Whole Foods Boycott and Protests?

This past week I noticed an article in the Wall Street Journal written by John Mackey, CEO of Whole Foods, The Whole Foods Alternative to ObamaCare
Eight things we can do to improve health care without adding to the deficit.

I have been in the fitness industry for over 27 years and know a lot about health and fitness and Whole Foods Market is recommended in my book and on my website, MY DIVA DIET: A Woman's Last Diet Book, as a place to find high-quality foods that are beneficial to health and losing weight.

I'm not saying that Whole Foods Market doesn't have its share of foods that I would not recommend, just a place like, Trader Joe's, that you can find wholesome foods. You will always find so-called "healthy" and "diet" foods that are actually bad for you in all stores, even health food stores, specifically man-made and processed foods. The questions is how to know the difference...something I discuss in my book.

I realize that health-care reform is a very sensitive subject and it seems that there is an even divide over what the Obama administration is proposing. There are also many ideas floating out there on how we can fix health care in America. That being said, Mackey's stance and alternatives to health-care reform has pissed-off a lot of people, so much so that they have formed "boycotts" and "protests".

After reviewing the article in detail, I had to put my two-cents into the mix! My article can be found on Blogcritics

Whole Foods CEO: Good is the New Bad
The left is now attacking and punishing one of their own for disagreeing with ObamaCare!
Opinion in Politics — by Christine Lakatos — on Aug 23, 2009

EXCERPT:

The criticism of Mackey’s article was swift, Mark Rosenthal, a 39-year-old playwright in Massachusetts, was so angry that he started a Facebook group called Boycott Whole Foods the next day. Rosenthal’s beef apparently wasn’t just the health care portion of the op-ed. It was Mackey’s suggestion that “if you’re sick, it’s your fault,” that really got him fired up. “For anyone who has ever had a friend or family member get sick and you watched them die even with a good diet and exercise, it’s really insulting. I don’t know that [Mackey] considered the consequences of this statement”.

This is over Mackey's attempt to bring attention to the types of diseases that are preventable, and how these diseases affect health care costs in America today. Prevention is an important tool in cutting the risk of certain diseases and health care costs at the same time — something we are not discussing enough in the health care debate. Mackey wrote, “Rather than increase government spending and control, we need to address the root causes of poor health. This begins with the realization that every American adult is responsible for his or her own health.” I can’t agree more–-many on the Left want to claim that health care is a civil right, but first and foremost, it is an individual responsibility. There are exceptions: birth defects, children’s health, the handicapped, elderly and the extreme poor, as well as health issues resulting from accidents and unforeseen circumstances like war, pandemics and natural disasters, and of course, diseases that manifest despite every effort to live a healthy lifestyle.

Nobody wants to see someone suffer and/or die from any illness, even if it is self-inflicted. If you read the entire article and have any sense, you would discern that Mackey had no ill intent and does care about the sick; since he is well informed about the dangers of an unhealthy lifestyle, he wants others to consider the consequences of their choices. By the way, Mr. Rosenthal, Mackey never stated that all who are sick are to blame for their own illness, just many. These are Mackey’s exact words,

Unfortunately many of our health care problems are self-inflicted: two-thirds of Americans are now overweight and one-third are obese. Most of the diseases that kill us and account for about 70% of all health care spending—heart disease, cancer, stroke, diabetes and obesity—are mostly preventable through proper diet, exercise, not smoking, minimal alcohol consumption and other healthy lifestyle choices.

To read the entire article click here!

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Lets face the facts, if we all took better care of ourselves (including me), we would have a much healthier nation and, yes, it would have an impact on our health care costs, individually and collectively.

In my book, I talk about how an unhealthy lifestyle can damage our health and make us fat....
EXCERPT from MY DIVA DIET:

We need to confront the fact that poor nutrition and lack of exercise usually trigger our weight difficulties as well as some of the medical predicaments we find ourselves facing. However, the methods we use to confront these issues are extreme, to say the least. Instead of trying to gain control over our diet problem the right way, we have become desperate, seeking out programs that only end up as major disappointments— creating multiple health risks and costing us money.

I address some of the 'root causes' of high body fat and poor health:

EXCERPT from MY DIVA DIET:

What We Offer
FIRST (and foremost): MY DIVA DIET addresses the root causes of why we are overweight and not at our full potential for optimal health. These comprise the Five Factors Affecting Body Fat and Health.To help you understand how these factors work for or against you, you will be taking a diet quiz in PART THREE (pages 61-83) for specific answers about why you are in shape—or not.

These Five Factors are addressed and dissected throughout the book, then we give practical ways (rules) to incorporate them into your diet to achieve the body you've always dreamed of: fit, lean, healthy, vibrant, more functional, etc....

EXCERPTS from MY DIVA DIET:

In summary, MY DIVA DIET incorporates all Five Factors Affecting Body Fat and Health into one comprehensive diet program that works! Using the thirty-two subtopics listed above, MY DIVA DIET directs you within each of the Five Factors between two phases (Diva Reduction and Diva Maintenance) beginning in PART TWO.

In PART FOUR we provide you with some background information on the thirty-two sub-topics of the Five Factors Affecting Body Fat and Health (the thirty-two question categories you responded to in PART THREE’s Diva Diet Quiz). We also give you some MY DIVA DIET rules that will help you get healthy & fit for life.

Click her for more about the Five Factors

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I guess when you mix sound diet advice with politics, people go crazy! I respect everyone's political viewpoints; that of John Mackey and those protesting, however, I personally will continue to support Whole Foods Market!

I'm not sure how the rest of the MY DIVA DIET Team feels, so I am only speaking for myself.

www.MyDivaDiet.com

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