An Open Letter to John Mackey, CEO Whole Foods

Paul del Balso
16 Sutton Place
New York, New York 10022


July 20, 2006
Mr; John Mackey,
Chairman and CEO
Whole Foods Market, Inc.
550 Bowie Street
Austin, Texas 78703-4677

I am a customer and stockholder of Whole Foods – in that order. In general I endorse your Core Value to “Sell the Highest Quality Natural and Organic Products Available”. In that context, I look to Whole Foods to act as an intermediary in acquiring these products in an ethical fashion and am motivated by the wonderful selection of fresh, packaged and prepared foods in beautiful stores staffed by some of the most knowledgeable and committed employees anywhere. We live in New York and shop at the new store at Time-Warner. We love the store but find it a little hectic at times.

I was especially impressed on a recent business trip to Omaha. We went to the store for both breakfast and lunch and were pleasantly surprised by the selection and presentation of foods, especially cheeses that we had not seen much of elsewhere in Omaha. We also had a very interesting conversation with the “Barista” who was also the coffee buyer. Her enthusiasm and excitement left us feeling like members of a privileged group – Whole Foods customers.

I am not an organics “zealot” but strongly support sustainable agriculture and survival of local growers and suppliers. I wouldn’t want to be limited to only what’s in season in NY, but would want to see local growers promoted when available. As an educated consumer I have read most of the recent articles that have challenged the “industrial” organics industry’s commitment, and yours, to organic principles. I have also read your Open Letter to Michael Pollan and his response to you. I must admit I was disappointed with both. Your letter boils down to “ I consider myself the national spokesperson for Organics and am shocked that you don’t trust me to do the right thing in evaluating and making trade-offs in acquiring produce. Furthermore, you (Pollan) have shown incredibly bad taste in not talking to us before writing your book, and in comparing us to Walmart.” His response boils down to “ No, I don’t trust you. Your principles are overruled by your bigness and I know this because I have many friends in the traditional organics business and they are angry with you.”

Unfortunately, neither of those lengthy letters helps me as a consumer. I am dependent on you to make those trade-offs in a way I would support. I have to trust you. There is no other viable alternative at this point, To that end I look carefully at the products in the store to see where they originate. One of the easiest products for me to evaluate is cheese. New England and New York are major producers of artisinal cheeses but I do not see the same variety of local cheeses in your stores as I do in cheese specialty shops. I find this troubling and would appreciate some feedback on your cheese procurement practices in the New York area. Specifically, who do you buy from, and why.

In closing, I remain an interested customer, consumer and partner of your company and look forward to being reassured that you are living by your principles.


Paul del Balso