A leading retailer of natural and organic foods, Whole Foods Markets dot the U.S. and the U.K. Beyond their produce and products they also have a philosophy, including one on sustainability:
Whole Foods Market's vision of a sustainable future means our children and grandchildren will be living in a world that values human creativity, diversity, and individual choice. Businesses will harness human and material resources without devaluing the integrity of the individual or the planet's ecosystems.
(Read more of their statement on Sustainability and Our Future)
Dave Rosenberg, Director of Marketing for Whole Foods Market, Inc. agreed to a Q&A with Gather members. Post your sustainability in business questions for him here in the comments, and we'll share his answers in a follow-up post.
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Julia Schrenkler
American Public Media Interactive Producer
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Comments: 12
In a world of urban sprawl, taking over fertile farming areas all over the country, how will we sustain our world? A question with many answers, none of them easy. I think we need to take a hard look at the world around us and realize that choices we make today will effect our suroundings forever.
Imaging the Walton family has a collective epiphany that results in Wal*Mart making a strategic decision to open in-store boutiques offering natural and organic foods at everyday low prices in all their stores.
How would this impact: a) Whole Foods Market's brand and b) your pricing policy. Laurance Allen--www.valuenewsnetwork.com
What specifically sparked Whole Foods to decide to make the switch to buying all of its energy from wind power? What has been the effect on Whole Foods' energy costs as a result of the switch? If it is as cost-efficient as more traditional sources of energy, what is holding back other large retailers from making a similar switch? Thanks for taking our questions!
As someone who frequents Whole Foods Markets, I do notice a significant difference in my grocery bills when I compare them to other large food retailers. Whole Foods is clearly more expensive. However, I am willing to pay extra in order to buy organic foods. I've read (here on Gather in fact) that organic foods do not necessarily require a lot more input of dollars to produce than do conventional foods. Is that true? If so, what explains the price discrepancy?
I appreciate you providing an opportunity to interact with you on sustainability issues.
I live in Eugene, OR, where our city council recently voted to spend several million dollars in connection with downtown development of a Whole Foods Market store.
As you probably know, Eugene is home to several fine local natural/organic food stores that have a long history of sustained existance. Supporters of these local stores are concerned about the city providing a subsidy to encourage shoppers to drive into town to shop at a store that will take resources out of our community.
Some of the project's controversy comes from worries that the Whole Foods Market, an international corporation, will have an unfair advantage over local stores.
Rick Wright, whose family owns the local 'Market of Choice' stores, said the winners of the project would be Whole Foods Market and the landlords, while the losers would be the local growers and grocery stores.
Dwight Collins of Eugene's Newman's Fish Company said he united with other grocery stores in downtown Eugene to oppose the City Council's plan to build the Whole Foods Market.
The proposed multi-story parking garage, which would be built next to Whole Foods Market and would provide between 192 and 266 parking spaces, raised much concern from Eugene residents.
Opponents of the parking garage said the parking garage would be an ugly entrance into downtown.
"If Whole Foods wants to come to town, let them come," General Contractor Steve Stearns said. "If they want to come to town, that's their business. If we're going to buy them a parking garage, that's our business."
Architecture professor Mark Gillem and several University students from the School of Architecture and Allied Arts' urban design studio presented their alternative plan to the parking garage. They proposed constructing park blocks from Saturday Market on Eighth Avenue to the Willamette River, with parking being constructed underground next to the Whole Foods Market.
"To be a city of the arts and outdoors, we need parks in the perimeter as well as parks around the city," Gillem said. "In the end, park blocks to the river would do more than parking garages to create a livable and safe downtown."
I think that sustainability is a rubber meets the road issue which can be measured by objective metrics- either a thing is sustainable unto itself, or it is not. It is difficult to see how a subsidy (by definition, outside support) is 'sustainable', but I am open to listening to an alternative point of view.
So, in light of these local concerns, can you explain how a public subsidy in support of your business, paid in large part by taxes from local merchants, to facilitate automobile traffic is contributing to sustainability in my community? Would Whole Foods be willing to make it's own investment in the parking garage, if as the Portland developer says, it's so vital to the project? What does Whole Foods do to reduce the use of fossil fuel consuming personal vehicles by shoppers to it's stores? From the point of view of sustainability of the quality of life investments Eugene residents have made over the years, why should they provide public monies to the sustainable business Whole Foods claims to be?
Thank you for your time in providing me a response to my inquiry.
Mark Lind
Eugene, OR 97402
markld97123@gmail.com
Healthier foods can consume 35 to 40 percent of a low-income family's grocery budget. Does Whole Foods accept food stamps?
You can read more about the issue from several perspectives- just Google Whole Foods Market Eugene Oregon.
The local pro-business newspaper:
http://www.registerguard.com/news/2006/03/14/a1.cnclgarage.0314.p1.php?section=cityregion
The University of Oregon's Daily Emerald:
http://www.dailyemerald.com/vnews/display.v/ART/43eb0cd353b31?in_archive=1
Take not that the Guistina family (property owner) has been a long term lumber interest in the local county. I am not aware that their timber practices have been lauded as sustainable harvest practices, although I don't know that they are particularly less sustainable than other timber companies. That's not really the responsibility of Whole Foods, of course, but economic relationships do seem relevant to a discussion of sustainability.
I am sure there are some Eugeneans who will welcome the jobs represented by the Whole Foods development- I am interested in what a company that claims to be 'sustainable', means by that term. The chance to have a dialogue is most welcome.
Mark Lind
Eugene, OR 97402
Being in Oregon myself, this issue of urban renewal disctricts has been coming up more and more. I say let the tax dollars to where they are supposed to (schools, police, fire, jails) and let these companies decide to come in or not on their own dollar. My kids education isn't tradable for the ease of getting organic food!
-Julia