Why Some Twitter Users Have Vowed To Stop Shopping At Whole Foods

With a slew of colorful organic produce and healthy snack options at your behest, grocery store shoppers are still finding reasons to not give their hard-earned money to Whole Foods. While the major corporation's affordability has taken a positive turn in the last six months, there are still bigger issues brewing beneath the surface for the natural grocer's workers and progressive customers.

There may be some scandals in Whole Foods' history that the company will never be able to live down. Sure you can laugh at the idea of asparagus water, but some past grievances with the company are far from comical. Not only has the natural food store lost customers by advertising through the far-right news site Breitbart in 2017, but since the Amazon acquisition of Whole Foods that same year, employees of the natural food store suffered due to labor shortages and increased demand for marketing efforts (via The Guardian).

The proverbial buck doesn't stop there either: Apart from Whole Foods cutting healthcare benefits for 1,900 part-time workers in 2019, one longstanding employee filed a lawsuit against the health-infused grocer for discrimination against black employees attempting to move up in the company (per Philadelphia). As if these incidents didn't make progressive shoppers weary already, according to Twitter, they now have another reason to find somewhere else to shop.

The upheaval began a few days ago when public figures began tweeting their disdain for the founder and CEO of Whole Foods, John Mackey based on his recent interview on the "Reason" podcast. Screenwriter Randy Mayem Singer tweeted her declaration to no longer spend money at the high-priced grocery store due to Mackey's conservative claims and general disappointment with Gen Z'ers' work ethic. The singer tagged an Independent article regarding his statements, asking for retweets.

While Mackey may be harboring a conspiracy theory that "socialists are taking over" (per "Reason"), Twitter users are building increased resentment for the founder. Not only has film director Billy Corben tweeted his distaste for Mackey, but one Twitter user mocked the CEO with a tweet stating "(selling my company to Amazon for $13 million dollars) No you see the problem is socialists are taking over" and then tagged Fortune's take on the claims.

Just today, Bloomberg released that Washington's top labor prosecutor, Jennifer Abruzzo will be going after Whole Foods for not allowing their employees to wear "Black Lives Matter" masks or clothing due to its controversial tones. While Whole Foods has a history of being against unionization for their staff, Abruzzo believes workers should be able to organize on a smaller level to increase their "mutual aid and protection" (via Bloomberg). As more people speak out, more rights may be granted to young people seeking employment at Whole Foods, regardless of their political stance.