Talk:John Mackey (businessman)/Archive 1

Archive 1

Reads like dictation

This reads like it was dictated by John Mackey himself to his secretary. 201.141.103.154 21:44, 29 June 2007 (UTC)

Added NPOV tag.

It's blatant.

194.144.92.20 00:34, 13 July 2007 (UTC)

Readded NPOV tag

The article reads as if it were from Mackey's own bio page. (There may be a more specific tag for this; I'm not sure.)--Media anthro 16:27, 14 July 2007 (UTC)

I've changed the article since then-- what do you think now?--Gloriamarie 04:04, 18 July 2007 (UTC)

This still does not read like a standard encyclopedia biography but more like something written by the marketing department.

Please give some examples.--Gloriamarie (talk) 17:40, 15 November 2008 (UTC)

date and place of birth

John was born, as I have added to his page, on 8/15/53 in Houston, Texas to Bill and Margaret Mackey. I know this because I am his sister, Dorothy Mackey Lurie'.

Deelurie (talk) 11:15, 23 May 2008 (UTC)deelurie

Thanks for your contribution. The page currently says he was born in 1954. Could you clarify whether it was 1953 or 1954?--Gloriamarie (talk) 17:45, 15 November 2008 (UTC)

Not vegan

that Mackey claims to be a vegan, and that this is worth mentioning in the article. However, he eats eggs, and therefore is not a vegan. Should he still be categorized as a vegan? I would vote "no." If Mackey claimed to be an astronaut, we would not put him in the "astronauts" category. Emperor Norton claimed to be an emperor, but he is not in the "emperors" category. --N-k 17:35, 21 February 2009 (UTC)

It's been five days and no one has disagreed with me here. I am removing Mackey from the "vegan" category. If you object, let's dispute it here on the talk page. --N-k 02:39, 26 February 2009 (UTC)

I re-added him to the vegan category and then just checked here. I am reading a book which states that Mackey is a vegan, and I have seen him described as such many times. What is your source that he eats eggs? There are also many vegans who may occasionally eat something with egg or dairy but that does not mean that overall, they are not vegan. It is not an all-or-nothing proposition. If he is not included in the vegan category, he should be in the vegetarian category.--Gloriamarie (talk) 23:52, 30 July 2009 (UTC)

Recent Wall Street Journal article about health care

Perhaps there should be something in the article about this. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 173.16.124.196 (talk) 03:43, 14 August 2009 (UTC)

Absolutely! Please feel free to add more information (but, please keep it objective). —Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.209.173.58 (talk) 17:12, 15 August 2009 (UTC)

Should the fact that a Facebook page calling for the boycott of Whole Foods has reached almost 10,000 Facebook users be added? http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=119099537379 Lothar76 (talk) 22:48, 16 August 2009 (UTC)

Please try to keep the edits to that section neutral (unlike some of the comments on this talk page and previous edits) and following the facts. --Gloriamarie (talk) 19:20, 19 August 2009 (UTC)

Use third-party sources

This sounds like a People article or fan magazine. Editors are supposed to use valid third-party sources about Mackey and his business, not his quotes about himself or his views. There have surely been business articles about the growth of Whole Foods and other organic businesses, Mackey's entrepreneurial career, etc. I've removed extensive primary quotes, as this constitutes OR.--Parkwells (talk) 14:07, 8 April 2010 (UTC)

Minor proposed changes to entry on John Mackey

Greetings. I'd like to introduce myself. I'm Anna Madrona, a Senior Editor on the Whole Foods Market (WFM) Communications Team and have worked at WFM off and on since 1985. I have been asked to update this entry on John Mackey, primarily to correct errors (some factual and some of slanted interpretaion) and provide some more current information. I'll start by suggesting the following tweaks to the entry on John Mackey (businessman). I truly want to work within the framework of this community and am new to your process and know that you'll guide me graciously. If there are no objections, I will make the edits to the site on August 27, 2012.

suggested updates: -from: Mackey married his current wife Deborah Morin in 1992.

-to: Mackey married his current wife, Deborah Morin, in 1991. They have no children.

