Whole Foods CEO: "The Whole Foods Alternative To ObamaCare" -- Just Eat Whole Foods!

Whole Foods CEO John Mackey penned an op-ed on health care reform in Tuesday's Wall Street Journal in which he pressed, amidst more standard conservative talking points, a "simple" solution.

"Recent scientific and medical evidence shows that a diet consisting of foods that are plant-based, nutrient dense and low-fat will help prevent and often reverse most degenerative diseases that kill us and are expensive to treat."

As TPM's Brian Beutler put it: "Translation: Whole Foods is the solution to all of America's health care woes."

However, for those of you who are tempted to follow Mackey's advice (and can afford it!) be warned: not all of the foods found at Whole Foods will actually make you healthy. As Mackey himself admitted last week, "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."

Comments

[yankhadenuf]

06:09 PM on 09/06/2009

Whore Foods screws health reform... T-shirts, anyone?

[inlight1]

11:24 PM on 09/02/2009

Now you see the true color of Whole Foods. It's not about eating healthy it's about growing a corporation that has put a lot of community businesses who sell health food out of business.
There were a lot of small health food markets that I loved going to. Their strong community contribution and the people who truly care about what they were doing.. many are gone but some remain struggling.

Whole Foods is Walmart in disguise.

The message is buy locally and support Obama's healthcare for all Americans and not just for those who can afford it.

[munki]

09:15 PM on 09/03/2009

I switched from Whole Foods to Bristol Farm or Trader Joe's...

NO MORE WHOLE FOODS for me and my friends

[boyoboy]

10:23 AM on 09/04/2009

Same here. We also have a locally-owned 'health' food store, which sells a lot of gluten and allergen-free products in addition to regular healthful foods. They'll be seeing my business now.

[boyoboy]

10:34 AM on 09/04/2009

By looking at Whole Foods' prices, Mr. Mackey obviously doesn't believe that eating healthy is a right for anyone but the affluent.

[deschl]

07:06 PM on 09/02/2009

how about "let them eat cake" worked for marie antoinette, oh my bad no it didn't...

[boganna]

09:26 AM on 09/02/2009

I really don't understand the backlash. If you really understood business and healthcare, you would know that the solution Whole Foods has come up with is ingenious and saves money. If it were such a horrible idea then wouldn't the employees be upset? We have seen employees speak out before when they are not happy with compensation (Wal-Mart).

I am self employed and pay for my own insurance. It is frustrating that there are no affordable plans out there for relatively healthy people. If there were realistic prices for everyday healthcare, then this whole controversy would be moot. When was the last time you asked your doctor how much a lab test was or how much your insurance would be charged for a visit? I'll bet if you asked him, he would say he doesn't know. This is RIDICULOUS! How can we let the market drive down prices when no one knows how much things costs?

Most of the people who are boycotting Whole Foods really don't know what they are talking about. If you truly think that the government should be in charge of health care, then you obviously have never had to deal with governmental red tape. If you think insurance companies are hard to deal with, then just talk to the people in New Orleans about how efficiently government worked for them after Katrina.

[deschl]

07:08 PM on 09/02/2009

Forty years ago a certain B-movie actor and television host named Ronald Reagan was hired to do a PSA for the AMA on nation-wide radio and tv against the Medicare program, claiming it would destroy American medicine. Yet today, two generations later, the argument against expanding medical care for all Americans centers on how great our current medical care is - this with probably more than half of the actual medical consumers on Medicare.

[boyoboy]

10:24 AM on 09/04/2009

My husband has Medicare, and it's first rate.

[Charlotte2009]

06:43 PM on 09/01/2009

Since heath care cost now over $1000 a month, I can't offer to shop at whole foods.

[MtDavid]

03:56 AM on 09/01/2009

I will never shop there again!
(unless the company fires CEO and repudiates his words)

[yankees]

10:26 AM on 08/28/2009

So a person cannot voice their opinion in this country anymore that the intolerant Left doesn't like. No it's not Unionized, which shouldn't matter as their benefits are way better but once again the Left cries foul.
Mackey takes practically no salary and he is demonized.
So the Limo Liberals will have to shop with the rest of us.
And who will it eventually hurt but the employees of Whole Foods. If a boycott is successful resulting in layoffs it will not matter to the Left because they are not Unionized.
Now what if they were Unionized?

[MtDavid]

03:59 AM on 09/01/2009

Demonized?
I think people object to his ideas.
Everyone is free to have ideas and speak their minds.
I am free to shop elsewhere.

[BitterInPA]

07:40 PM on 09/02/2009

Wow,,, another multi-millionaire telling us we do not need health insurance.

