Super Eco

Photo credit: Whole Foods

Wouldn't it be wonderful if Americans could open a dialogue about health care that actually centered on health? We don't think it's at all far-fetched—and neither does Whole Foods CEO John Mackey, who wrote an editorial for The Wall Street Journal that criticizes President Barack Obama's proposed health care reform and suggests healthier diets as part of a proactive public health plan.

In Mackey's words: “Unfortunately many of our health-care problems are self-inflicted: two-thirds of Americans are now overweight and one-third are obese. Most of the diseases that kill us and account for about 70% of all health-care spending—heart disease, cancer, stroke, diabetes and obesity—are mostly preventable through proper diet, exercise, not smoking, minimal alcohol consumption and other healthy lifestyle choices.

"Recent scientific and medical evidence shows that a diet consisting of foods that are plant-based, nutrient dense and low-fat will help prevent and often reverse most degenerative diseases that kill us and are expensive to treat. We should be able to live largely disease-free lives until we are well into our 90s and even past 100 years of age.”

This is worthy of a public opinion firestorm? The Huffington Post put together an entire roundup of rants on the backlash, including a poll indicating that 57% of its readers declared they would not be setting food inside Whole Foods again. ... wait, people are boycotting Whole Foods because Mackey thinks Americans should avoid preventable diseases through better nutrition? Certainly people may disagree with the criticisms Mackey levelled at Obama's reform proposals, or they may observe that it's opportunistic for Mackey to suggest that people eat healthier (but then again, this is the CEO of a food chain—what were they expecting?). But pulling an ostrich maneuver over the idea of healthier food?

We smell a tinge of desperation in the air, the scent of consumers and companies who are deathly afraid that their "way of life"—toxic, fattening, artery-clogging or not—may be assailed if "healthy" foods are "forced" upon us. As environmentalists and natural health advocates, we may find this reaction befuddling, but we must remember to react with compassion to the feelings of people who perceive real discomfort and a real threat in the idea of changing their ways. Easy does it ... And stay tuned to Super Eco for more simple, unthreatening ways to green your entire life.