-from: Mackey began his first health food store, Safer Way, in his garage in Austin in 1978,[2] with his girlfriend -Renee Lawson Hardy. They had met while working at a vegetarian co-op.[3] They dropped out of college.

to: Mackey co-founded his first health food store, SaferWay, with his girlfriend Renee Lawson (Hardy)in Austin in 1978. They met while living in a vegetarian housing co-op. [3]

-from: They borrowed $10,000 and raised $35,000 more to start a vegetarian grocery store which they named Safer Way.[3] It was the first vegetarian supermarket in Austin and all of Texas.[3] The two ran the market on the first floor, a health food restaurant on the second, and lived on the third story of their building. In two years, they merged Safer Way with a natural-foods store and renamed the business Whole Foods.[3]

-to: They borrowed $10,000 and raised $35,000 more to start a vegetarian grocery store which they named SaferWay.[3] At the time, Austin had several small health food stores. The two ran the market on the first floor, a health food restaurant on the second, and, for a short time, lived in the third story of their building. In two years, they merged SaferWay with Clarksville Natural Grocery and renamed the business Whole Foods Market.[3]

Lamadrona (talk) 00:39, 21 August 2012 (UTC)

Note: I received no comments or discussion so the changes were made on August 29, 2012

Hi there, Anna Madrona again with a few additional suggested edits.

Career

suggest the following minor edits:

From: They borrowed $10,000 and raised $35,000 more to start a vegetarian grocery store which they named SaferWay. At the time, Austin had several small health food stores. The two ran the market on the first floor, a health food restaurant on the second, and, for a short time, lived in the third story of their building. In two years, they merged SaferWay with Clarksville Natural Grocery and renamed the business Whole Foods Market.[3]

Mackey built Whole Foods into a national organization, with outlets in major markets across the country. Along the way he bought out smaller competitors. In 2007 Whole Foods took over a major natural foods supermarket competitor, Wild Oats Markets, Inc.

To: They borrowed $10,000 and raised $35,000 more to start a vegetarian grocery store which they named SaferWay. At the time, Austin had several small health food stores. The two ran the market on the first floor, a health food restaurant on the second, and, for a short time, lived in the third story of their building. In two years, they merged SaferWay with Clarksville Natural Grocery run by Mark Skiles and Craig Weller and renamed the business Whole Foods Market. All four (Mackey, Hardy-Lawson, Skiles and Weller) are considered co-founders of the business.[3]

Mackey built Whole Foods into an international organization, with outlets in major markets across the country, as well as Canada and the United Kingdom. Along the way he bought out smaller competitors. In 2007 Whole Foods purchased a major natural foods supermarket competitor, Wild Oats Markets, Inc.

Suggest eliminating this statement: The Organic Consumers Association has called attention to some of Whole Foods's organic product line. As a result, John Mackey sent a letter to the Association threatening a lawsuit. He claimed the petition circulated by the Association infringed on Whole Foods Market's intellectual property right.[5]

Here are the reasons for the suggested removal of the statements: first, it has nothing to do with John Mackey's career and really has nothing to do with Mackey from an "encyclopedia entry" perspective and is therefore not appropriate information to include in this entry; second, John Mackey did not send the cited letter, attorneys working for Whole Foods Market sent the letter, as they would if a copyright infringement were brought to the company's notice; third, a glance at the letter would inform the reader that the letter was sent because the organization sponsoring and circluating the petition illegally used the Whole Foods Market logo. The cited letter had nothing to do with the content or intention of petition itself.

Animal welfare Suggest the following minor edits:

From: Whole Foods was the first grocery chain to set standards for humane animal treatment.[2] Mackey was influenced by animal rights activist, Lauren Ornelas, who criticized Whole Foods' animal standards regarding ducks at a shareholder meeting in 2003. Mackey gave Ornelas his email address and they corresponded on the issue. He studied issues related to factory farming and decided to switch to what he considers veganism. He advocates tougher animal standards.[6]

Despite Whole Foods' welfare standards, Mackey has been criticized by abolitionist vegans such as Gary L. Francione. He believes the Whole Foods company policies betray the animal rights position.[7] By other accounts, Mackey is the "driving force" behind significant changes in animal welfare. For instance, he started a non-profit foundation, the Animal Compassion Foundation, to address making animal welfare more economically viable.[8]

