Whole Foods, Reportedly Liberal Grocery Chain, Under Fire For Comments Made By CEO John Mackey

After comments made by Whole Foods CEO John Mackey about “socialists taking over,” the upscale organic grocery store chain is facing a lot of blowback online.

Mackey shared his opinion on an August 10th podcast run by Reason, a libertarian magazine. He also said that the idea of Gen Z desiring “meaningful work” struck him as entitled, and argued that “liberties are under threat” as liberals “march through institutions” and unions gain more power in the United States.

In response, a number of posters wrote about wanting to boycott Whole Foods or shop at Trader Joe’s instead. A number of them compared Mackey to Tesla CEO and attempted Twitter owner Elon Musk, another CEO who's often labeled as politically at odds with his company's environmentally conscious target customers.

Whole Foods just became Tesla for me.

— Pam Keith, Esq. (@PamKeithFL) August 14, 2022

John Mackey, CEO of Whole Foods
Has decided to follow in the footsteps of Elon Musk
By attacking all his customers and driving them away in droves
Enjoy the boycott John

— William Buecker, VOTE BLUE (@wcbuecker) August 14, 2022

Thanks Whole Foods CEO for letting us know that you prefer us to shop at Trader Joe’s. We’ll be happy to take our business there.

— Nikki & Des are overeducated and miss having a cat (@NikkiandDes) August 14, 2022

Many found Mackey’s comments at odds with the brand image of Whole Foods, which is usually associated with liberal America and its cultural values. Mackey is leaving the company in September, and so has seemingly been more outspoken in his final weeks.

Whole Foods CEO John Mackey ‘concerned’ that ‘socialists are taking over’ REALLY?? You mean the liberals who make up most of your customer base???

— A man called David 😎🏌️‍♂️🌊🌊🇬🇧🇺🇸☮️ (@Davidtweets13) August 11, 2022

How stupid can this guy be? Does he realize his bread is buttered by liberals? 🤦🏼‍♀️

John Mackey: Whole Foods CEO says ‘socialists are taking over’ schools and gun control debate | The Independent https://t.co/VVoCufGmPm

— Jen ☮️🌎🌱🌊💙🇺🇸🌴😷🇺🇦 (@liliefleur) August 14, 2022

Some wondered whether Whole Foods would begin catering to the other side of America’s cultural divide, joking and memeing that Mackey might find a new customer base among those who wave the Confederate flag or support former President Donald Trump.

#MAGAFoods Formerly known as Whole Foods. pic.twitter.com/Vec8ceJnxg

— CHOOSY (@CH005Y) August 14, 2022

“Whole Foods has the best kombucha!” pic.twitter.com/6pU3LF0DFw

— Benji King (@BenjiKing13) August 14, 2022

Others, however, also applauded Mackey’s comments, such as Jordan Peterson's daughter Mikhalia.

A corporation standing up to woke insanity @WholeFoods 👏👏👏👏👏https://t.co/4LTm4rtjss pic.twitter.com/IEy6y0gQXx

— Mikhaila Peterson (@MikhailaFuller) August 14, 2022

Clips from a debate between Mackey and Professor Richard Wolff, in which Wolff questioned Mackey’s commitment to the free market in light of his selling Whole Foods to Amazon, also spread widely around Twitter and elsewhere.

In a debate discussing Capitalism vs. Socialism, watch @profwolff remind Whole Foods CEO John Mackey exactly who he sold his company to.pic.twitter.com/L5MgBYfz5G

— Revolutionary Blackout Network (@RevBlackNetwork) August 12, 2022

Other controversies involving Whole Foods were brought up, including the company’s refusal to let employees wear Black Lives Matter apparel.

Whole Foods has fired workers in 6 states for wearing Black Lives Matter apparel

The workers & NLRB say labor law protects their right to wear BLM apparel, but a Whole Foods lawyer told the NLRB that "President Trump referred to BLM as a 'symbol of hate'"https://t.co/qyxwX8DMud pic.twitter.com/KKJh6agFo3

— Steven Greenhouse (@greenhousenyt) August 15, 2022

Under Mackey’s leadership, Whole Foods has also been heavily criticized for attempting to undermine unionization efforts. A new boss, Jason Buechel, will take charge in September and has said he wants to reconnect with the company’s “heritage.” But many wonder if that will be possible, as Whole Foods is so deeply associated with Amazon and entirely owned by the tech and retail giant.