -- I swear! -- occasionally vote Republican."

Check out the NPR story here, and read all kinds of commentaries at the Huffington Post.

-- Rosie Mestel

   

Comments

[tw]

12 people protest and if makes the news? I'm sure WF is worried.

[Malamamakena@me.com]

The worst executive decision since New Coke.

[Louise Ross]

It seems an angry few are looking for reasons to make a lot of misguided noise about an organic grocer whose commitment to their core values, competitive value-proposition, and the neighborhoods in which each store resides, is admirable. I guess whenever a store with like WFs stands head and shoulders above the crowd, it's bound to get knocked down once in a while. And I'm sure in the larger scheme of things, this 'knock' will be but a mere bruise.

[intellibelly]

John Mackey took a huge risk by voicing his opinion knowing that it would alienate a giant portion of his customer base. I respect someone who has the balls to take that level of risk. I also respect that he manages to straddle a lot of differing world views from capitalism to veganism, to anti-GMO food, animal rights, GLBT, legalizing marijuana. I've heard John Mackey speak on a few occasions and have always been impressed: he is a brave man who thinks for himself.

The boycotters have no interest in respecting any speech but their own.

A boycott will not hurt Mackey but may negatively affect the tens of thousands of Whole Foods employees. Is that the goal? Is the goal to punish Mackey for his success? And to scare any 'little Mackeys' out there who will be silenced out of fear? Pathetic. BTW, I only shop at Whole Foods for an occasional bag of trail mix. Now I will buy TWO bags of trail mix before my evening class!

[Justin]

I'm curious to know what sort of Healthcare solution Mr. Mackey thinks would work. If we reduce government involvement, how exactly does that equal "more individual empowerment"? The insurance companies and healthcare industries will continue to raise costs and pass that on to customers. If the government provides no mechanism to control costs and the industry continues to work in tandem to increase costs, then the customer would not be empowered to do anything. They could discontinue their company insurance (if they even have it) and pay even greater out of pocket expenses to pay for healthcare as their other "choice".

The thought of another bloated government program is not appealing to me on one level, but the thought that leaving cost controls to a for-profit industry also makes no sense. If the industry collectively maintains high costs (and profits), then how can I empower myself? Healthcare is not like buying a toaster. I can't be in the emergency room after a car wreck saying "how much do you charge for an X-ray?" "Oh that's too much, I think I'll take my critical injuries to the next hospital in town and see if I can get a better price!"

I think Mr. Mackey's comments are probably not a wise move given their left-leaning customer base (you don't see the CEO of Titleist saying that golf is a boring sport), but a boycott is also silly. Nutrition is also one component of healthcare, but eating healthy won't mean you'll never get sick!

We need an honest discussion about topics like this because the government WILL have a role in our lives. To reduce the government to almost no role in people's lives is to hand over control to profiteering and corporate greed (just look at the banking industry - as government deregulated and decreased their involvement, the industry collapsed and economy went into the gutter). In this current paradigm, the consumer has no individual empowerment and reducing the government will not increase empowerment. I can't vote a corporate CEO out of office, but I can vote government out of office. So in my opinion, the topic should not be less government versus more, it should be about effective government versus a wasteful one.

[Sophie]

Hilarious. That the CEO of a company at which the majority of Americans can't afford to shop should tell us how our healthcare should be managed shows how much we de-value human beings. When did the American culture become: 'the only way to solve a problem or take care of people is do what the rich people tell us to do, and, yeah, let's help them become richer along the way!' ?

I love Whole Foods products, and think it's fantastic. However, I'm not a millionaire. Good health and nutrition is only for the upper crusts in this country.

[chakata kahn]

pondering the Kata video on yutube, is he an employee?
http://www.broowaha.com/article.php?id=5104

[mattc]

I'm a long-time hockey player and cyclist who takes care of himself. How may of you at age 51 could get their heart rate up to 150 for an hour a day in their training, have a bp of 115/75, rested pulse at 60 at, and a good cholesterol ratio (HDL 75)?

But guess what, I've been self-employed -- by design -- for 20 years. I work 50-60 (or more) hours per week. I have to produce on deadline to get paid, I do what it takes to get a job done for a client, not watch a corporate clock. That's what America and free markets are supposed to be about, right?

I also have to buy health insurance on the free market. It's not so free: insurers are in de facto collusion on prices and terms.