To: Whole Foods was the first grocery chain to set standards for humane animal treatment.[2] Mackey was influenced by animal rights activist, Lauren Ornelas, who criticized Whole Foods' animal standards regarding ducks at a shareholder meeting in 2003. Mackey gave Ornelas his email address and they corresponded on the issue. He studied issues related to factory farming and decided to switch to a primarily vegan diet that included only eggs from his own chickens. Since 2006 he has followed an entirely plant-based diet. He advocates tougher animal standards.[6]

Despite Whole Foods' welfare standards, Mackey has been criticized by abolitionist vegans such as Gary L. Francione. He believes the Whole Foods company policies betray the animal rights position.[7] By other accounts, Mackey is the "driving force" behind significant changes in animal welfare. For instance, he influenced Whole Foods Market to start the non-profit Animal Compassion Foundation in 2005, to address making animal welfare more economically viable.[8] The Animal Compassion Foundation folded in 2008 with the formation of the Global Animal Partnership, a non-profit organization that is independent of Whole Foods Market. Mackey is on the Board of Directors of Global Animal Partnership. He has been a member of the Board of Directors for the Humane Society of the United States since 2009 .

Letter to employees Suggest removing the following: While CEO of Whole Foods Market in 2008, Mackey earned a total compensation of $33,831, which included a base salary of $1, and a cash bonus of $33,830.[10] In 2009, he again took a salary of $1, as well as receiving compensation amounting to $710,077.[11]

The reason for the suggestion: the sources are no longer easily verifiable and require requesting reports from a third party data provider and they imply that he has been duplicitous about his announced intention to accept a salary of $1 per year; the statements do not include additional information, included in the original cited Equilar report, about the nature of the compensation, which included his company benefits (health benefits and PTO) plus bonuses previously earned from a company EVA compensation plan that had been frozen and subsequently terminated. Mackey donated the after tax money to the Global Animal Partnership.

Environment

I propose the following edits to these statements:

From: Mackey does not accept the scientific consensus on climate change:

...Mackey told me that he agrees with the book [ Heaven and Earth ]'s assertion that, as he put it, "no scientific consensus exists" regarding the causes of climate change; he added, with a candor you could call bold or reckless, that it would be a pity to allow "hysteria about global warming" to cause us "to raise taxes and increase regulation, and in turn lower our standard of living and lead to an increase in poverty."[21]

In an article in Mother Jones, writer Kate Sheppard speculated that Mackey's non-acceptance of the role of human activity in climate change might explain why Whole Foods did not join with other prominent consumer-oriented businesses in the Business for Innovative Climate and Energy Policy or the Sustainability Consortium.[22]

to:In a 2010 discussion of books on his reading stack with journalist Nick Paumgarten, Mackey explained his views on human-caused climate change were similar to those of author Ian Plimer:

...Mackey told me that he agrees with the book [ Heaven and Earth ]'s assertion that, as he put it, "no scientific consensus exists" regarding the causes of climate change; he added, with a candor you could call bold or reckless, that it would be a pity to allow "hysteria about global warming" to cause us "to raise taxes and increase regulation, and in turn lower our standard of living and lead to an increase in poverty."[21]

suggest removing: In an article in Mother Jones, writer Kate Sheppard speculated that Mackey's non-acceptance of the role of human activity in climate change might explain why Whole Foods did not join with other prominent consumer-oriented businesses in the Business for Innovative Climate and Energy Policy or the Sustainability Consortium.[22]

reason for suggestion: this is speculation on Ms. Sheppard's part and does not come across as unbiased; Whole Foods Market tends to be very selective about joining organizations that do not directly relate to its core missions.

Resignation as Whole Foods Chairman Suggest the following minor edits: From: On December 24, 2009, Mackey resigned from the position of Chairman of the Board of Whole Foods Market. On his blog he said, "John Elstrott will now take the title of Chairman of the Board, which will accurately reflect the authority and the responsibilities that he has had for many years."[27]

To: On December 24, 2009, Mackey resigned from the position of Chairman of the Board of Whole Foods Market, a position he held since 1978. On his blog he said, "John Elstrott will now take the title of Chairman of the Board, which will accurately reflect the authority and the responsibilities that he has had for many years." Mackey remains a member of the Board of Directors.

