Comments on: Economic and environmental impact of Whole Foods? http://www.potrerohillsf.com/2007/03/economic-and-environmental-impact-of-whole-foods/ A neighborhood guide for Potrero Hill, San Francisco Mon, 12 May 2008 22:22:00 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.5 by: dissent http://www.potrerohillsf.com/2007/03/economic-and-environmental-impact-of-whole-foods/#comment-20551 Mon, 04 Jun 2007 00:56:54 +0000 http://www.potrerohillsf.com/2007/03/economic-and-environmental-impact-of-whole-foods/#comment-20551 I am in La Jolla visiting family and they shop at the local Whole Foods. I asked my sister to get some Cowgirl Creamery cheese, a truly excellent cheese from Pt. Reyes that is sold at Good Life. It is something to be proud of, part of our foodie culture. The cheese guy at the La Jolla store said he knew the cheese but they didn't carry products from such small producers. An honest answer! And also makes you thing about the trade offs of a chain: high prices, fewer local products. I am in La Jolla visiting family and they shop at the local Whole Foods. I asked my sister to get some Cowgirl Creamery cheese, a truly excellent cheese from Pt. Reyes that is sold at Good Life. It is something to be proud of, part of our foodie culture.

The cheese guy at the La Jolla store said he knew the cheese but they didn’t carry products from such small producers.

An honest answer! And also makes you thing about the trade offs of a chain: high prices, fewer local products.

]]> by: dissent http://www.potrerohillsf.com/2007/03/economic-and-environmental-impact-of-whole-foods/#comment-16585 Tue, 15 May 2007 01:15:32 +0000 http://www.potrerohillsf.com/2007/03/economic-and-environmental-impact-of-whole-foods/#comment-16585 Well, well, retort. Are you sure your name isn't Turd Blossom? The notion that the union issue has nothing to do with the issue of a chain moving in sounds like a Republican talking point. Of course it has something to do with it. If even one consumer makes a decision based on that factor, there's your 'to do with it', dimwit. In any case, I bring to these issues the healthy concern of someone who works for a living. Do you? I bring that same concern to the political and social influence of the homestate of Dubya. I'm not idling on a trust fund. What about you? To anyone with the vulnerabilities of a normal working American in the global economy, the issue of chains, unions, etc. are central. Well, well, retort. Are you sure your name isn’t Turd Blossom?

The notion that the union issue has nothing to do with the issue of a chain moving in sounds like a Republican talking point.

Of course it has something to do with it.

If even one consumer makes a decision based on that factor, there’s your ‘to do with it’, dimwit.

In any case, I bring to these issues the healthy concern of someone who works for a living. Do you? I bring that same concern to the political and social influence of the homestate of Dubya. I’m not idling on a trust fund. What about you?

To anyone with the vulnerabilities of a normal working American in the global economy, the issue of chains, unions, etc. are central.

]]> by: retort http://www.potrerohillsf.com/2007/03/economic-and-environmental-impact-of-whole-foods/#comment-16103 Fri, 11 May 2007 19:57:59 +0000 http://www.potrerohillsf.com/2007/03/economic-and-environmental-impact-of-whole-foods/#comment-16103 @dissent Like the previous commenter pointed out, the union issue has nothing to do with the topic at hand. Furthermore, this is America, and Texas business culture is a non-issue. If you don't like them, don't support them. Personally I welcome the competition as it will take away business from the nearby Safeway. Additionaly, I feel Good Life has been sub-par for the prices they charge. Perhaps it's the increased competition that has forced them to clean up a bit. I wonder if that would have happened if Whole Foods hadn't shown up. P.S. Thumbs down for LinkedIn. Keep the content/comments in one place please. Cross-posting sucks. Extend this site if you want more community features. @dissent
Like the previous commenter pointed out, the union issue has nothing to do with the topic at hand. Furthermore, this is America, and Texas business culture is a non-issue. If you don’t like them, don’t support them.

Personally I welcome the competition as it will take away business from the nearby Safeway. Additionaly, I feel Good Life has been sub-par for the prices they charge. Perhaps it’s the increased competition that has forced them to clean up a bit. I wonder if that would have happened if Whole Foods hadn’t shown up.

P.S. Thumbs down for LinkedIn. Keep the content/comments in one place please. Cross-posting sucks. Extend this site if you want more community features.

