Food fight

Michael Pollan and Whole Foods guy go head to head

Posted by Adam Browning (Guest Contributor) at 11:39 AM on 26 Feb 2007

For those who read Michael Pollan's The Omnivore's Dilemma, you know he takes Whole Foods to task for greenwashing the industrialization of a food movement that's trying to be more sustainable. Then the co-founder and CEO of Whole Foods took Pollan to task right back.

And now, for your viewing pleasure, the two will appear before a paying audience at UC Berkeley and attempt to hug it out. For those who don't want to pay and/or leave their homes, there will be a live webcast on Tuesday night. And as any fourth grader will tell you, that's the safest place to be during a food fight.

For story: Food fight
3 Comments | Post a Comment

Whole Foods..

WF is an interesting company, I think. John Mackey as the CEO isn't afraid to take a stand and he is quite accessible.
Have you seen his blog on the WF site? I heard that he encourages his employees to read the blog and comment.

They've also just launched a podcast series... I think it's super cool.

I'm excited to watch the webcast... hugging it out.! heh

by apntub at 1:05 PM on 26 Feb 2007

Pollan's responses

A ton of hype is surrounding the Pollan-Mackey meeting. The first venue it was scheduled for sold out in a few hours, and so it was moved to a place that is 3 or 4 times bigger. It will be attended by quite a few bloggers, so there should be some varied commentary over the next few days.

Pollan's letters in response to Mackey's posts are on the Pollan website (letter 1, letter 2).

by meander at 2:09 PM on 26 Feb 2007

Whole Foods Full of Deceit and Insincerity

Whole Foods and its ownership is a disservice in disguise. They're getting rich on a policy of deceit and insincerity. If you're really into healthful food and know what you're looking for, Whole Foods is lip service at best. We've shopped there and have had one negative experience after another. The store has overcharged us, put the wrong meat in the right wrapping, lied about the origin of its fish (claiming that farm raised was really from the ocean), sell their own label that disguises where the hell the food comes from, sells buffet food that's from a big food handler ala Marriott or Servomation, offers milk and dairy that is NOT organic because the company is cheating (see the Organic Consumers Association newsletters for more), offers coffee that is not labelled organic in their deli (but the counter people say it's organic), features margarine in their baked goods and is unclear on which items are organic. Further, we've had produce people tell us that the "9" at the beginning of the organic labelling "doesn't really mean anything," so we've found non organic mixed with the pesticide stuff. Whole Foods is designed to make big money for the money grubber at the head of the firm. His tactics are big time corporate Republican which amounts to the average person getting screwed. He has no respect for his customers because he's not into organics. I hope the guy chokes on his own greed and pretense. On top of it all Whole Foods is trying to create a monopoly in an already shaky marketplace.

by nutritiondoctor at 3:52 PM on 15 Jul 2007

ADVERTISING POLICY

You are not logged in. Thus, you cannot post a comment. If you have an account, log in. If you don't have an account, well, by all means go make one! Meet you back here in five.