First of all let me say I am 100% on board with not shopping at Whole Foods Market. To me this is a simple "vote with your feet/wallet" issue and I will not spend another dollar there.
I want to address comments such as this, which I believe have merit:
How will a boycott make a stand for (1+ / 0-)
real health care reform? I can understand not giving money to this CEO with unpopular ideas, but what is the cause and effect between a boycott and an effect on healthcare reform?
Beyond Mackey possibly offering insurance to all his employees, I don't see the connection.
My answer to that question: Everybody eats.
The first thing I noticed when I started mentioning this to my friends was how instantly pissed off they were. Given that I'm the one who pushes politics onto them frequently I was kinda expecting blank stares as usual. Bringing up the health care discussion in terms of Whole Foods can bring the debate to a place that they go to on a weekly basis, a grocery store.
This is something they can talk about with their even more apathetic friends, and spark even more discussion. We need to point out that this really isn't about John Mackey, this is about people like him who are controlling the debate. Mackey can pick up the phone and get as many words in the WSJ as he wants--how many of us can do that?
Other Kossacks have said that they think it's silly for people to picket stores. On the contrary, the right wing screamers have been dominating news cycles by assembling in large numbers and making their ill thought out wishes known. We need to start doing the same--and Mackey has kindly produced a visible target. Boycotting Whole Foods Market is the hook that we follow with the kinds of actions we have been advocating all over the internets: calling and writing reps, organizing, talking to people who are not engaged in this issue yet and spreading the truths we need to overwhelm the screamers.
Engaging all of these people won't assure we get real reform, but anger at Whole Foods has arrived and we would be wise to advocate channeling it into the wider debate.