So when I got hit as a pedestrian by a spoiled, rich 21-year-old motorist who jumped the gun at an intersection — and was seriously injured — my health insurance premiums tripled. Now I have a pre-existing condition and can't switch insurers. So much for being ambitious and taking care of yourself in the USA, the land of freedom and opportunity. I wouldn't have this problem in any other industrialized country.

Mr. Mackey, why don't you let entrepreneurial, responsible people who live in the communities your stores serve buy into your company's group health care policy?

P.S. I love the SUVs (not hybrids) in Whole Foods stores' parking lots with dizzy drivers blithering on cell phones and not looking where they're going.

[Deidre Mooney]

Sorry. I have to agree with Mr. Mackey...after all the government has done such a wonderful job with Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security......the American people need to quit depending upon the government and take responsibility for their lifestyle choices. why is he being persecuted for having an opinion. Besides when did having an opinion that is different become taboo in a society of supposedly "open minded" people. If you are looking for a reason to boycott, go for the prices of the food..at least that allows people to freely express their opinion without being persecuted.

[Miki]

I will shop even more now at Whole Foods to support Mr. Mackey!!!

[tallulahbankhead]

If Mackey list of ideas are so workable, how come the GOP isn't advocating for them?

[Robert Peterson]

Since Whole Foods has stores in my country, Canada, I am eager to hear what Mr. Mackey has to say about our "massive health-care entitlement" program. A program, that is, which saves his company the enormous cost of paying for his Canadian employees' health-care insurance.

Also, if universal health care is untenable, why on earth was it a prudent business decision to expand Whole Foods into Canada? Funny that our "socialist" society still produces plenty of people able to afford his overpriced foodstuffs.

[Charles]

While Mr. Mackey may not represent a progressive viewpoint on healthcare, he has the right to make a point. It is a bit boring to watch these boycott rallies, all the frothing, all the prunish faces. I think we must contain the cost of heathcare with some restructuring but I am certainly not going to rush to boycott anyone who has another opinion...

[Donna]

I support whole foods 100%, I love their products, their philosophy, and the lifestyle it represents. And as a side note, I think their CEO is completely correct about healthcare.

[Joe Mac]

Let's save our boycotts for real issues. Why are we not boycotting Monsanto or businesses that do business with Monsanto? Why don't we boycott BASF inks?
Whole Foods is a great company. It offers small manufacturers a large retail space to sell, which gives them economies of scale. With the economies of scale, the cost of the raw ingredients are usually cheaper to attain. This benefits the entire natural/organic foodchain. This natural/organic foodchain promotes health and longevity. We should support Whole Foods, and use the internet to chastise John Mackey if we don't like HIS opinion. But why harm the industry that we so cherish?

We should be boycotting the companies that are HARMING us, that are causing us to go to the hospital because of their poisons. Monsanto is a good place to start. Call your pension plan, your wealth manager, your 401k administrator and tell them that you wish to divest from Monsanto, and if they tell you no, then move your assets elsewhere.

This is how real change can occur. These little boycotts for frivolous banalities do nothing more than weaken the impact and idea of boycotting.

Let's save our power for the real issues, and not cause more people to be offended by "petty boycotters" who are always looking for someone to "boycott" and then not take anything that is being boycotted seriously anymore. This is the modern equivalent to the boy who cried wolf.

[Abhi Buch]

Health care Reform is at least fifty years too late. No modern (western) democracy today would permit so many of its citizenz to go unprotected by any form of a Health care system as does America.. Whole Foods certainly could not believe that everything is fine as it is, if ONLY people would shop more at Whole Foods! What are these guys smoking? Available at Whole Foods? Of the 47 million who don't have health insurance, not even a fraction of a percentage point could afford Whole Foods products! On the Menu: A Euphoria stimulating Organic Veggie Burrito that lets you see the world throuigh rose-colored glasses? The boycott may not hurt them, but the ridicule is bound to.

[GetSome CommonSense]

Yeah Whole Foods! My new hero as far as stores go.

[caroline]

I agree with John Mackey, the US needs more personal responsibility and less Obamacare.

I think a lot of those shopping at Whole Foods agree with Mr Mackey. Those of us who eat right and exercise aren't happy our taxes will increase to pay for health care for those who can't bother to take care of themselves.

