Earlier, we mentioned Whole Foods CEO John Mackey's op-ed regarding health care reform. Although we greatly appreciated the article, many others did not -- and are touting a boycott of Whole Foods.
Now, we at YAL will always respect the right of individuals to boycott whatever business they want for whatever reason they wish as a matter of personal liberty. However, I'd like to ask anyone boycotting Whole Foods to consider a few questions first -- after the jump, of course.
Dear Whole Foods boycotters,
Whole Foods CEO John Mackey recently voiced his opinions on health care in this op-ed in the Wall Street Journal. Personally, I found his article rather prescient and considered it to be a fairly apt summary of the type of health care reform that most free-market economists like me would support. I did not agree with every last detail of his plan, but as with every other piece on health care, I digested his thoughts and went on with my life.
Obviously some of you did not react the same way as I did. Judging by the comments on Mackey's full post at his blog and what I'm hearing from the internet, a good number of people are advocating a boycott of Whole Foods in response to Mackey's recent article.
Now, I never shop at Whole Foods and Mackey's article is not going to change that. I would also never stop listening to Bruce Springsteen or U2 simply because they have publicly advocated political beliefs that I have strong disagreements with. But, I fully recognize your right to choose to engage or disengage in business with someone for whatever reason you please.
However, before you choose to boycott Whole Foods, I would appreciate that you ask yourself a few questions:
- If you boycott Whole Foods because of Mackey's political views, are you prepared to seek out every single company you do business with and ensure that the CEOs of those companies supports your idea of health care reform? Will you divest from each and every company whose CEO does not agree with you on this issue?
- If you only oppose Whole Foods because Mackey took the time to make public his opinions, may I ask what is so terrible about people acting on their political beliefs, even if they disagree with you?
- If you want Mackey to be removed as the CEO of Whole Foods because of his political beliefs and activities, do you think that political beliefs are legitimate criteria for hiring and firing? I was under the belief that competence was the criteria we use to judge whether or not a person keeps his or her job.
- If the CEO of your company came out against universal health care, would you support a boycott of your own company? Even if the company was forced to lay people off as a result?
- Is boycotting companies whose CEOs disagree with you part of Obama's plan to, as he said, "resist the temptation to fall back on the same partisanship and pettiness and immaturity that has poisoned our politics for so long"? Or do the words "partisanship," "pettiness," and "immaturity" mean something else?
- Let's say the organization of this boycott is successful to the point that some stores are forced to close. Now that all of the employees have lost their income and health benefits, is that an acceptable cost to punish Mackey for voicing political beliefs you don't agree with? What would you say to those employees and their families who don't have the income and benefits they were receiving from Whole Foods?
I respectfully await your response.
Preston Mui
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I might start shopping at Whole Foods.
(If I only had enough money, I would make it the only grocery store I use.)
1. Yes, I hate CEOs, they are greedy selfish robber barons who oppress workers, rip-off consumers, and destroy the environment; all while juggling dead puppies.
2. Hitler expressed his political beliefs, and look what happened. Some ideas are DANGEROUS and EVIL. As a society we should use all of our efforts to suppress vicious ideas, especially those espoused by theiving capitalist pigs.
3. No, the only legitimate criteria for hiring someone is their social class. If they belong to an oppressed social class (ie poor, blacks, hispanics, homosexuals, women) they should be hired over those who do not. We should judge people on the content of their class, not the content of some subjective "character".
4. Yes, I hate all companies, especially the one that I work at. Companies are run on greed and selfishness, not on love for the common man, like they ought to.
5. When Obama was talking about "partisanship", "pettiness", and "immaturity" he was obviously talking about Bush. That evil capitalist got us into this mess by deregulating and giving the wealthy tax breaks! Obama isn't a hypoCRIT, he's a DemoCRAT!
6. No one benefits from corporate greed! The whole world would be better off if every corporation went out of business tomorrow! The government, run by the benevolent Nancy Pelosi, the wise Harry Reid, and the illustrious Barack Obama will take care of everyone! You wait and see!
Preston, did I get all the talking points down?
Nailed it (:
Pretty ignorant considering Whole Foods bylaws state the CEO can only make eight times the salary of their average worker, so if he wants more, they all have to make more.
What monsters and what a monster he is to work for less than others make for a company of that size.
Try thinking before you condemn.
This is why we need to being the extermination of every last bloodsucking, jews today. thieving, lying, cheating JEW today. Not one should be allowed to survive. Their supports should be condemned to a life of hard labor with zero reward.
What if the boycott of Whole Foods doesn't topple the International Zionist Conspiracy? What then?
I intend to INCREASE my shopping at Whole Foods to make up for the funds lost by facist idiots boycotting it.
The burrito was $7.... but HUGE. I ate the thing at ~ 1:30 pm and wasn't hungry again 'till after midnight. Yow.
preston while i appreciate your article you are unfortunately wasting your time. anyone who is on board the obama express (which is leading our country even further into the ravine that dub the shrub started) is a brainwashed partisan idiot who will scream "racist" and "boycott" to anyone who doesn't tow the party line of obombthem faster than zionists scream "anti-semite" in support of their apartheid country.
the saddest part is, the ONLY difference between dub the shrub and obombthem is one can read off a teleprompter.
Your argument is a red herring. I am not boycotting Whole Foods because he is expressing his political views. I am boycotting Whole Foods because he scapegoated obesity as a reason why we don't deserve health insurance. The old tired 2/3 of Americans are overweight is nonsense. Those numbers come from Pharma to sell more pills. Furthermore, weight gain is often just a symptom of too much overwork, stress, environmental pollution and other things not easily within one's control. That people are fat only because they overeat is as simplistic as poverty is caused only by laziness. Furthermore, many of us fat people are very healthy, a proud 5'7", 220lbs here and haven't had a health claim in a decade or missed a day of work in 4 years. And I shopped almost exclusively at Whole Foods, Trader Joes, and farmers stands in the summer. Eating his overpriced pseudo health food doesn't make one thin! Nor would I want to be anyway.
The bottom line is Mackey is advocating a position that is not in my best interest. I have EVERY right to withhold my business from him. No one is advocating that he shouldn't be allowed to speak his mind. And just has he has a right to spout his simplistic philosophies, I have a right to shop elsewhere. And if everyone did so, maybe we would get more natural food coops at fairer prices and people would be just as employed!
I just spent $400 tonight at the closest Whole Foods (30 minutes away). The only reason we went out of our way to shop there was Mr. Mackey’s courageous stand against this manufactured issue of the day.