Between Ads & Apples at Whole Foods

I recently wrote about how Whole Foods Plans to Ban the Plastic Bag and got a good comment that prompted this post…

Bridget said: I love this store A LOT and totally support their decision to discontinue the plastic bags. But, I would love for you to post a little more on your comment of their ethical behavior regarding small farmers. Interesting…

I started to respond in the comment section but there’s so many issues behind the Whole Foods story that I thought a post would serve them a little better.

Whole Foods has made some good moves in the last year or so in regard to being more supportive of small farmers but they’re still finding their way. In 2006 Whole Foods made some changes including making efforts to buy more from smaller growers and…(via SFGate)

• Give $10 million a year in low-interest loans to help small, local farmers and producers of grass-fed and humanely raised meat, poultry and dairy animals.
• Raise its standards of humane care for the animals who supply meat, eggs and dairy to the stores. Whole Foods has hired an “animal compassionate field buyer” to work with producers to ensure that they meet the standards.
• Set up Sunday farmers’ markets in the parking lots of some Whole Foods stores, including about 10 in Northern California.

The moves came after criticism from Berkeley author Michael Pollan on the store’s failure to walk its talk in support of small farmers. (Pollan’s blog can be found here, Whole Foods CEO John Mackay’s blog is on temporary hold due to his “anonymously participating on online financial message boards” prior to the Whole Foods/Wild Oats merger).

What Pollan brought to light was the way Whole Foods markets certain ideals but often falls short on delivering them to consumers. For instance, only a small amount of the organic pasture-raised beef sold by Whole Foods is American and the rest comes from abroad which goes against the principles behind buying (and supporting) local farmers.

Another issue is the “buy organic, help the small farmer” line that Whole Foods markets. Most domestically grown organic food comes from a handful of big farms in California. Whole Foods is well aware of that because those goods take up a hefty portion of the shelf space but the store still entices customers with the feel good marketing which stretches the reality.

When it comes to local farmers, the marketing highlights locally grown goods with “grower profiles” but the pictures don’t necessarily match up with what’s in the bins or represent a fair portion of the goods.

Again, I think Whole Foods is making some significant efforts recently (and there’s certainly a lot of variables to consider) but the shift is in response to some serious criticism of discrepancies between the sell - organic, local, and in support of small farmers - and what’s actually for sale.

What’s your take on Whole Foods?

More:

• Whole Foods Goes Small at CNN
• My Letter to Whole Foods at Michael Pollan’s Blog
• Is Whole Foods Straying From its Roots? at NYT
• The Dark Secrets of Whole Foods at Slate