John Mackey, co-founder and CEO of Whole Foods Inc., says the world is already moving past the era of “industrial agriculture” and into what he calls “the ecological era.” He spent about 50 minutes describing his vision in an unusual appearance Feb. 27 together with author Michael Pollan at the University of California Journalism School at Berkeley. You can watch a video of the event, though be forewarned, it may not be smooth sailing—mine stalled and crashed several times.
Considering he’s CEO of a $5-billion-plus corporation, Mackey’s presentation was remarkably candid. For example, he included a gruesome five-minute video of the abusive treatment experienced by most chickens and cows in this country. (“More than 100,000 cows are unable to walk off transport trucks, yet they are slaughtered for food anyhow,” says the narrator.)
Mackey sees “the ecological era” as “a reform movement…attempting to correct industrial farming.” Here are some of its components:
–Demand for organic food has become a worldwide phenomenon, already “outstripping supply,” he said. Europe has about two-thirds of the world’s organic food under cultivation, with North American having about 23%. The sharpest growth, though, is coming from the United States. Other areas are getting in on the act as well; Thailand and the Philippines are the largest producers of organic rice and Mexico the leading organic tropical fruit producer.
–Consumers are increasingly demanding food attributes “beyond organic,” said Mackey. For example, they want to know how cows, chickens, and pigs are being treated. He said Whole Foods is trying to meet this demand by instituting rating systems of organic farms in terms of such things as soil management and animal welfare practices. He argued that many farms producing organic milk and free range chickens “often have inadequate animal welfare standards.”
–Corporations may play a larger role in this new era than we expect. Mackey pointed out that the perception of corporate organic farms taking over the organic movement is misplaced—only 22% of Whole Foods’ organic food comes from large corporate farms. He advised advocates of small farms to “stop the morality play madness” that stamps all corporate efforts as evil. “Corporations are not necessarily evil.”
–Agriculture subsidies will likely fade. Mackey came down hard on European and American subsidies to farmers, arguing that they make it more difficult for farmers from underdeveloped countries to compete.
Mackey also committed Whole Foods to expanded efforts to support fair trade and “ethically traded foods.” And he posed this question to the 2,000 audience members, who enthusiastically greeted him: “What is your contribution to help our planet evolve into an ecological era?”
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