Saturday, August 15, 2009

Torn

In late June, Jim and I went to see Food, Inc. While I didn't see much I didn't know, the way it was presented some new realities came to the front of me. I was disturbed by the circle of injustices that surround the farmers enough so that Jim and I are trying to buy meat that is locally grown and if beef, grass finished. Right now, I feel strongly about this. One place that I can get this type of meat, other than the CSA I am a part of, is Whole Foods, which frankly is a guilty pleasure, in fact I may have a date for lunch there today with a friend.

You all know where I am going, don't you?

This is an op-ed piece from the CEO of Whole Foods. In it he talks about his views on health care reform. I am not convinced his views are as bad as some are making them out to be, even though for the most part I disagree with him. So now what? Do I boycott as some suggest? I wonder what other stores I would boycott if I knew their CEOs stances on health care or treatment of workers or a host of other issues. That doesn't mean I shouldn't know or that I shouldn't decide to boycott - it is just a question. Yes, a boycott would, in this case, be a huge, huge sacrifice for me - a good lesson for me and maybe for Whole Foods. But I really don't know how to address this issue personally.

If you are interested, another article that speaks to this issue is here. I like the idea behind this piece - that CEO Mackey is going against the mission statement of Whole Foods - and therefore we should boycott.

I am not sure if I have a logical reason to be wishy-washy or if I am just that connected to Whole Foods that I want to be wishy-washy. I would love others opinions about this and other ethical issues.

1 comment:

Heidi said...

Oh boy, (sigh) I wondered where we'd be left when the 'health food stores' started getting gobbled up in the early 90s. Then, we were living in Nashville and our dear "sunshine market' was getting gobbled up by Wild Oats. Another one bit the dust a few years later. And then most recently the merger of Whole Foods, Fresh Fields and Wild Oats. Oh my.
or maybe-
oh Crap!
Less voices, less choices.
But please, oh Lord, more gardens and let us see the return of home-made.