]]> by: paul http://www.potrerohillsf.com/2007/03/economic-and-environmental-impact-of-whole-foods/#comment-13034 Tue, 24 Apr 2007 04:44:49 +0000 http://www.potrerohillsf.com/2007/03/economic-and-environmental-impact-of-whole-foods/#comment-13034 The union issue at WFM is not as straightforward as it's presented above-- there's certainly a lot to it and unfortunately I can't really comment on it, aside to say that the question of unions is largely irrelevant in this context. To comment on the linked Q&A over at linkedin, Casey W commented that traffic increased at California and Franklin which is possible but Potrero hill doesn't have arteries like either of those streets or Van Ness as far as I recall. Additionally the market nearby is called "Big Apple" and has reopened after remodeling. For the record I used to work at the Real Food Company on Polk, whose business was basically halved when WFM opened. RF and WFM serve very similar customers, though, and Big Apple is in a category more similar to the unnamed grocery store that used to be Right Next Door to RF and did in fact close. Those guys were ready to retire anyway though. They also happened to be a union shop although I doubt that means anything either way. Real Food is still there, by the way. I think that the Good Life guy is being more proactive than the Allens which will probably serve him well. I'd just like to say that anyone who says "Whole Paycheck" is not being clever. I wish there was a more clever equivalent phrase-- I wouldn't mind so much in that case. The union issue at WFM is not as straightforward as it’s presented above– there’s certainly a lot to it and unfortunately I can’t really comment on it, aside to say that the question of unions is largely irrelevant in this context.

To comment on the linked Q&A over at linkedin, Casey W commented that traffic increased at California and Franklin which is possible but Potrero hill doesn’t have arteries like either of those streets or Van Ness as far as I recall. Additionally the market nearby is called “Big Apple” and has reopened after remodeling.

For the record I used to work at the Real Food Company on Polk, whose business was basically halved when WFM opened. RF and WFM serve very similar customers, though, and Big Apple is in a category more similar to the unnamed grocery store that used to be Right Next Door to RF and did in fact close. Those guys were ready to retire anyway though. They also happened to be a union shop although I doubt that means anything either way.

Real Food is still there, by the way. I think that the Good Life guy is being more proactive than the Allens which will probably serve him well.

I’d just like to say that anyone who says “Whole Paycheck” is not being clever. I wish there was a more clever equivalent phrase– I wouldn’t mind so much in that case.

]]> by: dissent http://www.potrerohillsf.com/2007/03/economic-and-environmental-impact-of-whole-foods/#comment-11080 Sun, 08 Apr 2007 05:14:44 +0000 http://www.potrerohillsf.com/2007/03/economic-and-environmental-impact-of-whole-foods/#comment-11080 Whole Foods is anti-union. They are bringing Texas business culture to our neighborhood. Do we want that? Also they will threaten our home grown buisnesses Good Life and Rainbow Grocery. I plan on shopping there only when I need something I can't get elsewhere. From the nytimes: Like Starbucks, the organic foods supermarket [Whole Foods] maintains what it calls socially responsible sourcing guidelines and supports alternative energy. (In 2006, Whole Foods made what it says was the biggest corporate purchase of green power ever.) Again, like Starbucks, it has a chief executive, John Mackey, who is hostile to organized labor. In 2003, he told Fortune magazine that unions are “highly unethical and self-interested.” And, like Starbucks, Whole Foods suffers no apparent consumer sanction as a result of its position. Sales rose 12 percent in the first quarter. link http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/08/weekinreview/08gross.html?ref=business Whole Foods is anti-union. They are bringing Texas business culture to our neighborhood. Do we want that?

Also they will threaten our home grown buisnesses Good Life and Rainbow Grocery. I plan on shopping there only when I need something I can’t get elsewhere.

From the nytimes:
Like Starbucks, the organic foods supermarket [Whole Foods] maintains what it calls socially responsible sourcing guidelines and supports alternative energy. (In 2006, Whole Foods made what it says was the biggest corporate purchase of green power ever.)

Again, like Starbucks, it has a chief executive, John Mackey, who is hostile to organized labor. In 2003, he told Fortune magazine that unions are “highly unethical and self-interested.” And, like Starbucks, Whole Foods suffers no apparent consumer sanction as a result of its position. Sales rose 12 percent in the first quarter.

link
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/08/weekinreview/08gross.html?ref=business

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