Nolte: Whole Foods CEO Under Fire for Connecting American Obesity to Coronavirus Deaths

WASHINGTON - DECEMBER 09: John Mackey, CEO of Whole Foods, speaks while surrounded by Whol
Mark Wilson/Getty Images

In today’s edition of Speaking Truth Is No Longer Allowed, Whole Foods CEO John Mackey is under attack for daring to connect poor eating habits to coronavirus fatalities and terrible life choices.

During a conversation with the far-left New York Times, Mackey said,

Some people have been moving in the right direction, and the majority of people in the wrong direction. We can see that through the way people eat today versus the way they ate 50 or 60 years ago. Statistically, we definitely moved in the wrong direction. The whole world is getting fat, it’s just that Americans are at the leading edge of that. We’re getting fat, and we’re getting sicker, by the way. I mean, there’s a very high correlation between obesity and [coronavirus] deaths. And one of the reasons the United States has had more of a problem with [coronavirus] is simply that the comorbidities like diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, they’re just higher in the U.S.

Good stuff. All obviously accurate, but because the far-left Times is about ideology over truth, the interviewer began shaming Mackey.

“For those who don’t have access to a Whole Foods or can’t afford to shop at a Whole Foods,” the Times asked,  “where do you think other companies or the government might be able to intervene to offer better, healthier options?”

God bless ’em, Mackey was having none of it:

In some sense, we’re all food addicts. We love things that are rich, that are sweet. We love ice cream. We love popcorn. We love French fried potatoes. And the market is providing people what they want. I don’t think there’s an access problem. I think there’s a market demand problem. People have got to become wiser about their food choices. And if people want different foods, the market will provide it.

Here’s my favorite part: “Whole Foods has opened up stores in inner cities. We’ve opened up stores in poor areas. And we see the choices,” he said. “It’s less about access and more about people making poor choices, mostly due to ignorance.”

Mackey also refused to trash Trump or to discuss politics in any way.

So as you can imagine, the left-wing babies this country’s cursed with are furious.

Here are just a few notable examples:

“Outrage as Whole Foods CEO Says Ignorance and Poor Choices Cause Obesity”

“Whole Foods CEO slammed as ‘fascist piece of s**t’ for fat-shaming world amid Covid-19”

“Once Again, the ‘Obesity Epidemic’ Makes a Handy Scapegoat For America’s Systemic Failures”

“Whole Foods founder has decided we’re fat because we’re ignorant”

Here’s what we know for a fact…

We know obesity is a problem in America. We know obesity is a co-morbidity when it comes to the China Flu, and we know access to food is no problem, because if access to food was a problem people wouldn’t be fat, most especially poor people, and obesity is a real problem among the poor.

So now, because of the left’s unwillingness to hold anyone personally responsible for anything, including what they choose to put in their own mouths… Because the left is determined to turn every problem into a government problem and an example that proves America is a failed state, obesity is being blamed on a lack of money and a lack of access to healthy foods.

What a load of crap.

You want to see a much skinnier population with a whole lot less money and whole lot less access to food? Go back in time to America anytime before World War II. Oddly enough, people managed to stay thin with a whole lot less disposable income and a whole lot less food.

Let me use myself as an example as to why this is a load of crap.

I am a health nut who has never purchased a single thing at a Whole Foods or any kind of health food store. I turn 55 next year. I’m six feet tall. I weigh 174 pounds. I fit in pants with a 34 inch waist. Not to brag, but you could bounce a quarter off my ass, and I spend next to nothing on my diet.

My diet is made up of foods that can be purchased anywhere: eggs, canned vegetables, English muffins, chicken, pork, one-percent milk, coffee, diet soda, cheese, sausage links, vanilla yogurt, almonds, and the occasional protein bar.

The fact I’m in good shape for a man my age, any age really,  is due to my choices. Mostly though, I’m in good shape because of what I don’t purchase, what I don’t bring into my home… Breads, sugars, chips, crap, crap, and more crap.

What’s more, there is nothing exotic about my diet. Everything I listed is available everywhere in America, and it’s every bit as cheap as crap.

That’s not to say crap isn’t everywhere and ridiculously  inexpensive.

But that’s where making responsible choices comes from…

You gunna buy the dozen eggs for $1.39 or three packages of processed sausage biscuits for $4.99?

You gunna buy the chicken breast for $4.99 a pound and a can of whole corn for 79 cents, or the $5.00 dollar pizza and frozen garlic bread for $2.99?

People on food stamps could afford my diet easy.

It’s all about choices.

If my only option was a convenience store, I could stay trim for less money than it would take to get fat.

Hey, I’m not scolding anyone. Live and let live. You want to enjoy food and balloon up, that’s your choice. If food makes you happy and that happiness is worth putting on a few mind, go with God.  Your eating habits are your business.

I once saw a guy eating a cheeseburger, smoking a Winston, and driving without a seatbelt.  Hard not to admire a guy like that.

So let’s not kid ourselves. People are choosing pleasure over optimum health. That is a choice. That is a choice they should be allowed to make. But it is a choice. 

Follow John Nolte on Twitter @NolteNC. Follow his Facebook Page here.

COMMENTS

Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.