Whole Foods promotes local buying

[lovuian]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070429/ap_on_bi_ge/whole_foods_buying_local

LAKEWOOD, Colo. - The 113-year-old Morning Fresh Dairy Farm didn't even use barcodes on its bottles when a Whole Foods Market in Fort Collins, Colo. asked about offering the dairy's all-natural milk.


Dairy general manager Matt Lucas began bringing the glass bottles himself from the Morning Fresh farm in Bellevue, Colo., 60 miles north of Denver. Until then, Morning Fresh had long made its name on home deliveries.

Since his Whole Foods deliveries began in 2004, Lucas estimated, his dairy's sales have increased 20 percent. Morning Fresh now sells at least 1,000 gallons a week to supply a Whole Foods distribution center serving 10 stores.

"It's a breath of fresh air to get involved with a group like that. They were so excited to get our product in their stores," Lucas said.
more...
It doesn't make sense to pay money to buy some foods from China when our local growers make the same thing and the shipping costs is just added onto it plus stores have more control... One has know control over China

and with gas and oil getting more expensive the shift of buying home is going to make more sense

[Quakerfriend]

1. Well, I hope this means that Whole Foods is getting real.

This seems to be a bit of turn aobut for them.

[Kutjara]

2. Still at vastly inflated prices, though.

The items sold at Whole Foods that are also sold at other stores are always much more expensive at WF. I can understand higher prices for organic or luxury foods, but not for stuff that's readily available elsewhere. An example is their packaged Romaine lettuce: The local 99¢ store sells it for...well...99¢; Whole Paycheck wants $2.99. Same stuff, same packaging, same brand.

I'm all in favor of local produce; I'm even more in favor of a bit of competition in the "organic" grocer market.

[Robson]

3. I'm in favor of buying Made in America and paying more for the quality

WF and other organic stores have had a long history of seeking products that are the best quality. The others such as WMT are piggy backing on the desire for Americans to have safe foods, but they are doing everything in their power to prevent Americans from knowing where their food comes from...such as country of origin labeling.

For those that want to destroy the consumer rights to pure quality organic foods from America.....then buy on the cheap from Wal-Mart, etc.. Their goal is to muddy the waters so that consumers can't separate true local organic products from China trash.

[Kutjara]

4. I agree completely.

I just hope that enough people see the value of good food that competition and sales volume brings prices more into line with the crappy stuff. Good food will always be at a premium, but the magnitude of that premium doesn't have to be as large as it is now. And there's no justification for a 300% markup on products that are readily available at "normal" grocery stores (which are already marked-up, of course.)

I like the law that France passed a few years ago that requires grocers to show how much the farmer was paid for the produce and the store's profit margin. It led to some pretty fierce competition that benefitted consumers enormously.

As you say, the attempt by major retailers to hide important food information is wrong. People should have the fullest information possible so they can make up their own minds. Then let the "market" that is otherwise so precious to capitalists truly decide.

[live love laugh]

8. WF also labels foods to assure buyers they aren't genetically modified

Something you won't get any where else.

[Lorien]

34. I agree. I can afford very little these days, but I don't skimp on food

quality. I have fibromyalgia and most commercial foods make me quite sick, so organic and unprocessed is about the only way to go. Plus, I hate the idea of propping up China (horrible record on human rights and the environment). They'll already be surpassing us as the world's #1 superpower in no time if the current trend continues.

[Milo_Bloom]

35. Have you checked Gluten free?

A friend of mine believed she had fibromyalgia... the symptoms often came on after a meal. Test after test revealed nothing UNTIL someone finally realized that she may be allergic to Gluten. She started eating Gluten free and POOF symptons were GONE. WF has a bunch of Gluten Free products available and labeled as such.

