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Healthy Home Economist / Archives / Green Living / Whole Foods: The Walmart of Healthfood

Whole Foods: The Walmart of Healthfood

by Sarah Pope / Affiliate Links ✔

whole foods under construction

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.   That’s where my business loyalty lies.

I spend almost all my food money with local businesses and local farms.  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. 

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:  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:  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

 

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Category: Green Living
Sarah Pope

Sarah Pope MGA has been a Health and Nutrition Educator since 2002. She is a summa cum laude graduate in Economics from Furman University and holds a Master’s degree from the University of Pennsylvania.

She is the author of three books: the bestseller Get Your Fats Straight, Traditional Remedies for Modern Families, and Living Green in an Artificial World.

Her four eBooks Good Diet…Bad Diet, Real Food Fermentation, Ketonomics, and Ancestrally Inspired Dairy-Free Recipes are available for complimentary download via Healthy Home Plus.

Her mission is dedicated to helping families effectively incorporate the principles of ancestral diets within the modern household. She is a sought after lecturer around the world for conferences, summits, and podcasts.

Sarah was awarded Activist of the Year in 2010 at the International Wise Traditions Conference, subsequently serving on the Board of Directors of the nutrition nonprofit the Weston A. Price Foundation for seven years.

Her work has been covered by numerous independent and major media including USA Today, ABC, and NBC among many others.

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Reader Interactions

Comments (377)

  1. John Schmid

    Jan 18, 2023 at 2:48 pm

    I agree with you on most things. I got to this page from your page on Canola oil. My family cut that oil out of our diet 10 or more years ago. I don’t like or shop at Whole Foods, though I think it used to be a good store. Given your attitude about Whole Foods I am surprised you send people to Amazon.

    Reply
    • Sarah Pope

      Jan 19, 2023 at 8:19 am

      I send people to Amazon as it is helpful to see a picture of the product and labeling so people can find locally at an independent healthfood store.
      I also use links where possible to small vendors that carry the same products.

  2. Billie

    Nov 23, 2022 at 7:47 am

    Is there a Sprouts near you? That’s where I like to get produce. And, every once in a while, ALDI, because a lot of their produce is grown in the US.

    Reply
  3. Nicole

    Sep 30, 2013 at 5:52 pm

    Sarah, thank you for your time to get the free education about reality , …. you got guts and stand what you believe in, and i like it…

    all the best to you.

    Reply
  4. Cody

    Jul 3, 2013 at 3:00 pm

    The main point is that consumers are informed by labeling and whatnot, not dictating to consumers what they should and shouldn’t accept. I see Whole Foods’ point. GMOs are often quite bad, but for poor people in this country the alternative could be going hungry, and that is worse.

    GMOs serve a purpose. Some people are not wealthy enough to be able to have the privilege of worrying about whether their food is genetically modified.

    Reply
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