I have seen Food, Inc. and I have now read your “rigorous standards.” While I greatly prefer Whole Foods to other mainstream grocery stores, these standards leave me quite unsatisfied. The gross ambiguity in these rules, can only relegate them to a position of placation in contrast to genuine industrial transformation. Whole Foods needs to make a stand with their shoppers. We’re there, and we’re ready to help you out. You need to make transparent food processing a hallmark of your organization. If this happens we will do all we can to help out. The farmers will be more apt to work with you and genuine transformation may begin.

Thank you,
Ryan

Vince I agree control does need to be taken back of our food supply. But I think it is the farmer who needs to take back control. Right now farmers are doing what big companies and the government are telling them to do so they can survive. They think it is the only way. If farmers cut out all the middle people and sold directly to the consumer it would be a much better system. The consumer could find out the what’s and how’s of their food and even go directly to the farm if they wanted! Consumers need to stop just looking at the words ‘organic’ and ‘free range’ and all the other hot new words out there. They need to go directly to the farmers and ask the questions to find out what is best for them. Because there are a lot of farmers out there that grow their products to near organic standards but either don’t go through the process to be certified or are missing minor things to be considered. This does not mean there food is any less healthy. It also costs money to become certified and usually yearly fees to keep the certification.
I also would like to put this out there…what is better for our environment and health? Organic food from a store where it has traveled hundreds of miles OR fresh grown food from a farmer 50 miles (or closer) away? Just because it does not say organic does not mean it is not extremely healthy!
Farmers need to get their voices out there. Right now the industry gets a bad name and the voices out there and let the public know what farming is really about and that we are not all like the big factory farms!

We strive to offer value choices in our meat departments with family packs and regular meat specials. However, as I’ve mentioned, we have strict quality standards for our meat. We offer meats that are never given antibiotics or added growth hormones, are fed a vegetarian diet, and that are raised with the animal’s welfare in mind. It costs more for producers to raise their animals this way, and we know that it is your choice to determine whether you want to pay for that difference or not.

Regarding your questions about product freshness, our suppliers don’t use any artificial preservatives to prolong the shelf life of their products. Milk stays fresh longer because of pasteurization, breads stay fresh because when they are not baked in a local store or bakehouse, they are shipped to our stores frozen and stay frozen until they are put on the shelf. We work hard to procure the freshest possible produce, and to properly store and gently handle produce once it is in our stores. This prevents problems like bruising which can hasten decay.

We offer foods that are free of artificial flavors, colors, preservatives, and hydrogenated oils, and we feature products that are organic, local, fresher, and that we hope meet the expectations of our shoppers. We can offer a variety of choices for shoppers, and in the end we know it is up to you to make purchasing decisions based on what is important to you and what works for you and your family.

WF is not affordable – at least not for me. I can afford to buy $19.99 per pound veal or $6.99 per pound chicken. The price level is not sustainable at all. At least for me, a woman with 2 children and a husband to feed.

Organic for me is something that should be natural. I don’t understand why organic milk has a shelf life of 3 months and does not go sour. What goes into that packaging? Antibiotics that don’t go into milk?

Why the bread does not go stale in 3 days and why it remains soft?

Why does $19.99 per pound veal sits on the shelf in the store and does not go bad? and when is it when it stops being fresh?

How come organic produce have sometimes a longer shelf life than regular?

WF is in business to make money. I know for sure that Tyson Chicken did not pay for the production of that movie, but did organic producers?

Food Inc – explains how food has become and industry, a business and a money making machine. And to me, WF is no better. WF is in the same business, milking money from consumers.

What I really enjoyed about this movie was that it was not a preachy, one sided, Michael Moore type documentary. It was informative and eye opening. It incites the opportunity for people to just start to question. Start thinking about what we eat, what we feed our kids and the concequences of “fast” “easy” “cheap” food. This movie is a must see!!! I had already begun to question the my diet but this movie really changed where I shop and what I eat. We, as a community and a country, must start to demand a better quality of food. Not just fast and cheap but actually start to think what is better for our bodies, environment and future. SEE THIS MOVIE!!! AND SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL ORGANIC GROWERS!!!

One person said it perfectly: So many people are eating garbage already, and we freak out when someone says “genetically engineered”. Whole Foods does what they can, just like other alternative stores. If you took a microscope to every alternative food store, you’re going to find something you disagree with. Maybe their banana boxes were made by children in the Philippines, perhaps they clean their floors with chemicals that were tested on animals, or maybe they buy in such bulk that it puts an exporter out of a job.

The point is, WF and other like-minded stores are doing “something”. Yes, there are still problems and you will never please everyone. Perhaps turning the microscope of scrutiny on ourselves is where the solutions will begin. Do you know where every thing you purchase is made? How it is made? Who makes it? What conditions?

Blood Diamond was a good movie too.

It has inspired me to help get better quality food(at cheaper prices) into more neighborhoods.

I am seeking a grant to teach diabetics how to prepare foods that are satisfying and nutrtionally correct. I shall certainly use the infoin the film to help them be more informed shoppers.