Michael Pollan has posted a thoughtful response to Whole Foods CEO John Mackey’s last open letter. He continues the discussion with the observation that Whole Foods can play a critical role in the promotion of sustainable and local markets, and urges them to continue to be open and honest about their practices.
But it’s important to distinguish between kinds of trade, and in each case look both at who benefits from it and whether it promotes local communities and values or undermines them.
As a company, Whole Foods is particularly well-positioned to participate in this sort of big-small economy, especially because of the know-how and relationships of your buyers. I agree with you that local can become a provincial value, and that developing models of “fair trade” is important. In the end it comes down to cases, and will take a commitment to learning more about your suppliers and the impact of your purchasing than most companies are willing to learn. Information and transparency are the keys, it seems to me–you’re selling a lot more than food, aren’t you? As I wrote in my book, you’re selling stories, too.
Pollan ends by inviting Mackey to participate in an open discussion of these issues in Berkeley. Pollan commented on the “political” feeling of his reading in Seattle; I guess he feels that Berkeley would be safer.
I hope that Mackey accepts this offer and expands the discussion with Pollan to a public forum. It would be even better if they took their discussion on the road — at least to Seattle and Austin.
Thanks to Corn Maven for pointing out Pollan’s letter.
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