Whole Foods

Mark Morford talks about Whole Foods, here. If you read it and you're not familiar with Morford, keep your sense of humor about language. It won't hurt much, I promise.

But about Whole Foods. I know that even among the elite of Foodies, Whole Foods has its detractors. They are not perfect, especially from a local foods perspective. They started out with lots of local farmers on board, but have since gone the way of more and cheaper. I mentioned in an earlier post that their frozen veggies come from China and a lot of produce is from points Way South. A lot of meat is from New Zealand, a lot of fish is from everywhere else.

Okay, they're far from perfect. But Morford's right. They do more and better than nearly any other grocery chain in the country. If your choice is Safeway or Whole Foods, I know which one I'd recommend.

My preferred order for grocery shopping is a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture), the Farmer's Market, then Whole Foods. I get what I can from the first two and whatever else I need, comes from WF.

And it's easy to avoid the produce from other countries because at Whole Foods, they tell you where it's from. They'll give you the name of the farm, right there on the display. I don't see this being done in any other stores. Even though they've sold out in a lot of ways, they still offer lots of produce from local farmers. Buy that and try to find the organic version. That's the produce that's in season where you live. Which is the healthiest way to eat.

Unlike Morford, I'm not tempted by the fancy glitter. Even at Whole Foods, there are entire aisles I almost never go down, because I'm not after processed foods or wildly expensive gourmet items.

But my blessed Gaia - the cheese. I have no resistance in the cheese department. Can I have one of each, please?