[Lorien]

37. I went gluten free for over a year

but my symptoms didn't change.I was diagnosed 26 years ago when very few doctors had ever even heard of fibromyalgia (I was only 16 at the time). I've tried nearly every suggestion for relief of symptoms since then. So far I've found that avoiding sugar,corn syrup, artificial sweeteners, white flour,MSG, preservatives and additives while taking omega-3s, alpha-lipoic acid, ester C, Holly basil, a "focus factor" type formulation (from Costco), a product called "sound sleep" (from Whole Foods) at night, acetyl-L carnetine, DMAE,a good multi, and calcium help the most. Also exercising 40 minutes or more at least four times a week is a must-and weight training needs to be a part of that.

Doctors still don't know exactly what fibromyalgia is or what causes it, but it's alarming that so many new cases are diagnosed every year. I can't help but wonder if environmental toxins and poor food regulation aren't playing a major role in such "mystery illnesses". I think there's a lot that the CDC isn't telling us in order to protect some very large corporate interests!

[ananda]

5. yes, way overpriced

I do shop at Whole Foods, but only for products that I can't
get anywhere else.

I don't know why they charge so much for some of the stuff.
It's outrageous.

[NYCGirl]

10. Maybe it's just our location, but here in NYC, the Whole Foods house brand products

are comparable or BETTER priced than those of the regular supermarkets here.

[Javaman]

13. Actually a recent study comparing prices..

agrees with your point.

the reason people think whole foods is very expensive is because people don't go there to buy ordinary food, they go there to buy "specialty" items.

The bottom line is: whole foods is a specialty store and the promote themselves as such. Anyone thinking of whole foods as a supermarket is grossly misguided.

When comparing their 365 brands with brands from regular supermarkets, they are either in the same price range, or a bit higher by about 1 to2 dollars more.

But people don't go to whole foods to do regular shopping, they go for the bright shining things and come away thinking they just spent a fortune for "regular" items.

A big disconnect in reality.

[Skittles]

32. bs

I tried "regular shopping" there and it was way more expensive

[aquart]

23. Especially butter.

Of course, nobody in the area beats Fairway for milk, but Whole Foods is astonishing for the price of butter.

[Skittles]

31. I agree

it's a complete rip-off

[YOY]

15. Sad but true

We go once a month and get organic meet and a few other specialty items, throw them in the freezer and wonder how some folks can afford to shop there often.

[Richard Steele]

19. Our local Whole Foods' "staff-to-customer ratio" is at least twice that of other local grocers.

That many extra people costs MONEY; their prices may not be as "inflated"
as they first appear.

And pricey or not, they carry items that NO ONE else carries
around here. That's a convenience this toothless hillbilly doesn't
mind paying extra for (when I can afford it).

As far as "competition" in the organic market, weeeelll....
That's not gonna happen until there's DEMAND for it- a lot more
than exists currently. Thank goodness we have a decent local
farmer's market here during the warm months!

[michaelwb]

26. Yes thank you

And what always pisses me off when people complain about their "unjustified higher prices" is that Whole Food pay wages substantially above industry average.

Their support for fair trade, organic products and produce, supporting local farms coupled with more jobs at better wages - reflects my progressive values and I'd gladly pay a higher price to support those values.

[LeftHander]

28. I want unregulated food from China made by communists with care...

Its cheaper...why pay more?

[Kutjara]

29. Because the only choices are China or Whole Foods?

Personally, I buy as much as possible from my local farmer's market, the rest from the organic range at Stater Bros (a smallish CA grocery store chain), and only use Whole Foods for the stuff I can't get anywhere else. I don't need to shop at WF to be sure of avoiding tainted food, I just pay attention to where my food comes from.

[Cha]

6. This and other stories like

it are an excellent start. I have a friend who works for Whole Foods in California and she really likes their involvement in our Environment and the way they treat their employees.

[dalloway]

7. we can all thank Michael Pollan for putting pressure on

Whole Foods to buy more local produce (author of Omnivore's Dilemma, FYI)

[Ignacio Upton]

9. I'm in the process of writing a paper on this very subject

I guess I'll have to add another source...so I'm both interest and slightly peeved for that reason :) x(

[SoCalDem]

11. Watch this Pollan lecture too

http://webcast.ucsd.edu:8080/ramgen/UCSD_TV/12176.rm

http://www.uctv.tv/schedule3.asp?summary=show&keyword=12176

[Ignacio Upton]

14. Actually I have

I'm already using it as a source :)

[bling bling]

20. I read an article in Time magazine recently about this subject.

It talked about one of Google's restaurants buying local only. It was very interesting. The problem though, is that what can work in California may not necessarily work in other places with different climates and agriculture.

