4 ms·

With regards to homeopathic remedies, I would argue find store that sells any health products that doesn't have at least a small shelf dedicated to homeopathic

by csydas 9y ago

With regards to homeopathic remedies, I would argue find store that sells any health products that doesn't have at least a small shelf dedicated to homeopathic remedies. I agree with you that the basis for the homeopathic remedies is non-sense, but it also strikes me as a caveat emptor, to a certain point. As for the other half, are you suggesting that only those of liberal politics would ever buy organic or fresh produce, or be taken in by the marketing of Whole Foods? The statement reads as a non-sequitur, and I'm not sure how it is relevant. Whole Foods sells an image and a promise of organic, and I'm pretty sure they will meet the current US legal definition of organic for whatever they're selling. It's not a relevant factor for me when buying, but I wouldn't call people who do buy there "gullible", as I'm pretty sure Whole Foods is giving the customer exactly what they want.

guelo 9y ago
I probably shouldn't have used liberals and derailed my thought with politics. I had more of a stereotype in my head that probably has less to do with politics, and more to do with having money, and a certain amount of guilt about money, and thinking you can use the money to ameliorate some of that guilt. This would be a very gullible stereotype to have as a customer and you could see how marketing would be tempted to go over the top making up new things to feel guilty about and new ways to spend money to feel less guilty about them.
- origami777 9y ago
  I think it's much simpler than that. People that have the money to buy healthy food simply like to buy healthy food. The food there is excellent. I'm not rich by any standard and I love shopping there because to me it is high quality. Go to a typical large grocery store deli, then go to Whole Foods deli, you can easily see which one is better. I'm not sure where you came up with the "I feel guilty about the money I have so I'm going to spend it on foods that are healthy (or claim to be healthy, I'm not sure if you're making that connection or not)" construct. Seems like a reach.
  - guelo 9y ago
    I am making that connection. I don't think there's much difference between hawking homeopathic medicine and expensive "Veganic Sprouted Ancient Maize Flakes".
  - marcoperaza 9y ago
    Organic food has nothing to do with health. Organic refers to the type of fertilizers and pesticides used and is 100% a gimmick. Abandoning inorganic chemical fertilizers and pesticides would lead to mass starvation across the world. And in terms of the food quality, there is no evidence that it makes any meaningful difference.
    - JumpCrisscross 9y ago
      Being organic doesn't make food healthier. Whole Foods just seems to have paid attention to procuring good produce. For the premium they charge, they can afford to buy the best product.
    - tcj_phx 9y ago
      > And in terms of the food quality, there is no evidence that it makes an iota of meaningful difference. Some oranges are sweet, and make delicious orange juice. Some oranges are sour, and make sour orange juice. When I'm shopping for oranges, my first choice is locally-grown, then organic, then I might try whatever 'conventional' orange the store happens to carry. I find some stores to be more reliable for carrying decent oranges than others. I think Trader Joe's organic frozen orange juice is more reliable than the other frozen orange juices that I've tried. tldr: IMO organic oranges are usually sweeter than non-organic; local > organic.
      - saiya-jin 9y ago
        judging quality of the fruit on sugar content is a poor health choice I am afraid. or sure path to diabetes and one hell of a health cluster-fuck down the road. take bananas for example - unripe are not sweet, ripe or over-ripe (if that's a word for yellow-brownish) are sweet. BUT - taste quality for this food is in "banana-taste" - taste one in Europe retail store or US, and go to some equatorial republic and pick up one from the tree. the difference in taste is staggering, and it transform the mediocre fruit into mounth-watering experience (just came from Seychelles, I guess I won't eat any back home for a while). it's what you wrote - local fresh above all. One of the reasons I avoid sweet apples - many just became too sweet and I don't believe they are healthy food anymore. I read somewhere people buy more sweet ones, so it makes sense for producers to grow those, but this ain't for me anymore.

by csydas 9y ago

guelo 9y ago

I probably shouldn't have used liberals and derailed my thought with politics. I had more of a stereotype in my head that probably has less to do with politics, and more to do with having money, and a certain amount of guilt about money, and thinking you can use the money to ameliorate some of that guilt. This would be a very gullible stereotype to have as a customer and you could see how marketing would be tempted to go over the top making up new things to feel guilty about and new ways to spend money to feel less guilty about them.

origami777 9y ago
I think it's much simpler than that. People that have the money to buy healthy food simply like to buy healthy food. The food there is excellent. I'm not rich by any standard and I love shopping there because to me it is high quality. Go to a typical large grocery store deli, then go to Whole Foods deli, you can easily see which one is better. I'm not sure where you came up with the "I feel guilty about the money I have so I'm going to spend it on foods that are healthy (or claim to be healthy, I'm not sure if you're making that connection or not)" construct. Seems like a reach.
- guelo 9y ago
  I am making that connection. I don't think there's much difference between hawking homeopathic medicine and expensive "Veganic Sprouted Ancient Maize Flakes".
- marcoperaza 9y ago
  Organic food has nothing to do with health. Organic refers to the type of fertilizers and pesticides used and is 100% a gimmick. Abandoning inorganic chemical fertilizers and pesticides would lead to mass starvation across the world. And in terms of the food quality, there is no evidence that it makes any meaningful difference.
  - JumpCrisscross 9y ago
    Being organic doesn't make food healthier. Whole Foods just seems to have paid attention to procuring good produce. For the premium they charge, they can afford to buy the best product.
  - tcj_phx 9y ago
    > And in terms of the food quality, there is no evidence that it makes an iota of meaningful difference. Some oranges are sweet, and make delicious orange juice. Some oranges are sour, and make sour orange juice. When I'm shopping for oranges, my first choice is locally-grown, then organic, then I might try whatever 'conventional' orange the store happens to carry. I find some stores to be more reliable for carrying decent oranges than others. I think Trader Joe's organic frozen orange juice is more reliable than the other frozen orange juices that I've tried. tldr: IMO organic oranges are usually sweeter than non-organic; local > organic.
    - saiya-jin 9y ago
      judging quality of the fruit on sugar content is a poor health choice I am afraid. or sure path to diabetes and one hell of a health cluster-fuck down the road. take bananas for example - unripe are not sweet, ripe or over-ripe (if that's a word for yellow-brownish) are sweet. BUT - taste quality for this food is in "banana-taste" - taste one in Europe retail store or US, and go to some equatorial republic and pick up one from the tree. the difference in taste is staggering, and it transform the mediocre fruit into mounth-watering experience (just came from Seychelles, I guess I won't eat any back home for a while). it's what you wrote - local fresh above all. One of the reasons I avoid sweet apples - many just became too sweet and I don't believe they are healthy food anymore. I read somewhere people buy more sweet ones, so it makes sense for producers to grow those, but this ain't for me anymore.