Re: 'Alternative' Media Quietly Sells Out to Whole Foods Market

[Guest guest]

>'Alternative' Media Quietly Sells Out to Whole Foods Market

>

>http://www.zmag.org/content/showarticle.cfm?SectionID=19 & ItemID=7751

>

>Interesting look at unsocial ability of social responsibility

>

>Wanita

That is interesting. I'm not sure in our current setup of " social

responsibility "

even enters into the picture. I mean, the system is set up so the JOB

of a CEO is to " maximize dividends " and " social responsibility " (or " whole

foods " ,

for that matter) is just a way to attract customers. While there ARE some folks

who really do care, I don't think they are the ones running any of the shows.

There is something about the whole " mega corp " concept that is just all about

power and money. It's sad that workers MUST unionize to get decent

treatment.

Heidi ( " It's the wheat, stupid! " ) Jean

[Guest guest]

>>'Alternative' Media Quietly Sells Out to Whole Foods Market

>>

>>http://www.zmag.org/content/showarticle.cfm?SectionID=19 & ItemID=7751

>>

>>Interesting look at unsocial ability of social responsibility

>>

>>Wanita

>>

>>

Yeah, they are against GE labeling too. There was a vote earlier this

month on it, I wonder which way it went.

http://www.organicconsumers.org/organic/wholefoods32905.cfm

" Amazingly, the Board of Directors has recommended shareholders vote

against this resolution. In explanation the Whole Foods website states:

" The FDA has not issued mandatory labeling requirements for foods that

contain genetically engineered ingredients or GE-testing standards which

all manufacturers can consistently and universally use. Nor has the FDA

finalized their draft guidance for voluntary labeling of products that

do not contain GE ingredients. Accordingly, it would be extremely

difficult for Whole Foods Market or any other retailer to provide

customers accurate and meaningful information about the genetic

engineering status of all products stocked. However, Whole Foods has

already assured customers that all of its private label products

manufactured since October 2001 are made from non-GE ingredients.

Additionally, Whole Foods also already tests its products for evidence

GE-ingredients. "

I won't shop Whole Foods anymore, as much as I'd like to sometimes for

hard to find items.

>

>That is interesting. I'm not sure in our current setup of " social

responsibility "

>even enters into the picture. I mean, the system is set up so the JOB

>of a CEO is to " maximize dividends " and " social responsibility " (or " whole

foods " ,

>for that matter) is just a way to attract customers. While there ARE some folks

>who really do care, I don't think they are the ones running any of the shows.

>

>There is something about the whole " mega corp " concept that is just all about

>power and money. It's sad that workers MUST unionize to get decent

>treatment.

>

>

>Heidi ( " It's the wheat, stupid! " ) Jean

>

They are the Walmart of health food stores, often squashing the small ma

and pa HFS in the locations they pop up in. But with peak oil looming,

high fuel and food prices will make these mega store models much less

viable than they are today.

Deanna

[Guest guest]

>They are the Walmart of health food stores, often squashing the small ma

>and pa HFS in the locations they pop up in. But with peak oil looming,

>high fuel and food prices will make these mega store models much less

>viable than they are today.

>

>Deanna

Yeah, they are way too far away for me, but also, since we have a local

farmer down the hill and I get my beef right from the farmer too,

I really don't NEED a market. It's kinda nice just getting the vegies

and meat right from the field. Much more low key too. And herbs I

have in pots outside my door, and I'm working on salad greens (collards

I have down pat! Eggs, chickens and ducks we do good too).

I've been noticing more and more cattle grazing in the " empty lots " around

town. I think the grass fed, buy from the farmer movement is gaining

momentum. High oil prices will help too. And high beef prices and

fear of Mad Cow.

I can't really think of much that I WANT from Whole Foods except from

their new GF bakery back East. But my family says they like my bread

better than anything I've bought, so I probably won't get that either, when

it arrives. I think the whole " Supermarket " idea is awful ... gimme a small

farmer's market like they have or had in France any day.

Heidi ( " It's the wheat, stupid! " ) Jean

[Guest guest]

I can't really think of much that I WANT from Whole Foods except from

their new GF bakery back East.

