“Buycott” for Organic Foods
When John Mackey, the CEO of Whole Foods, wrote an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal, he hardly could have imagined the backlash it would receive. But some of his regular customers, many of whom are interested in sustainable growing practices and organic foods, decided to boycott the store when they read that Mackey did not support the federal government’s proposed health reforms.
The Post-Dispatch reported that the St. Louis Tea Party Coalition, a group that also opposed Obama’s health care reform, has proposed a rather fecund idea to combat the boycott: a “buycott.” This involved coalition members going to buy a week’s worth of groceries at the Whole Foods in Town and Country. Many members of the coalition were not regular Whole Foods customers, but they were willing to show their support for Mackey’s free-market health care reform ideas — and his right to express them. Whole Foods has tried to distance itself as an organization from the personal views of its CEO through a forum on its site, but this seems to have had little effect.
Mackey exercised his right to free speech when he wrote his op-ed, and some of his company’s customers exercised theirs by boycotting. But the “buycotters” are arguably the most creative in this situation. By going out of their way to shop at Whole Foods, they are “voting with their dollars.” While it may well be difficult to replace the boycotters’ dollars, a “buycott” helps make up for some of it through positive reinforcement. And, who knows? Perhaps once the health reform hoopla has ended, Whole Foods will have a few new regular customers who might not have considered patronizing the store otherwise.
I went to the Whole Foods in Brentwood last night. It was too late in the evening for the various groups to still be there, but I enjoyed the shopping. I saved the receipt and can e-mail the scanned copy to anyone who thinks I am bs’ing here.
Comment by David Stokes — September 2, 2009 @ 2:25 p.m.
I didn’t participate in a planned “buycott,” but the Mackey editorial did make me re-examine my thoughts about Whole Foods. I have started to shop there, when I never would have done so previously. It will be intersting to see the Whole Foods store performances pre- and post-editorial compared to other grocery stores. My bet is that there won’t be a significant shift either way.
Comment by Bill H — September 2, 2009 @ 9:29 p.m.
My family and I didn’t get a receipt for not shopping there this week. The “buycotters” are neither creative nor helpful in a nation where both sides are stuck on stupid. As Mackey explains “we need to address the root causes of poor health.”
A good place to start is here: http://www.killeratlarge.com/med_trailer.mov
Our financial problems skyrocketed in the last eight years as promises to deal with these issues were conveniently set aside to supersize “guns & butter” leadership. Meanwhile the local electorate climbs back into their SUVs and drive across the parking lot to Viking to learn how to prepare what they just purchased. Don’t forget to stop at BP and fill up before you drive home.
Comment by Jack — September 4, 2009 @ 10:36 a.m.