So much is made of the fact that the poor can't afford decent food, but so often at the grocery store, I see people with food stamps buying expensive packaged and frozen food. No wonder they're unhealthy. Rather than adding a whole new entitlement, why not reform the programs already around, like keeping food stamps from buying pork rinds and chicken fingers. I think most would support an increase in food stamps if it was made more like WIC.

[Tony R.]

The leftist wingnuts and Obamunists fanning the flames of hysteria against Mr. Mackey and Whole Foods should consider that recent polls show that over 2/3 of Americans are politically conservative -- always have been and still are. Mr. Mackey is spot on with his low opinion of Obamacare. Whole Foods may see a temporary dip in their business, but I predict the blackmail will FAIL!

[Matt]

this guy is dead on. Its time people start taking responsibility for themselves.

[dsmith]

Mr. Mackey shows he could care less about the average person. You can go to the grave as far as he is concerned if it is going to effect his investments. He is looking out for his own best monetary interests, and other than the hard-core contrarian posters here who are against anything for anyone, people would do well to do the same as Mr. Mackey and support change in thier own best interests.

[Ferrante]

When President Obama was still a US. Senator, I saw him in the Whole Foods Market on Huron in Chicago. No one seemed to know who he was ; that was about three years ago. Now he's president. LOL

Eating all the healthy food in the world won't help you if you're in a car accident. It probably won't do much to fight soon-to- be here swine flu either.
Before you praise Whole Foods' CEO let's not forget his " sneaky " protest of antitrust complaints regarding the acquisition of Wild Oats Market and the E coli outbreak in Mass & Pa.( VERY HEALTHY ).

The President has advocated prevention. For him to be called a neo- fascist is crazy. How many people has his " fascism " killed ?
GWB's " fascism " has killed more 4,000 American troops. I'll play the race card. A lot of resistance to President Obama and his agenda is because of the skin he's in.

[Chaosring31]

Ok, while I agree with a few of Mr. Mackey's points, all is not as smooth as it would appear by reading his opinion on health care reform. I'll deal with the points in order, take my opinion for what you will:

1.) Remove the legal obstacles that slow the creation of high-deductible health insurance plans and health savings accounts (HSAs).

A.)This is one of the things that I have the biggest problem with. Being able to place money in an HSA is not a bad option to have, however the "high deductible" health plans discussed here sound very similar to one I had at a former employer. (Basically you'll pay the $10 deductible for that cold you get next winter, but 2 years from now when you need a gall bladder operation, you'll be owing 80% of it. Hope you put a LOT of extra money in that HSA, if not, be prepared for a $30k+ bill from the hospital.)

1a.) Our plan's costs are much lower than typical health insurance, while providing a very high degree of worker satisfaction.

A.) Of course, anyone want to take a stab at WHY this insurance is SO much lower in cost? It's because it doesn't cover any of the things that most people REALLY need insurance to cover: BIG BILLS. I can afford the Dr.'s office visits, thanks anyway. Anyone ever been to Whole Foods and seen why the employees there are so happy with their medical insurance? THEY'RE ALL 19 YEAR OLD COLLEGE STUDENTS...... how seriously ill do you think they get?? Put a 50 or 60 year old on that plan and see how much THEY like it.

2.) Repeal government mandates regarding what insurance companies must cover.

A.) Now I don't know about you, but I've never had a problem with what my insurance covers, it's more about what it DOESN'T cover. Being from an insurance background, I'm sure Mr. Mackey is fully aware that without government mandates, the insurance companies (slick little devils that they are!) will find MORE ways to NOT cover whatever happens to be wrong with you at any given moment.

3.) Enact tort reform to end the ruinous lawsuits that force doctors to pay insurance costs of hundreds of thousands of dollars per year.

A.) I'm sure we've all heard enough horror stories about abuses of the legal system as well as horrendous accounts of malpractice. Do I want MY right to sue someone who permanently damages me for life taken away or severely limited? Absolutely not, but a little common sense in the courtroom about who gets a multi-million dollar award and why is definitely in order. Not that I think that would curtail or limit the greed of insurance companies, which apparently knows no bounds.

4.) Enact Medicare reform. We need to face up to the actuarial fact that Medicare is heading towards bankruptcy and enact reforms that create greater patient empowerment, choice and responsibility.

