whole food agenda

This current story on Whole Foods CEO, John Mackey, is hitting home the thought that just about everything can be corrupted. yes, just about everything. If you're not aware of the story, check out this link, or this link. Basically, he, the CEO of Whole Foods, poses as an anonymous user on Yahoo Chat rooms and makes negative statements about the rival company, Wild Oats, trying to influence their stock price. And all at the same time, Whole Foods is trying to buy out Wild Oats. There are other human, trivial, but funny, details.

I guess I respond to this story because it kind of hits home to that feeling of old-fashioned values, etc, etc. Alright - here are my trains of thought:

I'm trying to eat healthy, but it's been marketed to me that>>

>> regular food from big chains have been exposed to way too many pesticides, have all sorts of preservatives, and are mass-produced, harvested by immigrant children at 3am.

>> regular food contains obscene amounts of salt, fat, processed sugar, and trans fats

So I think that organic food (and by proxy organic food stores) will provide me with>>

>> food that was created on an idyllic setting, with gorgeous hillsides, azure sunrises, with cows and chickens, and berries on trees, and old farmers and their wives, leisurely climbing up ladders to pull down the ripest fruit (ok, a little extreme, but packaging can conjure a lot of images) - meaning - I'm supporting middle america and the values we admire in our grandparents (paraphrased to say the least)

>> healthy, whole grain, oats, fiber-rich substances that will clear up my atherosclerosis.

hmm...this is turning cynical.

Basically, I'm disappointed that we've finally (because I knew it was inevitable) brought organic food down to the level of business. Maybe I've always thought that "organic" food was about a healthier lifestyle, about being nicer to the environment, about honestly caring about fair trade and those who produce food for us.

I'll be honest, I've always been suspect of organic stores, and organic food in general. Granted, I'm frugal and I don't want to be paying premium for items that really don't address my health issues. Maybe the organic wave is now too much of a fad, and the marketing aspect has overshadowed the real benefits (and the lifestyle that should accompany it).