Anyway, it's a very interesting subject and one I'm interested in reading much more about. Maybe you could post your paper once it's finished.

[Ignacio Upton]

25. Local is nice, but not necessarily good for the environment

Many local food distributors do not specialize in organic foods, and may even use some of the same chemicals that large-scale argribusinesses use. If you live in a state such as Iowa or California, you could also make an argument that conventional factory farms near you are local.

I also think that by boycotting all or most shipped organic products, that poorer farmers in other countries could be hurt by such a move.

[kestrel91316]

12. Yay for WF. That said, I still get the bulk of my produce these days

at the farmer's market, and use WF to fill in the gaps, and for non-produce items. Like peanut butter and tortillas and such. I also shop Ralph's loss-leaders occasionally, lol. What I save on a few things there makes it easier to pay the higher prices for the other stuff.

[FloridaJudy]

16. I second the farmer's market suggestion

Support your local economy and cut out the corporate middleman. I'm also fortunate enough to have a locally owned health food store that carries organic produce as well as non-perishables.

[tomreedtoon]

17. Only in CA is there competition, a place called Traitor Vic's or something.

I saw it when I visited LA last year. It's a nice place. It isn't full of the hype of Whole Foods, and its prices are better. They even make things like prepackaged soups that are really, devastatingly good. Unfortunately, they aren't in Florida.

I don't swallow much of the organic food line, but I can tell the difference between an exploitive store and one that cares for its customers. And if they ever show up on this coast, I'll at least go there for the soup.

[checks-n-balances]

18. It's called Trader Joe's, and their foods are either the organic type

or a specialized gourmet type that they produce themselves. You're right; it's excellent.

They've just opened several stores in the Atlanta area and will open two in Charlotte soon as well.

Oh yeah, and I meant to say I'm happy to know about the policy of Whole Foods & local foods. Good on 'em.

[bling bling]

21. I love Trader Joe's. The prices are reasonable and the frozen food

is great. I especially like their spinach/salmon roulettes ($3.00 for a 2-pack!!) and their frozen turkey meatballs. I tried making my own spaghetti with ground turkey once before and it was so awful I had to throw the whole thing out. But TJ's turkey meatballs taste as good as beef meatballs, IMO.

[aquart]

24. And the $2.99 wines!

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

27. Trader Vic's is a bar. Good pina coladas.

Be sure to bring a gun loaded with silver bullets though.

[tomreedtoon]

30. No, I was speaking of TRAITOR Vic's.

It's the place where Republicans and evangelicals drink. And not only would I bring a pistol loaded with silver bullets, I'd also bring a Wiccan (they wear a lot of silver, good source for weapons) or a butler who brought along his rich employer's silverware.

[KillCapitalism]

22. Great, less to worry about tainted food from China.

I know Whole Foods is a bit expensive, but I'll pay more just for the peace of mind I'm not eating something horribly tainted from China. Their 365 store brand items are a decent value.

[nolabels]

33. "with gas and oil getting more expensive"

Some suspected this will be the Achilles heel in global trade. Expensive fuel for all aspects of transportation and manufacture will put a dent in a lot of things in the next few years. It doesn't take a rocket science to figure that out :shrug:

[Kip Humphrey]

36. Eating local is good for your health

Eating local has been the rule for 1.4 million years less about 150 years (until the development of railroads). Eating local foods exposes the body to the specific balance of biological organisms existing in local soils. Thus, the immune system acclimates to local micro-biologicals (soil bacteria, viruses, spores, and fungi), increasing immune response efficiency leading to less allergic response, fewer illnesses, and better health.

EAT LOCAl, EAT ORGANIC, EAT HEALTHY.