[tommygun47]

12:06 AM on 08/28/2009

In 1978, a college dropout named John Mackey and his girlfriend Rene Lawson borrowed $45,000 from family and friends to open a small natural foods store called SaferWay. These two endured financial ruin via a flood but persevered to grow their little store into what it is today…Whole Foods. They had a passion to deliver organic foods to people that were heath conscious. They knew that the government agency (FDA) has put regulations in place that forced food suppliers to radiate, and chemically preserve our food supply which was bad for our heath and well being. Now comes the precious part. These same brain dead liberals that were so anti-government and so body conscience that they lapped up all the natural products that this businessman has been delivering to them for 30 years now think he is Hitler. Why? Because he looked at the proposed healthcare bill put forth by Obama and deemed it bad for Americans heath and bad for American business, and said so. WOW. Now those same brain dead liberals are pro-government and are going to get their food from the evil grocery chain they opposed to teach John Mackey a lesson. This just goes to show you, if you are a libertarian, and use logic to oppose the liberal ideology, you become an enemy of the left and they will attempt to take you down.
Have a shot of red dye you Communist libs… I’ll SHOP WHOLE FOODS!

[political atheist]

06:48 PM on 08/31/2009

The government plan does nothing to address the "you scratch my back, I'll scratch your back" cronyism between politicians (on BOTH sides of the aisle) and the insurance companies. And as long as sheeple (again, both sides of the aisle) refuse to see what is happening right before our eyes healthcare reform is doomed to fail and the blame game never stops.

If anyone thinks our government can run your healthcare efficiently, watch this.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vuL8teeuJD8

[MamaMoroni]

09:17 PM on 08/31/2009

Whatever...it's 6%....let's all chip in and help them..WITHOUT the government!!

[ponderingmuch]

07:14 PM on 09/08/2009

Pinko lib here: I am fortunate to live in L.A. where we have farmers markets most days of the week somewhere nearby, Erewhon, Trader Joe's, Bristol Farms, the place whose name I forget that used to be Erewhon, and even the mainstream supermarkets have organic sections.

No need to go to Whole Foods any more.

[creolechild]

07:14 PM on 08/27/2009

If you are concerned about receiving "real" health care reform in this country, please take the time to watch a video on our current system. The video was created by Oregon physicians who are advocating for the single-payer option. The video is very informative and helped me to gain a better understanding of various aspect of health care, as we know now it.

https://www.madashelldoctorstour.com/Mad_as_Hell_Video.html

These Oregon physicians are in the process of organizing a caravan designed to inform the public about the benefits of the single-payer option. At last count they will be stopping in approximately 23 states, on their way to demonstrate in Washington. They need volunteers and our support. Please spread the word.

[Philclock]

06:25 PM on 09/11/2009

No way are you putting me into a single-payer ghetto, I'm fighting AGAINST Big Government control, FOR consumer power where we choose and pay for what we want as much as possible. NO GOVERNMENT RUNNING HEALTH CARE!

[Progressiveama]

05:53 PM on 08/27/2009

another instance of how health is relegated to the rich......also, they are not unionized

[jf1936]

01:54 AM on 08/27/2009

what the heck is everyone so mad about?? He cited studies which no one is disputing, and he said nowhere in the article to buy it from whole foods, and even admitted that the store sells a lot of things that dont' fall under the category he is endorsing.

He is stating much of the problem is diet (who is disputing that?) and he is citing huge deficits in unfunded spending by Obama, which is also true, and claiming it will be detrimental to our country in fiscal terms and one step closer to government take over of healthcare.... all true.

so my question is... just what in the hell are all of these protesters disagreeing with??

[MtDavid]

04:07 AM on 09/01/2009

Mackey said nothing (and you too, I presume) when the Bush Administration created huge deficits, and didn't put the cost of its wars in the budget.
Now there is a chance to have the kind of health care nearly everyone else in the world gets, and Mackey says "health" isn't a right. Those making "the fuss" disagree! And they see Mackey's views as politically partisan, not a wise move for the spokesman of a company to make.

[ponderingmuch]

07:17 PM on 09/08/2009

Especially not wise given that most of his former customers were commie pinkos like me.

[Lyn91]

08:08 PM on 08/26/2009

I believe more in a low-calorie diet. I like eating fast food sometimes, but I enjoy healthy food too. Everything in moderation.

[SuperSizeMe111]

02:04 PM on 08/26/2009

I wonder if the 'Whole Foods' outrage and boycott has ANYTHING at all to do with the fact that 'Whole Foods' IS NOT unionized....
No...
Not Possible...

[augustus99]

11:17 PM on 08/26/2009

Yes and with a government health care system guess who gets to grow?

[boyoboy]

10:31 AM on 09/04/2009

I didn't know nor have I ever thought about it. Is Trader Joe's union? I didn't think so, though, many (most) of us will take our business there.

Just keep on passing your oral gas.

[julia23]

12:41 PM on 08/26/2009

Whole foods now has an entire aisle of JUNK FOOD.

[factotem]

12:12 PM on 08/26/2009

Hey Mackey,
Know... your... audience!