So says WFM boss John Mackey. “Basically, we used to think it was enough just to sell healthy food, but we know it is not enough. We sell all kinds of candy. We sell a bunch of junk.” But change is coming.
We spend a lot of both time and money at Whole Foods and we readily concur with John Mackey that WFM does, indeed, sell a lot of junk. That’s not why we go. They have a plethora of good with the bad and this is what keeps us going back. But we have remarked on several occasions how it is necessary to shop carefully at WFM and NOT assume that just because they carry it, it must be any combination of, healthy, organic, whole, or nutrient dense. That’s the danger. Especially given the atmosphere which is typically woodsy and wholesome feeling. You walk in and immediately feel as though you are nutritionally “safe” as it were. Surely such a place as this, you want to think, wouldn’t sell anything that isn’t safe or good for me. Think again. WFM’s boss called a spade a spade – “junk” – and junk does not belong in the human body.
So what is about to change? Mackey says: “There will be someone in a kiosk to answer questions, they’ll have cookbooks and health books, there will be some cooking classes. It will be about how to select food, because people don’t know.” True! Also: “Healthy eating went on at Whole Foods from at least about 1980 to 1995. Now we’ve had a 15 year run for the foodie philosophy. We are launching a reversal now. We will be moving into food as health.” His comments appeared today in The Guardian.
We will watch and see where this goes. As I said earlier, there is lots of both good and bad to be had at Whole Foods. It will be interesting to see what stays and what gets purged. An ongoing issue, at least at my local WFM, is the use of canola oil in many if not most of their prepared foods. A large bulletin board in one section of the store has had numerous complaints about this and requests for use of a healthier oil. The usually chirpy store respondent, after dealing with this subject for an extended period, declared one day in a handwritten note that the issue was closed, canola oil is healthy (supplied a website URL for an article explaining this) and that was that.
I beg to differ. And if YOU would like to know more about the dangers of Canola oil, please read The Great Con-ola by Sally Fallon and Mary G. Enic, PhD.
So does canola oil fall within the category of “junk” to which Mr. Mackey alludes? I beleve I will post this question on that bulletin board and see what comes of it. In the meantime, there are plenty of other things to watch out for at Whole Foods, sugar and white flour chief among them. Oh, the beautiful deserts. Pieces of art. Worthy to be admired, but not eaten. And what’s with the white flour tortillas in the Mexican food bar? “Can I get that burrito with a whole wheat tortilla, please?” “No.” Mr. Mackey’s conversion comes none too soon.
So what does WFM have that compels my wife and I to spend our time and money in their beautiful store? Grass fed beef, raw milk, pastured chicken, wild caught fish, and a huge assortment of organic produce. Our Whole Foods Market is one of the largest in the country and features several food bars, in addition to a smokehouse and the fish counter. They will cook anything you select for no extra charge. Just choose your fancy and pay for the quantity of fish or meat. The fish counter always throws in a side dish of vegetables tastefully prepared. It just so happens that one of the fish cooks is a professional chef who spends part of his time cooking for a well known television evangelist. I am personally not a big fish fan, but his talents are such that I insist we order up some cod or salmon at least once a week. He’s a wonderful gentleman and is perhaps that store’s best kept secret. And the price, say for a cod dinner for two, is most reasonable — how often do you hear THAT about Whole Foods? At about $10.00/lb, we order one-and-a-half pounds for $15.00, which he cooks up with a gourmet vegetable side dish at no additional charge. Wild caught gourmet fish dinner for two at Whole Foods for $15.00! That’s hard to beat.
So, Mr. Mackey, get to work and get rid of the junk. Let’s see what you can do to make Whole Foods Market live up to its name.
LEARN MORE!
The following books will facilitate your further study of this important subject. The more information you have, the more you can do for your own health and that of your loved ones!
Real Food: What to Eat and Why
Appetite for Profit: How the Food Industry Undermines Our Health and How to Fight Back
The Whole Foods Market Cookbook
Nourishing Traditions: The Cookbook that Challenges Politically Correct Nutrition and the Diet Dictocrats
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{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
Love this post! I’d be afraid of what gets labeled as junk. Clearly refined flours and sugars need to go. But there are other foods I think of as quite healthy that politically-correct nutrition would argue against (coconut oil, anyone?).
Thanks for sharing this in today’s Fight Back Friday carnival.
Cheers,
~KristenM
(AKA FoodRenegade)
We don’t go to Whole Foods any longer. Here in our town they have taken part in some pretty underhanded tactics to undermine smaller, independent stores – who, honestly, do the whole “whole foods” thing better than WFM ever dreamed of doing.
We had a dawning of realization about a year ago after leaving a WFM in town that we were leaving the store totally stressed out – just like when we’re in a traditional market! We then visited the smaller – but in our new confirmed time and again opinion – New Season’s Market we realized we relaxed – we felt like we were at home!
That did it. We just decided no more WFM! I hope for the sake of the many who walk in the door assuming everything is a-okay for you there that they do clean up their act a bit!
Kristen – Excellent point! John Mackey has recently shunned olive oil as unhealthy. The next few months will be interesting.
Dina – We buy most of our food at a small local organic outfit whose prices are usually much lower than Whole Foods; example — 1/2 gallon of Organic Pastures Raw Milk is $9.99 at Whole Foods, only 6.99 at the smaller place, Mother’s Market. We are happy that Mother’s Market is thriving!
Charles
We don’t have a WFM here but I’ve always been interested in trying one. It’ll be interesting to see the changes.
Charles, this is a great article and you articulate my feelings as well. We tracked down an employee recently complaining about the canola oil in all of the prepared foods. I just refuse to buy them. At least he demonstrated to me that they use organic oil, not GM, but that does not make the product any healthier or more digestible. We shop Whole Foods for items we don’t get from our farmers. They do have some local and some organic choices and are getting more meat from farmers using sustainable methods. That is more than our other local groceries. I shudder to see Truvia on the shelves and walls of agave “nectar.” But as a wise consumer I can make my choices. I’m glad they are in the neighborhood. It will be interesting what kind of changes occur.
I went the rounds a while back with WF over the way ultra-pasteurized dairy has taken over their shelves. Their answer was totally unsatisfactory – the time they bothered to reply – and just what you’d expect.
I also am a bit concerned as to their definition of ‘healthy’.