Whole Concerns

I made a salad last night with red cabbage, dandelion greens and cilantro with an Asian style oil and vinegar dressing.    It was yummy.   All the ingredients - I picked up fresh at our farmers market.   Along with the apples and broccoli that the kids had with their pizza.  Y’all know how I love the farmers market.   

So we were sitting at the table moaning about how great all these fresh things tasted, and I noted how surprised I was to find so much variety this time of year.   I had asked one of the farmers if he grew his broccoli and tomatoes in a greenhouse.   “No,” he said.   “I grow them in Irvine.”  

The conversation turned from fresh veggies from the farmers market to the latest public relations gaffe from the CEO of Whole Foods.   In other places I’ve lived, I loved that store.    I occasionally go to our local one, but with less frequency.   Between the daily local farmers’ markets, my love affair with Trader Joe’s, and this wonderful grocery store called Sprouts - which is like a Whole Foods in that it has the whole natural foods and products thing going on with a lot less attitude, I have had fewer reasons to go to WF.    

Brian and I were contemplating what the latest statement by the WF CEO would do to business.   Austin piped up and asked us to explain what had happened.    

“Okay, Whole Foods:   think about how they are different from other grocery stores - they are trying to attract people who are into organic foods and other products, vegetarians and vegans, who are for fair trade, etc.,”  I said.   “These people as a demographic are overwhelmingly liberal or progressive in their politics.  Not everyone who shops there, but the customers are going to trend in that direction.  A few months ago, the CEO came out against the health plan agenda that most progressives have been fighting for . . . “

Austin cut me off,  “Oh no.   Not good.   I get it.    That’s pretty stupid.”   

I continued, “And, now the latest is that he’s basically said something like he doesn’t believe there’s scientific evidence of climate change.”   

“WHAT?!”  Austin exclaimed and turned bright red.    

And then, my ten-year-old goes off into this long, loud rant with things like  “JUST LOOK AROUND!”  and “THE EVIDENCE IS IN NATURE!” and on and on and on in a way that makes me look at him with a little awe and wonder because it’s one of those rare moments when I am reminded that he IS my child.    

And the rant goes on and on with sprinklings of “WE CANNOT SHOP THERE ANYMORE!” and I’m proudly thinking “my little activist” and my heart is getting all warm and mushy.   

Then Will, who has been sitting silently, watching and listening, suddenly pipes up, in his sweet little innocent voice, expressing his biggest concern about the whole thing, asks,  “But does they have toys there?”