5 ms·

One of my friends nicknamed Whole Foods as "Whole Paycheck" - its apt. I was absolutely aghast at the prices at whole foods the first time I went in. 6 dollars

by Aloha 10y ago

One of my friends nicknamed Whole Foods as "Whole Paycheck" - its apt. I was absolutely aghast at the prices at whole foods the first time I went in. 6 dollars for a gallon of milk, for example. I love the selection of Whole Foods - I don't like the price however enough to shop there. When I need something you'd typically find at the "organic" food store, I'm much more likely to go find a local co-op type place, which while not much cheaper, leaves me feeling a little better about myself when I'm done shopping.

pfranz 10y ago
It might be where I live, but the sticker shock of Whole Foods just seemed like a veneer for me (things I don't buy)--although, it's probably just how I shop. The big thing I noticed was the natural, but not organic items were way cheaper at Whole Foods than the grocery store. Things like cage-free eggs, basic peanut butter (just peanuts and salt), or almond milk. The organic things, prepared food, soaps and stuff were all ludicrously priced. Co-ops, farmers market, or a place like Trader Joes is still cheaper, but not always available. But I'm probably not the kind of person driving up their profits.
bosie 10y ago
I have never been to the US but is 6 dollars for a gallon of organic milk considered a lot? What do you normally pay for it?
- vidoc 10y ago
  That would be cheap for a gallon!
  - ZephyrP 10y ago
    In San Francisco at Foods Co (Folsom & 14th), a gallon of milk is presently $2.49.
    - vidoc 10y ago
      But it's not organic is it? I'm sure across the street at Rainbow Market the gal will be organic and much much more than $6, but hey I dislike milk so it's just a rough guess :P Besides, I've always been impressed by the symbolic beauty of the proximity of both stores, you couldn't get a better metaphor of how the city is changing.
      - ssalazar 10y ago
        True though Rainbow Grocery in fact predates Foods Co by quite a bit [source: drove by that spot regularly when Foods Co was an empty lot]. Farm-to-table food culture seems to have pretty cleanly transitioned its demographic from hippies to socially conscious technology workers.
  - briandear 10y ago
    Agreed -- Europe has all sorts of government-sanctioned price fixing. If the price of milk drops in France, the farmers starts to burn stuff and throw rocks. However, in the US, agriculture subsidies are less transparent. But then again, in France, you get to pay high taxes AND pay higher prices. The problem in France, from my perspective is that there is an obsession with 'saving farmers,' when many of them really ought to leave the market due to inefficiencies. You see similar dynamics in Korea with rice import quotas -- high consumer prices for rice because rice farming has been a protected industry. Henry Hazlit's "Economics in One Lesson" explains this idea pretty succinctly. Essentially "protecting" the special interest harms the general interest, but that harm isn't easily identified since your average consumer isn't protesting higher milk prices but farmers often violently or vocally protest lower milk prices.
    - mschuster91 10y ago
      > The problem in France, from my perspective is that there is an obsession with 'saving farmers,' when many of them really ought to leave the market due to inefficiencies. Yeah and what's left then? Huge megafactories with no regard to animal welfare, and providing next to zero jobs to the rural job market? No thanks, it's already bad enough here as it is, Europe doesn't have to go down the US route.
    - yummyfajitas 10y ago
      If the price of milk drops in France, the farmers starts to burn stuff and throw rocks. A year ago, taxi drivers were assaulting Uber drivers/passengers for similar reasons. Apparently farmers do this too? Are large segments of French society just a bunch of thugs who will engage in violence against society if they are not given tribute? Do the police not crack down and jail people, sending a message that this is not to be tolerated? Is this a situation like Berkeley 2017, or the American South around Jim Crow, where the rioters/terrorists are implicitly sanctioned by the government? This situation sounds really surprising from an American perspective and I'm really curious what's going on.
      - vidoc 10y ago
        > Apparently farmers do this too? Are large segments of French society just a bunch of thugs who will engage in violence against society if they are not given tribute? Hehe, I'll cautiously take out the qualification of 'thugs' if you don't mind, but basically yes, French protesting culture is a little bit more inclined to engage in violence. Not all social groups do tho, classically, public transportation workers usually leave it to simply freezing their infrastructure. Farmers don't always engage in violence, they sometimes opt for allegories such as dumping truckloads of cattle feces in front of administrative buildings. The legend says that the most hardcore ones are the 'Syndicat du livre'. Empirical evidence seems to suggest that protests with a little bit of action get better media coverage than polite marchs with signs.
atomical 10y ago
I've heard the whole paycheck thing before. I used to shop at Whole Foods when I wanted junk food. Of any store they usually have the best selection. I'd rather shop at Mariano's though. Better price and better produce.
gaius 10y ago
There's one in London, they always have fresh fish on display - more than they can possibly sell in a day, and if you go there before closing time, it's all still there. The cost of these vanity displays has got to be included in the margin.
doseofreality 10y ago
Uh, your friend did not invent that nickname. It has been around for more than a decade and is used commonly including in media articles about Whole Foods.
- jessaustin 10y ago
  I'm pretty sure I've seen the phrase "Whole Paycheck" in a TV show as a sort of "dad joke" to encourage the viewer to despise the lame character who used it.
WillPostForFood 10y ago
Was in Whole Foods today, a gallon of non-organic milk is only $3.49. Here is a photo: http://i.imgur.com/Kq7Xa4G.jpg http://i.imgur.com/Kq7Xa4G.jpg Organic milk was $6.49.

