The Dark Secrets of Whole Foods(slate.com)
I'll go ahead and spoil this article for you, the dark secret:
Whole Foods, like PBS, is a secret white-elitist-cia project to keep down the poverty-stricken, "ethnic" hordes.
Ridiculous.
The article makes no bones about really trying quite hard to find fault with Whole Foods, which it largely fails to do, self-admittedly.
Sure, I voted for John Kerry. I'm very well acquainted with the sleazy compromise in the name of the greater good, however marginal; and I have to say, this is not the same thing.
Whole Foods could be better. They could apply for non-profit status, hire only crippled black lesbians, and close their stores only as late as their solar panels allow for lighting. BUT THEY ARE A FUCKING STORE.
Are the good people at Slate familiar with the idea of a store? They provide you with goods and services in exchange for money. What really seems to stick in their craw is that they see Whole Foods come close to their ideal, but fail to reach their unrealistic standards. This shortcoming causes them to revile the store as worse than their otherwise-hated competitors. This philosophy is also quite common amongst pseudo-intellectual high school students and the supporters of Ralph Nader.
It would be one thing if Whole Foods had started out with a bit more quixotic goals and was bought out by a larger conglomerate that proceeded to ruin them (:cough:wildoats:), but Whole Foods has kind of been getting better and better.
But really I will have no more of this nonsense about Whole Foods serving only the rich. Here's a math lesson:
1 Box Kashi GoLean (US$2.69!!11!onehundredeleven1!!) and quart of nonfat goat milk at Whole Foods: around five bucks.
1 Box of whatever gross marshmallow laden sugar cookie cereal that poor people feed their kids and a half gallon of Darigold 2% at Safeway: nearly 8 dollars.
Granted this only covers breakfast, but can someone explain exactly how this is keeping the poor and indigent down? This is the same kind of fuzzy logic that claims a free and educational public broadcasting channel maintains the status quo of white elitism.
That I eat healthier than most poor is a given. That I pay a lot less for what I do eat (even adjusting for the conversion of what the poor would generally pay for not eating about 3-4 times as much food) is the secret that Slate would like to keep under wraps.
And if you're still so damn bothered, just go to New Seasons: they make tremendous sandwiches.
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