Heidi ( " It's the wheat, stupid! " ) Jean

I hope you have your pennies saved up, if you're planning on buying their GF

goods; they cost between $5-$10 for enough servings for 2-3 people, in my

opinion. And they contain sugar and canola oil and other questionable

ingredients.

Rebekah

[Guest guest]

>Yeah, they are way too far away for me, but also, since we have a local

>farmer down the hill and I get my beef right from the farmer too,

>I really don't NEED a market. It's kinda nice just getting the vegies

>and meat right from the field. Much more low key too. And herbs I

>have in pots outside my door, and I'm working on salad greens (collards

>I have down pat! Eggs, chickens and ducks we do good too).

>

I agree about homegrown veg and herbs being superior ... so long as you

grow what works in your region. I have herbs in pots. It's so handy to

move or cover as needed. I did well with an autumn planting of organic

heirloom purple spinach, but my sprouts this spring got nabbed by

somebody. Well, we have been conducting a semi native living experiment

where we keep power use minimal and sleep out in the tent when it's hot

out (last 2 days). Anyway, 3 am Thursday we here this squeaking noise

and get up to check it out, thinking Mr. Possum is going for the

chicks. Instead, we spy Stormy Kitty with Mr. Cottontail in his mouth.

He proceeds to play with him for 20 minutes, kind of a vollyrabbit game

with himself. Put 2 and 2 together and figure bunny was the spinach

nicker, lol.

Honestly, specialty items that are preservative free are the only things

I couldn't find locally and bought at the WF 40 miles away; things like

wasabi and pickled herring. Things I can live without, basically. I am

really making the effort to find local or grow my own goodies. It is

less time consuming and stressful to do so. Pretty soon it will be a

whole lot cheaper.

Deanna

[Guest guest]

> Anyway, 3 am Thursday we here this squeaking noise

> and get up to check it out, thinking Mr. Possum is going for the

> chicks. Instead, we spy Stormy Kitty with Mr. Cottontail in his mouth.

> He proceeds to play with him for 20 minutes, kind of a vollyrabbit game

> with himself. Put 2 and 2 together and figure bunny was the spinach

> nicker, lol.

>

> Deanna

Think your 2 and 2 is right One summer night last year with the windows open

I woke up to an animal noise coming from where our grass grows greenest in

front of barn. Went on and woke up dh asking what it was. Said it was a

rabbit getting killed. Went on more so we thought it had to be a cat that

has to play torture with their prey. Wasn't a squeak, was a heartwrenching

cry that still gives me the chills thinking about it. Finally said, d*** it,

why don't you kill it and it stopped. The cries were so close together I

doubt there was chasing between, maybe the rabbit kicking the cat away with

it's hind legs. Was a valiant effort to survive, even though the rabbit

lost.

Wanita

[Guest guest]

> I can't really think of much that I WANT from Whole Foods except from

> their new GF bakery back East.

>

>

> Heidi ( " It's the wheat, stupid! " ) Jean

>

>

> I hope you have your pennies saved up, if you're planning on buying their

> GF goods; they cost between $5-$10 for enough servings for 2-3 people, in

> my opinion. And they contain sugar and canola oil and other questionable

> ingredients.

> Rebekah

Couldn't believe it, really disappointed after reading ingredients, then the

prices. Could make at least 4 times the amounts with better ingredients at

home and still save.

Wanita

[Guest guest]

>Couldn't believe it, really disappointed after reading ingredients, then the

>prices. Could make at least 4 times the amounts with better ingredients at

>home and still save.

>

>Wanita

Yeah, I have that issue too. I mixed up batches of my " white bread " as " mixes "

in bags, and it was amazingly cheap to make. Plus one batch makes a huge loaf,

and the ones they sell in the store are *dinky*.

And now since I make my Porter beer ... shoot, I can get a GALLON of porter

for the cost of 2 cups of molasses and 2 cups of sugar. And it tastes better,

and I don't have to recycle any bottles. It still doesn't have the right " head "

on it,

we're working on that, but it's durn good ...

Heidi

[Guest guest]

>I agree about homegrown veg and herbs being superior ... so long as you

>grow what works in your region.

I agree. Here, you just CAN'T grow oranges, and to get " clean " apples takes

spray. But berries ... berries grow wild, don't need no nothing except a little

trimming and you gotta pick 'em when they are ripe.

