The Whole Foods Op/Ed Episode
...as reported in The Atlantic Magazine


(from a press release provided by Whole Foods PR Department)
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"To our customers,

As you are aware, John Mackey wrote an Op/Ed piece that was published in the Wall Street Journal earlier this week on health care reform, one of the biggest and most emotional issues facing our country. John’s intent was to express his personal opinions — not those of Whole Food Market team members or our company as a whole. Still, it’s very clear that John’s piece offended some of our customers, other members of the communities we serve and some of our team members as well.

We offer you our sincere apology.

We’d like to clarify a few things that have been misinterpreted:

John’s Op/Ed piece was written in favor of health care reform.
In response to President Obama’s invitation to all Americans to put forward constructive ideas for reforming our health care system, John was asked to write an Op/Ed piece and he gave his personal opinion. John titled the piece “Health Care Reform,” but an editor at the Journal rewrote the headline to call it “Whole Foods Alternative to Obamacare,” which led to antagonistic feelings by many. That was not John’s intention – in fact, John does not mention the President at all in his piece. John has posted the unedited piece to his blog where people can read it as it was intended.

Whole Foods Market has no official position on the issue.
That said, we have attempted to be part of the solution in health care reform for many years by providing innovative health care options to our team members. We believe that our high deductible medical insurance plan coupled with a company-funded HSA is an excellent way to empower team members to make their own health care choices.

John wanted to share our experience with others through his Op/Ed piece. He believes that the specific ideas he put forward would improve access and cost of health care for more people. Because our plan has held down overall costs (relative to other plans), Whole Foods Market has been able to pay 100 percent of the premiums for our full-time team members — about 89% of our workforce. (Part-timers are eligible for the insurance plan too and pay the premium themselves.) Our team members vote on our plan every three years to make sure they continue to have a voice in our benefits.

Whole Foods Market has a 30-year track record of caring about our customers, team members and communities. From local loan programs to salary caps, from donations to non-profits to funding the Whole Planet Foundation, our innovative programs are created and designed by team members who care about their fellow citizens.

We all know there are many opinions on the health care debate, including inside our own company. As we, as a nation, continue to sort through this together, we are hopeful that both sides can do so in a civil manner that will lead to positive change for all concerned, and we thank you for sharing your opinions with us.

Kind regards,

Customer Communications Team
Whole Foods Market World Headquarters
550 Bowie Street
Austin, Texas 78703
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(and a reply by Jimmy James Jr. August 17, 2009 6:44 PM)

Whole Foods: "John’s intent was to express his personal opinions — not those of Whole Food Market team members or our company as a whole."

Reply: Too bad. He's the CEO. It is because he is the CEO, [and identified as such: ed], that he was given a fora to speak in the Wall Street Journal. Thus, his opinions [are indeed:ed] the Whole Foods opinions.

Whole Foods: "...an editor at the Journal rewrote the headline..."

Reply: Then the CEO is not only stupid, he is naive. Editors do this all of the time. If the CEO didn't know better, his people should have known better. Regardless of the headline, Mackey's piece includes familiar, conservative talking points. Thus, he really adds nothing of importance to the discussion. Whether Mackey mentions the president or not is moot.

Whole Foods: "John wanted to share our experience with others through his Op/Ed piece."

Reply: Clearly, the PR flaks at Whole Foods forgot that this was Mackey's opinion when they wrote "OUR experience." Thus his particular opinion is informed by his experience as the Whole Foods CEO. So, it is not entirely a personal opinion, rather reflects and is reflected by his company.

Whole Foods: "We believe that our high deductible medical insurance plan coupled with a company-funded HSA is an excellent way to empower team members to make their own health care choices."

Many middle class and poor Americans cannot afford high deductible insurance plans or health savings accounts. Many HSAs are simply tax deductible accounts to which companies pay absolutely no benefits. Companies can offer HSAs to their employees at little or no cost. And, the benefit of an HSA can only be realized if the employee has enough money to actually save.

HSAs, just like mortgage deductions, favor richer segments of the American population, just like large companies that can afford tax dodges that offshore their corporate headquarters to Grand Cayman or Antigua. Rich benefits for rich people. Some innovation!

Whole Foods: "He believes that the specific ideas he put forward would improve access and cost of health care for more people. Because our plan has held down overall costs (relative to other plans), Whole Foods Market has been able to pay 100 percent of the premiums for our full-time team members — about 89% of our workforce. (Part-timers are eligible for the insurance plan too and pay the premium themselves.) Our team members vote on our plan every three years to make sure they continue to have a voice in our benefits."

Reply: Whole Foods ability to pay "100 percent of the premiums" is primarily due to its size as a company, not due to Mackey's ideas about health care. It's called market power. A public option would provide many people the ability to possess affordable health care coverage because the pool of participants would literally include everyone.

Whole Foods: "Whole Foods Market has a 30-year track record of caring about our customers, team members and communities. From local loan programs to salary caps, from donations to non-profits to funding the Whole Planet Foundation, our innovative programs are created and designed by team members who care about their fellow citizens."

Yes, nobody said that Whole Foods was an uncaring company. Many people made specific, germane criticism about Mackey and Whole Foods regarding his Op/Ed. Whole Foods' damage control effort seems desperate, and surprisingly, their response is pretty weak considering they had all weekend to work on this message.

JJJ