by Aloha 10y ago

pfranz 10y ago

It might be where I live, but the sticker shock of Whole Foods just seemed like a veneer for me (things I don't buy)--although, it's probably just how I shop. The big thing I noticed was the natural, but not organic items were way cheaper at Whole Foods than the grocery store. Things like cage-free eggs, basic peanut butter (just peanuts and salt), or almond milk. The organic things, prepared food, soaps and stuff were all ludicrously priced. Co-ops, farmers market, or a place like Trader Joes is still cheaper, but not always available. But I'm probably not the kind of person driving up their profits.

bosie 10y ago

I have never been to the US but is 6 dollars for a gallon of organic milk considered a lot? What do you normally pay for it?

vidoc 10y ago
That would be cheap for a gallon!
- ZephyrP 10y ago
  In San Francisco at Foods Co (Folsom & 14th), a gallon of milk is presently $2.49.
  - vidoc 10y ago
    But it's not organic is it? I'm sure across the street at Rainbow Market the gal will be organic and much much more than $6, but hey I dislike milk so it's just a rough guess :P Besides, I've always been impressed by the symbolic beauty of the proximity of both stores, you couldn't get a better metaphor of how the city is changing.
    - ssalazar 10y ago
      True though Rainbow Grocery in fact predates Foods Co by quite a bit [source: drove by that spot regularly when Foods Co was an empty lot]. Farm-to-table food culture seems to have pretty cleanly transitioned its demographic from hippies to socially conscious technology workers.
- briandear 10y ago
  Agreed -- Europe has all sorts of government-sanctioned price fixing. If the price of milk drops in France, the farmers starts to burn stuff and throw rocks. However, in the US, agriculture subsidies are less transparent. But then again, in France, you get to pay high taxes AND pay higher prices. The problem in France, from my perspective is that there is an obsession with 'saving farmers,' when many of them really ought to leave the market due to inefficiencies. You see similar dynamics in Korea with rice import quotas -- high consumer prices for rice because rice farming has been a protected industry. Henry Hazlit's "Economics in One Lesson" explains this idea pretty succinctly. Essentially "protecting" the special interest harms the general interest, but that harm isn't easily identified since your average consumer isn't protesting higher milk prices but farmers often violently or vocally protest lower milk prices.
  - mschuster91 10y ago
    > The problem in France, from my perspective is that there is an obsession with 'saving farmers,' when many of them really ought to leave the market due to inefficiencies. Yeah and what's left then? Huge megafactories with no regard to animal welfare, and providing next to zero jobs to the rural job market? No thanks, it's already bad enough here as it is, Europe doesn't have to go down the US route.
  - yummyfajitas 10y ago
    If the price of milk drops in France, the farmers starts to burn stuff and throw rocks. A year ago, taxi drivers were assaulting Uber drivers/passengers for similar reasons. Apparently farmers do this too? Are large segments of French society just a bunch of thugs who will engage in violence against society if they are not given tribute? Do the police not crack down and jail people, sending a message that this is not to be tolerated? Is this a situation like Berkeley 2017, or the American South around Jim Crow, where the rioters/terrorists are implicitly sanctioned by the government? This situation sounds really surprising from an American perspective and I'm really curious what's going on.
    - vidoc 10y ago
      > Apparently farmers do this too? Are large segments of French society just a bunch of thugs who will engage in violence against society if they are not given tribute? Hehe, I'll cautiously take out the qualification of 'thugs' if you don't mind, but basically yes, French protesting culture is a little bit more inclined to engage in violence. Not all social groups do tho, classically, public transportation workers usually leave it to simply freezing their infrastructure. Farmers don't always engage in violence, they sometimes opt for allegories such as dumping truckloads of cattle feces in front of administrative buildings. The legend says that the most hardcore ones are the 'Syndicat du livre'. Empirical evidence seems to suggest that protests with a little bit of action get better media coverage than polite marchs with signs.

atomical 10y ago

I've heard the whole paycheck thing before. I used to shop at Whole Foods when I wanted junk food. Of any store they usually have the best selection. I'd rather shop at Mariano's though. Better price and better produce.

gaius 10y ago

There's one in London, they always have fresh fish on display - more than they can possibly sell in a day, and if you go there before closing time, it's all still there. The cost of these vanity displays has got to be included in the margin.

doseofreality 10y ago

Uh, your friend did not invent that nickname. It has been around for more than a decade and is used commonly including in media articles about Whole Foods.

jessaustin 10y ago
I'm pretty sure I've seen the phrase "Whole Paycheck" in a TV show as a sort of "dad joke" to encourage the viewer to despise the lame character who used it.

WillPostForFood 10y ago

Was in Whole Foods today, a gallon of non-organic milk is only $3.49. Here is a photo: http://i.imgur.com/Kq7Xa4G.jpg http://i.imgur.com/Kq7Xa4G.jpg Organic milk was $6.49.