is whole foods too good to be true?

[sosurreal09]

someone told me whole foods sold organic food. i havent been yet but i went on the website and im blow away! everything is organic additive and hormone free?!?! even meat!!! they even have organic baby products!!!! i mean come on its everything i ever wanted lol is there a catch?

[EviesMom]

The catch is that it's fairly expensive. And there have been some complaints in terms of labor practices (I think they're non-union?) and some of their products are big-agriculture organic rather than sustainable-farming organic. Still better than conventional grocery though.

[Bokonon]

The catch is that their nickname is "Whole Paycheck".

[milosmomma]

Originally Posted by EviesMom

The catch is that it's fairly expensive. And there have been some complaints in terms of labor practices (I think they're non-union?) and some of their products are big-agriculture organic rather than sustainable-farming organic.

Yeah that.

I've also watched them be the big business that comes in and gobbles up the little guy and drives the Mom & Pops out of business.

[serenbat]

I don't like my organic coming from China (check their brand of items, mostly frozen)-not the foot-print or the country of my choice!

[claddaghmom]

I don't like them as a company, how they practice some things....

But if you don't have access to certain products through other options...

[MeepyCat]

There are a ton of nicknames for Whole Foods. Whole Paycheck. Buck-A-Grape. And so on. They're an expensive place to shop. I get pretty grumpy about them.

Yes, the produce is organic, and yes it is gorgeous and hormone and additive free. It is also from very far away. They can use imports so that they can assure consistent quality year-round. They consistently stock beautifully waxed, mediocre produce all year. All of the strawberries are strip mined in Chile or California, all of the apples are flown in from New Zealand, all of the tomatoes are hydroponics from Canada. No seasonality. No gorgeous local stuff for cheap because it's that time of year.

I can't afford organic meats most of the time. If I could, I'd look for local sources because I suspect that the quality issues at WF go beyond the produce department.

[Magelet]

and from a friend who worked in the deli for two weeks before he couldn't stand it any longer, their organic, less additives stance does not stretch so far as the deli and prepared foods counter.

[rayo de sol]

The catch is that Whole Foods is evil on many levels. For one, they don't care about killing sea turtles.

[cristeen]

Originally Posted by MeepyCat

Yes, the produce is organic, and yes it is gorgeous and hormone and additive free.

Only some of it is organic.

I needed a bell pepper for a recipe a couple weeks ago, and I figured I'd go to WF because even though it's out of season they should have it. Sure they have it. But it's conventionally grown. Right next to the red and orange peppers that ARE organic. But there was no sign, I had to ask the produce worker, and she confirmed that the green ones were NOT organic. For $3/lb.

We have a lot of local produce available here year round, but only a small portion of what I see at the local WF is local. None of their meats are grass-fed even when it's local (Rosie/Rocky chicken is local to us).

I shop at WF mainly out of convenience, although on a regular week I only go there for dairy products and pkgd foods. I have other (locally owned) options for the pkgd foods, but I have not found anywhere else nearby that carries raw milk (although they've started coming to the farmer's mkt), or even the non-hom milk. And since WF is literally around the corner from my house, it's hard to pass up the convenience.

[sosurreal09]

o great lol thanks guys. there is a CSA place for produce near me but im on ebt and they dont take it and its on a BAD street...one i would never walk on...idk why they put it there. my LO is 5 moths old also and i really need an all in one kind of store...idk i will try them out but thats wicked shady that those peppers werent organic...according to the website everything is...guess i will have to ask lots of questions

[staceychev]

I think that if you shop the perimeter, you can still do OK at Whole Foods, money-wise. Not like a "regular" grocery store, but not ridiculous. The problem is that they pull you in with lots of add-ons. Stick to the basics.

As far as the meats thing goes, I think it depends on your store. My Whole Foods gets most, if not all, of their pork from a farm within two hours of the store. And they have a wide range of grass-fed beef and buffalo.

With regard to where things come from... I don't assume that any provider, even at my farm market, is totally virtuous. I read labels and I talk to people. One thing I like about Whole Foods (as compared to Wegmans, which is where I shop about 2/3 of the time) is that fresh produce, fish, and meat all has Country-of-Origin labeling. If I don't want to buy garlic from Mexico, then I can make the decision not to.

[blueridgewoman]

If you're on EBT, Whole Foods is probably a good option unless you have a farmer's market, etc that takes food stamps.... It's the lesser of the evils, I think, where grocery stores are concerned. Just be picky and don't assume that because you're at WF, everything is sustainable and healthy.

[chattyprincess]

As someone else mentioned. Be careful...the first time I shopped there I had a cart full of fruit/veg before I realized that it was non organic and from china/chile and easily 2x the price as the normal grocery!!!

