Since the advent of the “Whole Foods Republican” (Mike Petrilli’s Green Tea Movement—hawkish on spending, dovish on the environment), Whole Foods stores across the land have turned into political battlefields. On one side are right-of-center groups like the (Sweet) Tea-Partiers, Birthers, and Glenn Becktites, who have started shopping at the store, too. “This is a free country, right?” spat one woman, who refused to give her name because it might fall into government hands. “This store might be full a’ liberals, but they’ve got great Meyer lemons.” On the other side are more traditional shoppers, who contend that this new clientele will reduce their access to arugula, kefir, and tofurky. Krishna Zenn, owner of the I Love Mai-self Yoga studio, says, “Many of us are sensitive to the spirit of violence…when patronizing alongside others with such a blatant disregard for their Mother [Earth], it’s very hard to maintain inner peace.” But others are more welcoming to the new shoppers. Lead singer of an acclaimed indie rock band Neato Mosquito wrote on his “stream of consciousness” blog that, when he saw the army-sized SUV plastered with Glenn Beck stickers parked by the door, he wanted to ram his two-speed bike into it. “Then I realized I was missing the irony. I ran into the store to find the badass hipster who could pull that off.” Whole Foods’ parent company is staying mum as to the effect of the controversy on its bottom line.
“Whole Foods Republicans article a gateway for socially irresponsible new shoppers,” by Patience Isavirtue, Vegetarian Times, April 22, 2010
“Think you’re a hipster? Ditch the glasses, gain ten pounds, and stop wearing your sister’s jeans,” by Joe The Plumber, NeatoMosquito Blog, April 22, 2010