Whole Foods: the Temple of Pseudoscience.

IN for reading later. I enjoy shopping at Whole Foods so this should be interesting...

Wait, am I reading this right? People think Whole Foods is a small company? $10 billion a year in sales, publicly traded company with hundreds of locations is "small?" They're a pretty large corporation.

Whole Foods: America’s Temple of Pseudoscience
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/02/23/whole-foods-america-s-temple-of-pseudoscience.html

This is a really great article that nails down what makes me so uncomfortable with the place.

"Still: a significant portion of what Whole Foods sells is based on simple pseudoscience. And sometimes that can spill over into outright anti-science (think What Doctors Don’t Tell You, or Whole Foods’ overblown GMO campaign, which could merit its own article)."

also that is a terribly written article. It repeatedly uses the phrase "pseudoscience" and then uses anecdotal evidence to prove his claim.

um.

ironic article is ironic.

Example?

Here ya go:

"I invited a biologist friend who studies human gut bacteria to come take a look with me. She read the healing claims printed on a handful of bottles and frowned. “This is bull****,” she said, and went off to buy some vegetables."

^^ That's when I quit reading too.

We don't have a Whole Foods where we live anyway, but this is something else that I find amusing: people who are self-righteous about shopping there.

I think it's quite right to take issue with a retailer based on one of their products - here in the UK i no longer shop at Tesco due to them refusing to engage in any meaningful dialogue with skeptics regarding stocking of 'What Doctors Don't Tell You' magazine. However, sadly, so many shops have their dark side - I would have boycotted Boots pharmacy due to their selling homeopathic products, were they not unfortunately sold in every other pharmacy I went into. So as much as it bothers me, you just have to hope that if you boycott the products themselves the retailer will make the decision not to stock them anymore.

I don't agree with everything that Whole Foods sells or does, but they have the best (freshest) produce, largest bulk bin selection, and the only milk bottled in glass bottles (grass fed and local too) of any grocery store in my area. I spend a little more than I would at the Kroger (not much more though), and since I'm blessed enough to be able to afford to spend a little more, I do.

Also, their take and bake pizzas are better and cheaper than any of my local pizza places, so that's a win.

A little food for thought, in the form of a quote from a friend:

"They have these "standards" for foods that they won't allow in their store, like anything with hydrogenated oil, or high fructose corn syrup. But they're fine with selling homeopathic remedies, and healing crystals"

Show me the research that shows homeopathic remedies and healing crystals hurt people.

A little food for thought, in the form of a quote from a friend:

"They have these "standards" for foods that they won't allow in their store, like anything with hydrogenated oil, or high fructose corn syrup. But they're fine with selling homeopathic remedies, and healing crystals"

Haha, what a joke. Clearly it's all about consumer demand and little else.

We don't have Wholefoods in my country. I've been to them overseas and spent some time wandering the aisles looking at the various potions that promise enhanced health. I can see how people can get caught up in the hype. The stores have an interesting 'ambiance' about them.

I was impressed with the prepared foods section. I remember that they had red velvet cakes, full of delicious processed carbs, which I thought was rather ironic considering their theme. We had lunch there, including red velvet cake, and it cost a bomb.

A little food for thought, in the form of a quote from a friend:

"They have these "standards" for foods that they won't allow in their store, like anything with hydrogenated oil, or high fructose corn syrup. But they're fine with selling homeopathic remedies, and healing crystals"

Show me the research that shows homeopathic remedies and healing crystals hurt people.

They may not hurt directly, but I think that it's a problem when people turn to ineffective CAMs and shun treatment with proven efficacy. In some circumstances it might be fine, but in others it can be deadly.

My grandfather chose experimental cancer treatment instead of traditional therapies and gained years of his life that he probably wouldn't have had otherwise.

Risk/reward game.

A little food for thought, in the form of a quote from a friend:

"They have these "standards" for foods that they won't allow in their store, like anything with hydrogenated oil, or high fructose corn syrup. But they're fine with selling homeopathic remedies, and healing crystals"

Show me the research that shows homeopathic remedies and healing crystals hurt people.

They may not hurt directly, but I think that it's a problem when people turn to ineffective CAMs and shun treatment with proven efficacy. In some circumstances it might be fine, but in others it can be deadly.

My grandfather chose experimental cancer treatment instead of traditional therapies and gained years of his life that he probably wouldn't have had otherwise.

Risk/reward game.

So did my father-in-law.

It wasn't CAM though. That's quite different.

The experimental cancer treatment probably didn't consist purely of sugar pills.

Experimental treatments and magic crystals are not quite the same thing.

If Whole Foods ever markets homeopathic or crystal treatments for cancer and doesn't include information that these products have no substantiation in the meaningful treatment of cancer, I would be convinced to stop shopping there. The day they sell Chemo Crystals and Chemopathy is the day I would take my business 100% elsewhere. (In truth, I actually can't remember the last time I was there, as another chain opened much closer to home and they have a comparable selection. The grocery store near me has also gotten much better in that way.)

um... so that clean eating thread was actually really insightful and constructive... weird... of all the threads to disappear.

I was just thinking that! But I realized I may have turned into an MFP bully because I was surprised to see the paleo threads get deleted. There was a lot of disagreement, but I didn't think there was any over the top disrespect.

um... so that clean eating thread was actually really insightful and constructive... weird... of all the threads to disappear.

I was just thinking that! But I realized I may have turned into an MFP bully because I was surprised to see the paleo threads get deleted. There was a lot of disagreement, but I didn't think there was any over the top disrespect.

Yup. And I think disagreement is a good thing.

gotta be honest I don't get the whole "making a thread disappear" game.

if the mods don't like it... just lock it. but don't pretend like it never happened - especially when it wasn't bad to begin with in MFP terms. so silly.

gotta be honest I don't get the whole "making a thread disappear" game.

if the mods don't like it... just lock it. but don't pretend like it never happened - especially when it wasn't bad to begin with in MFP terms. so silly.

Being home from work has made me realize how much I miss during the day. But I am not questioning mod decisions. I just like being here during the day.

oh i like playing with fire