Because of market forces and some of the documentation regimes, the end cost to the consumer is higher without these things. One might think it's because the-pr

Because of market forces and some of the documentation regimes, the end cost to the consumer is higher without these things. One might think it's because the-products-without are less mainstream and less subject to economy of scale, or just because shopping at Whole Foods signals caring. That does not make Whole Foods a scam; it's complicated. Not picking on Whole Foods ( I've never even been there ) - they're just a visible metaphor for this phenomenon. There's something in our Values Map that seems to put profit at cross purposes to "human values" or "caring". It may also be that food "made by hand" is actually of higher quality since the producers have more control and are interested in it more as an... art statement(?). Maybe it is profit; maybe it ain't.