Whole Foods Market - Some Negative Things to Consider
4 07 2007
I am not suggesting than anyone boycott Whole Foods, or stop shopping there, I just think people need to know that the benevolent image of Whole Foods is in some ways, just an image. In fact, it’s been suggested that the entire market for, and standards for organic products has been created by Whole Foods. The CEO John Mackey has encouraged its suppliers and farmers to treat their livestock humanely. Sometime in the future, I’m going to write an article about the positive aspects of Whole Foods, just to be fair, because there are many positive aspects.
I first came across the notion that Whole Foods was less than a benevolent force while staying with some friends in London a few years ago. Their roommates were getting masters degrees in food studies at a London university…I wish I could remember which university this was…and studying such concepts as farmers’ rights, food politics, sustainable farming, and subsistence farming.
Let me preface this article by saying, the reason I don’t currently shop at Whole Foods is because I find the store to be exorbitantly overpriced. I actually must guiltily admit that I currently shop at inexpensive large chain grocery stores that might be considered more “evil” than Whole Foods on a “conscientious or not” spectrum, but hey! This blog is all about me changing one step at a time, not being perfect.
My friends suggested that Whole Foods is guilty of buying out independent, smaller grocery stores left and right, guilty of not always supporting farmers’ rights, and basically not exactly living up to its reputation of a conscientious, environmentally sound corporation, and so I’ve done some admittedly unscientific internet research to share here with you guys.
Negative things to consider:
Whole Foods is adamently anti-union.
Whole Foods has refused to support the rights of strawberry workers.
Whole Foods is speeding towards monopolistic control of its whole foods/healthy/organic food stores.
Whole Foods has encouraged methods of shrimp farming that encourages deaths of sea turtles.
Whole Foods leads to mom and pop’s shops going under. (Survival of the fittest? What about buying locally?)
Whole Foods carries few locally grown/locally produced items in many cities (but not all).
Sources:
Whole Foods Market Scandals: http://michaelbluejay.com/main/wholefoods.html
Sea Turtles Info: http://www.seaturtles.org/progMaterial.cfm?campaignMaterialID=37
A Discussion of Some Whole Foods issues: http://www.potrerohillsf.com/2007/03/economic-and-environmental-impact-of-whole-foods/
Whole Foods does have some positive qualities, but since you have focused your article on their negatives, I will as well. Whole Foods IS anti-union. They try to offset it by creating and internal union for each store. Basically it’s a meeting of representatives from each department discussing problems and issues going on in the store. Since it is a “workers” program, the upper management has very little involvement. So it is primarily up to the “workers” to keep up with scheduling meetings, etc. Unfortunately since it is fairly ineffective at being able to make any kind of substantial change, these groups (or TMAG, as it is called) often diminish and sometimes disappear for periods of time. Anything that is implemented by TMAG still needs approval by the Store Team Leader (General Manager), so it is very limited depending on who is the STL of a particular store.
Also, as Whole Foods expands and grows, it looks more and more outside of the “health food” industry to fill the needs of corporate positions and leadership at the store level. So, as someone who has many years of health food store experience, I found myself working alongside many former Publix employees who had little to no interest in the environment or healthy lifestyles, and mostly saw working at Whole Foods as a good career move with a chance for future stock options. (Whole Foods stock does very well!) There’s nothing wrong with that on the surface, but many of these people aren’t above cutting corners on quality in order to make the margins desired by corporate.
There are more negatives I could talk about, but that would get really boring. And there are lot’s of positives about the company, which I will be glad to add to that article if it ever comes a long. But I will say that I always try to hit the local health food stores, Co-ops, and Farmer’s Markets before heading to Whole Foods.
P.S. You may be happy to hear that there is a store a little north of Atlanta called Natural Foods Warehouse. http://www.naturalfoodswarehouse.net/ I know the owner to be a very likeable and nice person, and his store deals with bulk quantities of healthy and enviro-friendly products and keeps his prices very low! (from what I hear, I have yet to go there) So low in fact, that I’ve heard that they’ve really hurt business at the nearby Whole Foods. So there is still hope for the independent store!!