[serenbat]

as compared to Wegmans,

oh, watch out for Wegman's- they do tell you, if you look at the tiny little print- organic beef from South America, while another local grocery can do US organic beef for 2.00 less a pound and also look at their frozen fish- they LOVE china for processing (catch it in the US and have China do the packaging!!) the seem to think if we do it in small print people won't look!! Wegman's organic veggie prices are far more then what I pay at other grocery stores for the same exact brand

[Jaesun's Dad]

Whole Foods has excellent quality fruits and vegetables, their seafood is always great (and Rose who works at our seafood counter is awesome too) and their meat section is good. They have organic everything. They don't sell petroleum products (you cannot get vaseline there) and they have a good selection of junk too. They carry mothering magazine at the checkout counter sometimes, and their store is clean and the lines never too long a wait. Good beer, good cheese.

Fortunately we have one that is a short walk from our apartment. :-)
Unfortunately we have one that is a short walk from our apartment! :-(

Here's the thing: just try to go there and spend less than $20. Try it. Can't do it. Just going there for breakfast supplies I end up spending $30-$40.

Other things to watch out for: they overcharge a lot. Scrutinize your receipts. I have caught them trying to charge me the $5.99 "tomato on the vine" price for $1.99 slicer and roma tomatoes not once, not twice, but almost every single time!

[Bri'sgirl]

We have a WF just two miles from my house and go there once in a while. You have to be careful of the produce, because it is not all organic, and the organic and non-organic produce sit right next to each other. I don't like that, because the non-organic can cross-contaminate the organic, especially when they spray the water.

If I stick to sales, I can save money, but most of the time, what I want is not on sale. If I want a specialty item, it is definitely the place to go, though. They carry some things you just cannot find in a regular grocery store.

I am very lucky to have a couple of local natural grocery stores, other than WF, and I frequent them much more often. Both of the other ones make it a priority to buy as much local food as possible, and have a good sized sign on each item to let you know where they got it from.

That said, WF is fun to shop at. They have lots of samples to try and you can find new things that you never knew existed!

[cristeen]

Oh, and there's also a thread in the weight management section on the business practices of Whole Foods and the new policy they're putting in place for their employees linking BMI with their employee discount.

[Bri'sgirl]

Originally Posted by cristeen

Oh, and there's also a thread in the weight management section on the business practices of Whole Foods and the new policy they're putting in place for their employees linking BMI with their employee discount.

Seriously? Isn't that a form of discrimination?

[allnaturalmom]

We love WF. Unfortunately, the closest one is about 75 miles away... right near my parents' house. So my mom and I go when I am there visiting. I take my large cooler and stock up. I only get things there that I can't get locally. Honestly, my local stores are not carrying the amount of organic and natural products that they used to... Not that they had a lot to start with, yk.

I am very picky and check labels a lot. I do this in the regular grocery store, too. I only buy foods that I am ok w/their origin.

They have an organic store brand jarred pasta sauce w/no oil in it. I searched everywhere for a good sauce w/no oil and there it was. It's really good. And their store brand organic whole wheat pasta is from Italy - also yummy! I love their bulk food bins and their HABA section, too.

There's something to be said about a store that gives out so many samples. And if you want to try a product or are uncertain about a product, I have had them given to me to try. They were out of stock of the cereal bars that I wanted to get. I was offered a different brand to try. The sales associate whipped out their sharpie and drew a line through the upc code. Enjoy. Wow! I have purchased bulk cookies from their bakery and dd was eating one while shopping. She wasn't finished yet when we approached the checkout. When I told the cashier, she said, "Enjoy the cookie! That's on us!" Did you know that you can sample items right off of their hot foods bar? You can. There are sample cups at the end of the counter. Try it before you buy it. I love that cooking station cart. One day they were cooking salmon w/some sort of seasoned veggies. Yum. And once when we were there someone wheeled out the cooking station cart and started making some hefty grilled ham and cheese sandwiches in a cast iron skillet. Lunch. I really was glad to try those items... Nitrate-free ham, natural cheddar, real butter, and good bread.

I have also returned things w/o a problem and w/o a receipt. I remember my sun nut butter wasn't sealed inside and one time my shortening was all funky smelling the first time I opened it. They couldn't have apologized more. Great customer service.

Anyway, these are my experiences at WF. They may pull things in from afar to satisfy some customers, but I only buy what I am comfortable with. I think it is important to keep the demand up for organic products (convenience and whole). I support local sources for what I can, but I'm living in the boonies and for things that I can't get locally I get at WF (or Trader Joe's right across the street from WF - but that's another post, lol).

Oh, and they have a small farmers' market set up in their parking lot in the summer on weekend mornings. Local produce and products.