A.) I love this term: patient empowerment, choice and responsibility. Boiled down, this means: "Grandpa... I know you're almost 80... but I hear Whole Foods is hiring! You may want to GET EMPOWERED and show some RESPONSIBILITY! There is no 'intrinsic right to health care' after all!" (Never mind the fact that you've been paying into the system since it was created and now cant afford the prescriptions you need to sustain your quality of life.) One of the reasons that the Medicare system is now so nearly-bankrupt, is that politicians have been stealing money out of it for decades. Remember those years of massive surpluses, when the baby-boomers were paying in and a fraction was coming out? Ask the politicians of the 60's, 70's and 80's where all that money went. It wasn't to providing health care for the elderly.

5.) Finally, revise tax forms to make it easier for individuals to make a voluntary, tax-deductible donation to help the millions of people who have no insurance and aren't covered by Medicare, Medicaid or the State Children's Health Insurance Program.

A.) What was that? I couldn't hear you over the public clamor for a tax form so they can donate money to help pay for illegal immigrants to get their checkups!(*rolls eyes*) How about a flat tax on sales, and no IRS to pay for? Now THAT'S a savings I can get behind. If we are waiting for private donations to pick up the tab or even assist with the massive number of Americans without health care, we'll be waiting a long time. If we continue to give free care to the millions of illegal immigrants, many who deliberately come here FOR medical care and pay nothing into the system, bankruptcy will be our reward.

6.) Our Canadian and British employees express their benefit preferences very clearly—they want supplemental health-care dollars that they can control and spend themselves without permission from their governments.

A.) I can't imagine why they would want "health care dollars" from their HSA's to spend on anything remotely related to health care (band-aids, cotton swabs, disinfectants, ect... things that most households have, that they won't need to spend real money on) rather than redundant insurance. Say what you want about the "British Smile", at least they HAVE teeth.

7.) Rather than increase government spending and control, we need to address the root causes of poor health. ... two-thirds of Americans are now overweight and one-third are obese.

A.) While I agree that we as humans, should eat more vegetables and fruits and avoid overly processed and additive-laden food products, shopping at Whole Foods really isn't a solution to health problems in general. People get sick. People who don't smoke, drink, live on McBurgers and fries, or eat fried chicken slathered in mayonnaise. Healthy people get sick too and you can't blame it all on the fact that they aren't getting enough whole grains. Also, not all overweight people live unhealthy lifestyles, I know people who are very active, eat right, don't smoke, but are overweight. It happens.

8.) Most of the diseases that kill us and account for about 70% of all health-care spending—heart disease, cancer, stroke, diabetes and obesity... We should be able to live largely disease-free lives until we are well into our 90s and even past 100 years of age.

A.) We'll live disease-free lives until we get old and get ill with a stroke, cancer, ect... Life is a terminal condition. I believe that we need serious reform of the health care system, but honestly, I've not seen enough details or information on either side of the debate to say "Hey, I want THAT plan!" but Mr. Mackey was just expressing HIS opinion just like everyone here has expressed theirs. And you know what they say about opinions...

[Greg]

The phony 'health care' argument is predicated on the belief that there is a 'problem' to begin with. Don't see a 'problem' other than the American people buying into this and dozens of other schemes while tolerating federal government to do anything outside of its Constitutional powers - (for you college students and adult children out there health care isn't one of them). The CEO's point is that government is not the answer to the problem real or imagined.

Boycotters need to look in the mirror and deal with reality for once in your sheeplike lives - not everyone thinks Obaaaaama is the second coming. Not even the boss of the occasional bathers choice of grocery store. You've been played. You cheerleaders should have figured it out by now what with still having those troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, or that prison in Guantanamo still operating, or all your gardeners and nannies still having to get phony social security cards, or another 2 trillion added to the national debt in 9 months. Some change huh? Sounds just like the shannanigans of last puppet/criminal who occupied the oval office.

Government is not the answer, whether it's name is Obama or Bush, Democrat or Republican is irrelevant. How some people are still buying into the false left/right paradigm in 2009 and cheerleading this rigged game is amazing. Where's a real anti establishment hippie when you need one anyway! I'm off to Whole Foods to spend my fiat money.

[John Graham]

Ha ha, all these people say they will NOW START shopping at Whole Foods ?

~Wait till you see the prices !

Also, lots of name brands that you currently get at your local Safeway aren't offered at Whole Foods!

Nice try pretending though !