Whole Foods CEO Donates His Bonus to Animal Welfare Group

1-27-2010 @10:32AM Justin Balmes said... As a WFM employee this statement is BS. There are several grading criteria for the "30%" discount. Additionally there are 4 levels of discount available depending on where you are health wise. This plan is in complete support of our newest Core Value: Supporting the Health of Our Stakeholders Through Healthy Eating Education". This encourages Team Members to have a vested interest in our Company, what we stand for and most importantly their Over All Health. Mr. Mackey while colorful and seemingly quirky is a very brilliant man. Name another Grocery chain that is making the world a better place. I challenge you.

1-27-2010 @12:15PM Chrstina said... Most companys have "Good Heath" perks. My company offers you a discount on your insurance for being part of the Heath and Wellness program. I used to work for on that based on heath goals achieved you got an extra bonus over the year. It didn't target fat people, but did award those who achieved, fat or not.

1-28-2010 @4:25AM 303onrepeat said... Hey justin you ever heard of HEB or their branches called "central market?" it is an exact copy of whole foods with less douchiness and stuck up attitude. In fact central market provides better products I think for a lot better prices than Whole foods. I am glad I dont go to Whole foods because it is a huge rip off, HEB and central market both in corporate policy and attitude do try to make the world a better place so stop with the smugness about whole foods.

I am laughing at the CEO who donated to animals instead of creating a fund for his employees who have emergencies who could draw from it to help them. As said before he essentially said, "screw my people i would rather help animals." To me that shows a HUGE lack of character on his part and he could of helped a lot of people who need some assistance but he didn't.

1-28-2010 @12:04PM Sheryl said... Scout, if you were any dumber, you'd have to be watered three times a day. Do me a favor, the next time you have a thought.....STOP!!

1-29-2010 @11:12AM Coop said... Wow, I am shocked that someone would take offense to what Mackey is doing. So, let me get this straight? A member of the board of a charity is investing his own personal money and someone has problems with this? Isn't that putting your money where your mouth is? Is that not standing behind a cause you truly believe in. Are we that cynical of a society that we cannot see the good that he is doing here? And then there is scout. What is the problem with giving people an incentive to lose weight? It is the RIGHT thing to do, and most companies are on board with that philosophy for soooo many reasons. Firstly, a person that is in better shape will miss less days due to illness. They will have less health issues when they get older. They will have more energy throughout the day. And, lets not forget about the plain and simple fact that it is NOT healthy to have a BMI over %30. He is TRYING to do good here. Shame on you scout for not seeing what is really happening here. He is trying to get people away form mass produced and chemically altered food. Which, believe it or not, is an imperative here in the US. Obesity is an epidemic that is getting worse with every generation. We must get our kids off of Mcdonalds and other fast food garbage. Their practices are shameful. Chemicals are bad for the system. Watch Food Inc and then discover how awful those companies are. Here is one man trying to do good in a sea of evil 'drug' pushers and he is being lambasted. What is this country turning into?

1-28-2010 @4:11AM scout said... I encourage any and all of the commenters here to do some actual research on the correlation of BMI to health. Skinny people aren't automatically healthy any more than fat people are automatically unhealthy. Correlation does not equal causation, people.

On the other hand, looksism and bigotry are all around us, as the comments here amply display. Way to get on board the socially-sanctioned hate-wagon, folks.

Personally, I think that shaming and blaming people into taking on habits that may or may not reduce costs for one of the most profitable industries in America (health care/insurance) is problematic on many levels. Just because "lots of companies" are doing it doesn't make it right.

1-27-2010 @7:07PM Ron said... Whole Foods isn't a health store. It is a grocery store that sells high priced items labeled as organic. As far as I am concerned, if it isn't grown in an indoor controlled climate it can't be organic. Pesticides are airborn and moved about by the winds so nothing grown outdoors is pesticide free. Besides why do I want to buy tomatoes from Chile? Not everything can be locally grown unless you have a large area you consider "local".

1-27-2010 @6:32PM NOT an elitist PETA member said... You make a good point regarding animal rights idealist when you say that it seems as if they are essentially valuing animals over human lives, but there is more to the issue of farm animal welfare than just mere humane treatment. They way animals are kept before slaughter is disgusting and dangerous to our own health. Their confinement and inappropriate diet (which is fed to them because it makes them fatter, bigger, etc. in fewer days) leads to unhealthy meat tainted with e. coli. In order to get rid of the e. coli, companies add ammonia to the meat to kill the bacteria.

The meat is cheaper because the government helps and subsidizes farmers who produce this quality meat. The government essentially leaves the more humane, local, and healthy farmers with no choice but to collapse under the powers of the corporations. If consumers speak out and the government is forced to listen to our needs and wants, we can hope that this favoritism will be reversed. I completely understand that processed foods are cheaper and living in our economy today, it is the simple and easy choice to make, but we, as consumers, need to live healthier lives - and maybe we can do it by starting with little things and not with a total overhaul of our diets.

1-27-2010 @10:19PM Moocow said... If people would stop eating meat and other animal products, there would not be any human starvation. We feed our dairy and beef cattle, our hogs and our chickens, our goats and sheep so much food that could be fed to humans. The land we keep them on could be used to grow other crops. Their runoff waste would not be polluting our water. The animals themselves would not be suffering. Whole Foods provides the best vegan/vegetarian selections in my area. The solution to many of humanity's problems is our diet.

How can you all so harshly criticize a guy who really does put his money where his mouth is? Even if you disagree with his values, you have to at least respect that he really does walk the walk.

And to all you morons calling him a "racist," you are ignorant and repulsive. It is one thing to discriminate against a person for something superficial which they cannot control, and quite another to encourage healthy lifestyles. Fat isn't a race. Educate yourself about the policy and use words properly. Yeesh.

1-28-2010 @3:08PM Elizabeth said... I work for a Kroger company, if you really valued people you would boycott all of their stores. Whole Foods is at least trying to show moral integrity, whether or not you agree with it is another matter. As to the matter of organic being more expensive that's more due to the time and care being put into it as well as the fact that companies know they can get away with it, because it's a 'specialty' item.