> I have herbs in pots. It's so handy to

>move or cover as needed. I did well with an autumn planting of organic

>heirloom purple spinach, but my sprouts this spring got nabbed by

>somebody. Well, we have been conducting a semi native living experiment

>where we keep power use minimal and sleep out in the tent when it's hot

>out (last 2 days).

Oooh, that sounds fun! We don't use much heat (or cooling) so it wouldn't

" buy " us much to sleep outside but it still sounds fun.

I grow my lettuce on the porch deck, which is about 10 feet UP from the ground

and not too prone to slugs or rabbits. We are considering turning the deck into

a hothouse.

>Honestly, specialty items that are preservative free are the only things

>I couldn't find locally and bought at the WF 40 miles away; things like

>wasabi and pickled herring. Things I can live without, basically.

Ah, but pickled herring is easy! Wasabi probably is too ... I made horseradish

sauce and it was EASY though I'm not sure it's actually " wasabi " . Hot mustard

sauce is easy with Penzy's.

> I am

>really making the effort to find local or grow my own goodies. It is

>less time consuming and stressful to do so. Pretty soon it will be a

>whole lot cheaper.

For me it's already cheaper ... and when you count travel time it

probably IS less time consuming. Take jerky. You price good jerky

and it is horridly expensive. I mean, I make a nice BIG supply and it

lasts for months, and sets better in the stomach too (no nitrates).

>

Heidi

[Guest guest]

>

Heidi:

> I think the whole " Supermarket " idea is awful ... gimme a small

> farmer's market like they have or had in France any day.

I dunno...I like everything being there in one place.

But the problem with " health food supermarket " is, well, how big would

they be if they only sold real food? What proportion is unprocessed or

minimally processed (canned veggies?) food vs. frozen goodies and

breakfast cereals? And what part of that (crap vs. real) ever goes on

sale? My local Sparkle often has (conventional) eggs as a loss leader,

but I don't think I've ever seen free-range eggs on sale. At Wild Oats

it's always cereal.

The health-food industry is largely a con to snare people who don't

have the fortitude to really change their eating habits. Now, I'm one

of those, and I realize how hard it is. But we're expected to believe

that Kinder-Kibble is somehow OK if made with organic whole wheat flour

and evaporated cane juice, and that Twice-Cooked Milk is better for us

than regular merely-pasteurized store milk because the Holsteins got

organic grain, and that the charity work of buying Fair Trade coffee

really changes how commodity markets work, and that workers in THIS

grocery store are somehow better treated than workers in any other

grocery. It's the edible version of liberal politics, a salve to the

conscience that really doesn't change anything.

Here's the worst: I'm diabetic with (as most diabetics) a sweet tooth.

Yesterday I found out that not even STEVIA is really safe....it drops

sperm production, steviol can metabolize into a carcinogen, etc. GROAN

www.users.en.com/jaquick

Evolution's a real bitch...and she's back in heat.

--Mike Schneider

[Guest guest]

>Mmmmm, beer, pickled herring, jerky....I think I may have to come

>apprentice at your house for awhile to learn how to make all these yummy

>things you keep mentioning!

>

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Canfield

-God grades on the cross, not on the curve. -Anonymous

3:36: " He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that

believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him. "

[Guest guest]

>>They are the Walmart of health food stores, often squashing the small ma

>>and pa HFS in the locations they pop up in.

>>

>>Deanna

That's funny. When Trader Joe's was looking for a spot in the vicinity of

Bread & Circus, local Valley Advocate called Trader Joe's the Wal Mart of

HFS. Bread & Circus at the time was owned by Whole Foods, changed their name

to Whole Foods and expanded since Trader Joe's moved into the parking lot of

the mall beside Whole Foods. Both doing fine together, it seems. Those that

shop both, more than likely those who couldn't afford all Whole Foods

before, so what they get at Trader Joe's is a step up nutritionally from the

supermarkets they'd settle for before.

Wanita

[Guest guest]

> From: " KerryAnn " <krankedyann@...>

> Subject: Re: Re: 'Alternative' Media Quietly Sells Out to Whole Foods

> Market

>

> Mike,

>

> Please share your source for the information on stevia. I'm very

> interested to know more about it.

