Whole Foods buys Wild Oats

[LordOpie]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/6387627.stm

For those who don't know, Wal-Mart has gotten into the organic foods market and it looks like competition will hopefully lead to better products at better prices.

While I support Wal-Mart in their efforts, I'll still shop at Whole Foods.

[Heidi]

I saw that in the Business section today. We only have Wild Oats here right now so I guess it will change, though how much I don't know. Aren't they pretty similar?

[LordOpie]

They're very similar, but the WF here have a larger selection than the WO. I doubt individual WO will change much, but new ones will be bigger with neater stuff.

[dogwonder]

It's purely a defense against the big grocers getting into organics. This will (hopefully) prevent WF from getting squeezed out.

[I Are Baboon]

I saw that in the Business section today. We only have Wild Oats here right now so I guess it will change, though how much I don't know. Aren't they pretty similar?

We have both here. I like Whole Foods WAY better. Whole Foods just has a much better selection of pretty much everything.

That said, Whole Foods is TEH EVIL!!!! We're in there 15 minutes and spend $175. :rant:

[TN]

I hope they turn our wild oats into whole foods. But I cant afford to shop at either so it really doesnt matter.

[OGRipper]

It's too bad that "organic" doesn't mean what it used to, it's sadly becoming little more than a marketing tool co-opted by big business. Yes, it still pretty much means no antibiotics or harsh chemicals which is good, but it has almost nothing to do with local production or sustainability. How's about shipping truckloads of lettuce from california to a central processing facility in the midwest, then shipping it back to california for sale? Burning all that gas is pretty much the antithesis of the original organic movement. :disgust1:

[LordOpie]

It's too bad that "organic" doesn't mean what it used to, it's sadly becoming little more than a marketing tool co-opted by big business. Yes, it still pretty much means no antibiotics or harsh chemicals which is good, but it has almost nothing to do with local production or sustainability. How's about shipping truckloads of lettuce from california to a central processing facility in the midwest, then shipping it back to california for sale? Burning all that gas is pretty much the antithesis of the original organic movement. :disgust1:
That was one positive of Wild Oats. They were 'more' organic than Whole Foods. They buy and process only local product.

As for sustainable, that's why I support Wal-Mart. They're setting up rules, oversight, etc for their vendors. They're starting with wild fish -- vendor's must meet requirements for fishing in self-sustaining environments. They won't allow over-fishing.

Also, W-M is switching their fleet over -- all 7000 company owned trucks -- to alternative/hybrid systems in the next five years. W-M is quickly becoming the model global citizen that others will follow.

[SkaredShtles]

That was one positive of Wild Oats. They were 'more' organic than Whole Foods. They buy and process only local product.
I don't know about this. 'Cause you can get fresh oranges in Wild Oats and I'm pretty sure there aren't any orange groves in Colorado. :think:

[LordOpie]

ok, I mis-spoke... they buy local wherever and whenever available.

You can't get blood from a stone.

[bean]

Whole Foods has been marking the items that are local to each store. I'm not sure if it's something they just started recently, but I've been noticing it more often.

[ASX_Andy]

yeah my friends dad actually lost his job in this buyout..unfortunate if you ask me. wild oats was a good company