I just found out today that a Whole Foods is going to be built close to my neighborhood. Too bad it’s not an Earth Fare.
While many crunchy, green mamas might rejoice at Whole Foods coming to town, I am in mourning because Whole Foods is basically on par with your “neighborhood”  Walmart.
There is nothing “neighborly” about Walmart or Whole Foods.
What a joke.
Whole Foods is just another cutthroat Corporate Bully dressed in organic, “let’s save the world”, “buy local” disguise with the shareholders in full throttle, profit taking control.
While Whole Foods is undoubtedly counting on health conscious Moms like me in the neighborhood cha-chinging away at the brand spanking new registers, let me just share with you that you won’t see The Healthy Home Economist browsing the aisles there.
I’ll be shopping at the 2 small, local healthfood stores less than a mile away where I’ve shopped for the past 15 years. Â That’s where my business loyalty lies.
I spend almost all my food money with local businesses and local farms. Â Not Whole Foods.
How could I possibly rationalize shopping at Whole Foods which has recently rolled over on the GMO issue in the United States by suggesting that we all need to “learn to live with GMO’s” by accepting the USDAs proposal for “peaceful” coexistence between organics and genetically modified foods?
Here is Whole Foods’ official statement on the matter:
The reality is that no grocery store in the United States, no matter what size or type of business, can claim they are GMO-free. While we have been and will continue to be staunch supporters of non-GMO foods, we are not going to mislead our customers with an inaccurate claim (and you should question anyone who does). Here’s why: the pervasive planting of GMO crops in the U.S. and their subsequent use in our national food supply. 93% of soy, 86% of corn, 93% of cotton, and 93% of canola seed planted in the U.S. in 2010 were genetically engineered. Since these crops are commonly present in a wide variety of foods, a GMO-free store is currently not possible in the U.S. (Unless the store sells only organic foods.)
Since the U. S. national organic standards do not allow the use of GMO ingredients and practices in the growing or production of organic foods, choosing organic is one way consumers can avoid GMO foods. The other is through labeling, of which we are strong supporters.Â
Hey Whole Foods, here’s a novel idea:  How about selling only organic and local foods then? That would solve the problem nicely wouldn’t it?
I don’t know about you, but that statement screams “sell-out” to me. Even more damaging, Whole Foods recently endorsed the peaceful coexistence option with regard to GE alfalfa rather than an outright ban. The unrestricted planting of GE alfalfa that starts as early as this spring threatens the entire grassfeeding dairy industry over the long term as alfalfa hay is an integral part of winter feeding.
Whole Foods is all about corporate profits and management can shade it and couch it any way they like, but the message is loud and clear: Â corporate profit and shareholder gains are more important than sticking to the basic sustainability ideals Whole Foods was founded upon.
Do you want your neighborhood healthfood stores and farmer’s markets to suffer revenue losses from business ruthlessly stripped away by a Whole Foods coming to town?
If not, you can choose to stay away like me and treat Whole Foods like just another supermarket or Walmart: Â a place of last resort where budget dollars are rarely if ever spent.
Note: as of July 2012, it appears that Whole Foods is still sourcing much of its “organic” produce from China which provides further verification of the video below.
In addition, as of June 2015, Whole Foods’ new veggie rating system can rank conventional produce grown in another country ahead of organic, local produce!
Sarah, The Healthy Home Economist
I live 5 minutes from the new Whole Foods. They have a wonderful and affordable selection of organic produce (organic grapes $1.99/lb.) They sell step 5 pastured pork (bacon & sausage) from Thompson Farms. They sell grass fed beef and organic chicken. They sell kombucha. Wild caught seafood. Hmmm….I’m trying to see the negative here??? Sorry but we will be shopping there weekly.
Well that is an unfair and inflamitory article. Walmart is a disgusting company, doing Nothing positive for communities or employees or the environment, the opposite of Whole Foods. As a well treated and very informed employee of theirs, I see first hand the things they actually do, the programs they invest in, the education of their employees and customers that they take so seriously. They have not flip flopped about GMOs, that statement simply says that they cannot possibly, given the current state of things, be nonGMO and still satisfy their customers. Nor can they, or anyone else claim to be a 100% nonGMO grocery.
If you are against a small company that has been such a huge success that it is now a large (and mindful) corporation, then you are against success in general. How can you hold profit against any business?
Most of your views are quite extreme, so I don’t see why this should bother me, but it does. Whole foods makes available to people like me, that do shop at local organic farms and ranches, other items that are not so readily available. Huge selections of specialty foods for those with alergies or sensitivities that were previously not around or ridiculously priced. Not every little local health food store carries this stuff, and not every community had those stores to begin with.
Good for you that you don’t need or want whole foods, but so many people do. Don’t forget about that.
I find that it takes me longer and longer to shop these days because if a label does not specify that it contains no GMOs, I no longer buy it. Whole Foods to me is one of the only stores in my area that sells a good amount of organic adn GMO free products. I really don’t believe that they are the problem. Monosanto needs to be stopped. Sarah, I enjoy your videos and appreciate the some of the knowlege you share with us. I really don’t think that you will find a single store that does not sell GMO free and some food products that are not made in China. I don’t agree with either and avoid them at all cost, but I do believe that Whole Foods is making efforts to help with the Mononsato fight. As far as Trader Joe’s goes, I shop their occasionally but not many of their products are labeled GMO free so I do not believe that they are. I own a catering business and unlike most caterers, I do offer to create an organic menu but it surprises me that so many people are so uneducated about the foods they are eating or just do not seem to care. That itself is the most annoying to me. We need to take our food shopping into our own hands. Regardless of where you shop, look at labels and buy only organic!
“We’ll, there’s nothing illegal about that.” I shop at local farms, and stop in at cooperatives in neighboring towns when I’m passing through.
They came into P- Town 18 years ago. Bought up the local cooperatives, then started this campaign of lowering prices on just those items the local grocery stores had for sale. At first, herbs and homeopathic remedies were in abundance, as there was still one little vitamin store that held out. Once that store went out of business they got rid of most of their bulk herbs, expanded their premade capsule and tincture collection and raised the price of homeopathic remedies above the MSRP. I called them on that. They said ” w
I was at Whole Foods yesterday here in California and they were passing out Yes on Prop 37 prop pins and had informational flyers on why to vote yes on Prop 37. Plus the host a farmers market every week in their parking lot where I can get local produce, meat, and eggs.
This is so funny, this is EXACTLY what I told my friends yesterday “Whole Foods is the Walmart of Healthfood” maybe some stuff but that place is pricey too and you dont get the benefits of local, bulk etc…we have to do our research on better sources and share with others to help them out in their journey as well.
I definitely buy most of my groceries from the local co-op or farmers’ market (including ALL grass-fed meat, dairy, and produce). But for anything that isn’t grown locally, like rice, quinoa, etc. I go to Whole Foods. We do have a couple of local places, but the selection is AWFUL. If Whole Foods is what I need to provide my family with good, organic foods then I’ll take it. I know what brands to support and what to look for on the labels.
unfortunately, some places don’t have another alternative. Every place listed in Memphis as a “health food” store is nothing more than a supplement pushing store front.
@Kimberly – I’ve been there a few times, but they are a bit far from me (about a 50 min drive). Martindales Natural Market in Springfield, PA is a lot closer to where I am 🙂