Berkeley Protest Demands Boycott of Whole Foods After CEO Comes Out Against Public Health Care

In an August 11th opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal (it is also available on the Whole Foods website), Mackey wrote in a piece entitled "The Whole Foods Alternative to ObamaCare" that the "last thing our country needs is a massive new health-care entitlement" and that health care for the poor should take place through "voluntary, tax-deductible donations" rather than government funding. He goes on to ask "While all of us empathize with those who are sick, how can we say that all people have more of an intrinsic right to health care than they have to food or shelter?"

Mackey has always held Libertarian views and is well known for being anti-Union even comparing them to herpes. Shortly before the inauguration of President Barack Obama, the manager of a Whole Foods grocery store in the San Francisco Bay Area reportedly called a meeting because Whole Foods believed Obama would sign the Employee Free Choice Act, and threatened employees that "every benefit you have" could be "thrown out the window" if they formed a Union. Whole Foods has also been known to fire employees who have tried to Unionize stores. Mackey's health care editorial was apparently partially written by Lanny Davis, who aside from lobbying for the coup regime in Honduras is working with Mackey to stop the Employee Free Choice Act from allowing card checks or binding arbitration.

Many people all over the country are now demanding a boycott of Whole Foods and Wild Oats, which Whole Foods bought up a few years ago (Mackey was investigated by the SEC after anonymously trying to talk down the stock price of Wild Oats before he bought it).

People in Berkeley are encouraged to protest at lunch time during the week in front of the Telegraph Ave location. More information about Berkeley protests and protests across the country are available on the Boycott Whole Foods Facebook page and on Daily Kos