>

Hi, that was me (you just caught the end of my sig line, which was a

quote from that Mike). It was some stuff that was put up on the wall of

the co-op, so I can't cite it. Maybe if you Google on " stevia " and

" sperm count " or " cancer " , you might find something.

www.en.com/users/jaquick

" Electing Jimmy president was as close as the

American people have ever come to picking a name out of the phone book

and giving him the job. " -

[Guest guest]

> Message: 25

> Date: Sun, 1 May 2005 08:01:59 -0400

> From: " Wanita Sears " <wanitawa@...>

> Subject: Re: Re: 'Alternative' Media Quietly Sells Out to Whole Foods

> Market

>

>> Here's the worst: I'm diabetic with (as most diabetics) a sweet tooth.

>> Yesterday I found out that not even STEVIA is really safe....it drops

>> sperm production, steviol can metabolize into a carcinogen, etc. GROAN

>>

> ,

>

> Have you tried Xylitol, birch sugar, a 5 instead of 6 carbon sugar

> http://www.laleva.cc/food/xylitol.html

Hmm, interesting, didn't know about this really. Thought it was just

another sugar alcohol, which I have been known to use (and to pay for!)

> Licorice root has natural sweetness that satisfies cravings. I've

> drank a

> cup of Celestial Seasonings Tension Tamer tea every night for the last

> 15

> years. Will aggravate high blood pressure if you have it and Chris

> found

> some hormonal issue with whole herb ingesting over long periods. Other

> than

> that I've found if your protein and fat is sufficient and stress

> doesn't

> throw you off there are no more sugar cravings.

BWAHAHAHA! Stress is the problem! I moved to this farm to help avoid

stress, and now I have the stress of getting the garden in and things

repaired! But when I'm working physically and away from this devil box

I'm typing on, my carb consumption is much less.

> Harold J. Kristal D.D.S. for

> his diabetes diet in his book The Nutrition Solution says stevia and

> xylitol

> are the only ok's.

I'll have to take a look at that; thanks.

Meanwhile, I have flour soaking for NT gingerbread...if I'm going to be

bad, best to be bad in a good way.

[Guest guest]

>

> From: " Wanita Sears " <wanitawa@...>

>Subject: Re: Re: 'Alternative' Media Quietly Sells Out to Whole Foods Market

>

> > BWAHAHAHA! Stress is the problem! I moved to this farm to help avoid

>> stress, and now I have the stress of getting the garden in and things

>> repaired! But when I'm working physically and away from this devil box

>> I'm typing on, my carb consumption is much less.

>

>> Meanwhile, I have flour soaking for NT gingerbread...if I'm going to be

>> bad, best to be bad in a good way.

>

>,

>

>Hope that's gluten free flour soaking.

Nope, sorry, just the NT recipe. I've been thinking of trying GF just

to see how the body responds, but it seems like such a difficult

change to make, and I've been having trouble with the more basic ones.

> Seriously, since giving up the gluten stress has gone higher and

>different than anything I've had to deal with before but am dealing with it

>to surprise myself.

Hmmm? Does the gluten mellow your stress? I find that breadstuffs

(esp. pastries) seem to be required when I'm stressing.

>Not immune totally from weak moments. Had two dinner rolls with butter few

>weeks back day night before I absolutely had to do some waste of my time

>paperwork, not taxes.

Oh, OTHER waste-of-time paperwork. :-)

> I was short tempered all day long enough to notice a

>pre GF me.

>

>Understand the balancing act of farm to off farm work to it's time to do it

>now no matter the weather. Way more than the standard homeowner. Different

>kind of socialization. Hope you find what works for you in an easier way

>than we did.

Wanting to get the garden in is the main thing, but the weather

hasn't cooperated the past week or so, and it's becoming clear that

my land needs tiling. And there's work with the barn, keeping up and

cleaning out the house that's for sale, plus my musical work. It's

becoming clear that I can only do so much, and I need to stop beating

myself about the undones.

--

Quick, USUM (ret.)

www.en.com/users/jaquick

" Nothing makes me want to hurl a chair through the window and punch

someone's lights out like being told I need anger management

lessons. " -- Mark Steyn