How very wrong you are.
Whole Foods is a grocery store. Yes, they have gimmicks to try and sell their wares; so does Walmart and every other store. Big whoop.
The difference between Whole Foods and other chains is that most of the food sold there is ACTUAL FOOD.
To be certified organic, a fruit or vegetable may not be perfect but it’s not covered with neurotoxins like the produce at other stores. You need to check the labels at WF too; not all their stuff is organic, but it’s the chain where you find the MOST organic produce.
You will have a selection of dry foods that do not contain hydrogenated fats or high fructose corn syrup. This is IMPOSSIBLE at your average store. Read the labels. You will find products including corn, anything from cereals to pizzas to frozen burritos, that contain ORGANIC corn, the only non GMO corn available. This again is not possible in a regular store. Nothing, NOTHING, is made from organic corn there. Corn is one of the most oversprayed, overprocessed grains around, and one of the most used in the American diet.
Why would anyone buy supermarket meat? You cannot if you read Michael Pollan’s “The Omnivore’s Dilemma” (which I suggest you read) and know the difference between the steer raised for the standard slaughterhouse and the one from the free-range organic ranch. Pollan followed a steer designed for each kind of life, all along the chain. It’s an eye-opening read, and he writes brilliantly.
Only Whole Foods has a huge selection of wild, line-caught fish and tells you exactly where it was caught. Farmed fish is not even healthy. It’s fed with GMO corn or some other Chinese-made grain product. Not what the fish had in mind, or your stomach, either. Not only did your organic, free-range chicken have a better life and diet than the supermarket chickens, it tastes so good only salt and pepper are needed when you roast it. You don’t need it to be injected with MSG like all the rotisserie chickens in every other place are.
If you see me in a mainstream grocery store, know that I am buying paper products or maybe something that doesn’t need to be organic, like bananas. There is not much real, un-franken-food in there.
I spend that much EVERY WEEK at Whole Foods. I am happy driving old cars and saving on other things. I will not compromise on my family’s diet, because what you eat actually does become your body, and we only get one body on this planet. Who cares what the shoppers look like? There are also moms like me in there, who are trying to raise their families on actual food that nourishes and heals, and not junk that causes deficiencies and chronic illness.
Health is one of the reasons home gardening is growing expotentially...you know where your food comes from, and it is a heck of a lot cheaper than Whole Foods; or any other store, for that matter...
My tongue-in-cheek article was more about the pretensions of liberals than the Whole Food store itself. I’m with you on the natural foods, been eating that way for years (and if you shop carefully, you can find a lot of wholesome foods at the regular stores for a lot less money).
Wow!! You sound just like me! No processed crap in my house. All wild-caught fish, grass fed beef, and organic free range chicken. I’ve gotten very, very into nutrition & clean eating since my kiddo was born. I don’t give her processed junk & she is a very well-behaved toddler with an amazing attention span.
I just want to add, though, that I do buy organic bananas. I read in Consumer Reports that organic bananas have 40% more nutrients than non-organic. I personally think they taste better, too. Much creamier & very rich.
Keep up what you’re doing. I love knowing it’s not just me! God bless you!