There is something I wanted to mention but forgot on my previous comment. If you’ve ever eaten in the deli area of Whole Foods, then you’ve noticed the very high prices of some of their prepared foods, both behind the glass cases and in containers in the cooler. One might think, “well, it’s very natural, so the high price corresponds with the quality of the ingredients.” That is not the case. Many of the ingredients, such as butter and spices, etc., are conventional and are actually things that can’t be sold through the store. They do not meet Whole Food’s ingredients standards for grocery items. Isn’t that fucked? For the prices they charge their should be gold and saffron in every bite! I just wanted to pass that along, since that was one of the most bothersome things to me while working there. I imagine that not all Whole Foods are like that, but it depends on the head of the department at that store, and cutting corners like that increases profitablity, so….
Thanks for your insider’s view Joe! I really did think that about the food bar, that it was the quality of the food that justified the prices! That’s so crazy to learn it’s not true!
Hey there, while there are certainly things one could consider negative about Whole Foods, there are many positives. Some might even consider WFM’s stand on unions a positive because they take such good care of their team members. Also (just as a hint), if you visit your local Whole Foods and shop the house brand (365 or 365 organic), you will leave spending approximately what you do at any conventional grocery store.
Thanks for your comment and “hint” Suzanne! That’s an interesting point about unions, one I hadn’t thought of. Many of my friends have worked there, and some of them would definitely agree with you. However, I disagree with you about their house brand being as inexpensive as a conventional grocery store. Sometimes their house brand is even more expensive than other brands, as I noticed once about their bottled water. You are correct though, that there are many positive things to consider about Whole Foods that I didn’t touch on in the blog.
I have shopped Whole Foods in three different regions of the country and seen a decline in quality. Though I frequent the DC/Maryland Whole Foods, I’ve decreased my items that I buy from them. Many of their products can be found at other retailers for much lower prices (Example: Seven Generation Dishwashing Liquid is $5+ at Whole Foods and Target sells the same size bottle for 3.29) Obviously, a mark up on Whole Foods part. I used to go there for meat but have sense found a local farmers market that sells better quality products for the same and often less than Whole Foods. Also, much of their produce is not bought from locals. I recognize many of the California farmers from when we lived in the Bay Area and shopped at the local farmers markets. In California, The Whole Foods can buy local and get a high quality fresh product but by the time many of the products make it to DC they are not so fresh though they carry hefty pricetags. Overall, as Whole Foods organization continues to grow the quality seems to go down. I think people are often sold on the name itself instead of taking a closer look at the product and prices and holding the store to it’s original standards. All this said, I too do agree that Whole Foods has many positive aspects such as their level of commitment to their employees and customer service. In the end, no matter where one shops, if you really want to buy green, it’s important to do your homework.
I am more concerned about how Whl Fds treats its workers and also where the food comes from. They are a for profit corporation whose name does not reflect what it sells. Why would a corporation that puts other smaller markets out of business or buys them out, purchase locally grown food? Thats because they dont. Ok, maybe in some stores, but mainly they purchase from other countries. Their products are no better than the ones you find at conventional grocery stores. I am happy to see these grocers carrying their own brand of organics.
Whl Fds is self-righteous and very hypocritical. The only thing green about them is the money they take from consumers.
Haha, your last sentence is funny, and sadly holds some truth. Thanks for your input, LIsa. The loss of the smaller market is saddening for sure. I’ve read that sometimes the larger stores have a smaller carbon footprint that smaller stores because they are more efficient, but I agree with you that they could do much more to be socially conscious and “green.”
Thanks for your comment, Traci. That’s a great point about shopping around for the same products at a lower price. It’s a real bummer that, as you say, as they grow the quality seems to decline. Why must that be a fact of life??