That's it for my suggested edits. I will make those changes to the Wikipedia page on September 4 if I do not receive feedback from the community. Thanks for your help! Lamadrona (talk) 23:48, 29 August 2012 (UTC)

Hello Ms. Madrona. As you can see, I've implemented the changes you proposed and - as a veteran editor of Wikipedia - believe them to be improvements to the article and well within Wikipedia's standards and guidelines. Thank you for making your proposals in a manner compliant with WP's COI editing policy. Regards.--JayJasper (talk) 20:42, 5 September 2012 (UTC)

Jay, thanks for your actions and feedback! Anna Madrona again, and I have the following changes to propose:

Section title change proposed: from: Resignation as Whole Foods Chairman to: Resignation as Whole Foods Market Chairman Rationale: The company's legal name is Whole Foods Market; since the discussion is about a formal company leadership decision and action, I suggest this minor change.

I propose the following points of correction in the section entitled: Political views From: Libertarian In a debate in Reason magazine among Mackey, Milton Friedman, and T. J. Rodgers, Mackey said that he is a free market libertarian.[10] He said that he used to be a "democratic socialist" in college. As a beginning businessman he was challenged by workers for not paying adequate wages and by customers for overcharging, during a time when he was hardly breaking even. He began to take a more capitalistic worldview, and discovered the works of Ludwig von Mises, Friedrich Hayek and Milton Friedman.[11] Mackey is an admirer of author Ayn Rand.[12]

Mackey co-founded the organization, Freedom Lights Our World (FLOW), to combine his commitments to "economic and political freedom as well as personal growth, social responsibility, and environmental stewardship." [13] He supports such changes as green tax shifts, environmental trusts, world legal systems to allow the poor to create legal businesses, and a citizen's dividend to help the poor in the developed world.[14]

Healthcare reform

Mackey opposed the public health insurance option that ultimately did not become part of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Mackey thinks a better plan would be allowing consumers to purchase health insurance across state lines and use a combination of health savings accounts and catastrophic insurance, as Whole Foods Market does.[15] Mackey's statement that Americans do not have an intrinsic right to healthcare led to calls for a boycott of Whole Foods Market from the Progressive Review and from numerous groups on Facebook.[16]

Unions

John Mackey is known for his strong anti-union views, having once compared unions to herpes in that "it won't kill you, but it's very unpleasant and will make a lot of people not want to be your lover." Whole Foods Market, along with Costco and Starbucks, teamed up in 2008 to attempt to defeat the Employee Free Choice Act.

Whole Foods Market is one of only two non-union Fortune 500 companies listed by Forbes among the "25 Best Companies to Work For" in 2005.[17] Mackey ascribes this to his pro-employee philosophy. He supports non-adversarial unions and advocates their legalization in the U.S.[citation needed]

"It's illegal in the United States for there to be company unions — special unions which are formed and controlled by the employees and managers of the company to represent their interests and collectively bargain on their behalf. These type of unions are legal in many countries such as Japan, but are illegal in the United States. Instead the law requires that all unions be outside unions. I believe this law should be repealed and that company unions should be as legal as any other kind of voluntary association."[18]

To: Political views

Libertarian

In a debate in Reason magazine among Mackey, Milton Friedman, and T. J. Rodgers, Mackey said that he is a free market libertarian.[10] He said that he used to be a "democratic socialist" in college. As a beginning businessman he was challenged by workers for not paying adequate wages and by customers for overcharging, during a time when he was hardly breaking even. He began to take a more capitalistic worldview, and discovered the works of Ludwig von Mises, Friedrich Hayek and Milton Friedman.[11] Mackey is an admirer of some of author Ayn Rand's novels.[12]

Mackey co-founded the organization, Freedom Lights Our World (FLOW), to combine his commitments to "economic and political freedom as well as personal growth, social responsibility, and environmental stewardship." [13] He supports such changes as green tax shifts, environmental trusts, world legal systems to allow the poor to create legal businesses, and a citizen's dividend to help the poor in the developed world.[14] The name and focus of FLOW have since become Conscious Capitalism, Inc., which was initially created as a program of FLOW and evolved to the point at which it became the organization's principal focus. In 2010 the name of the organization was formally changed. The Conscious Capitalism Institute was chartered in 2009. In 2010 the original FLOW group merged with the Institute group to become one unified organization.

Healthcare reform

Mackey proposed several alternatives to the public health insurance option prior to the passage of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Mackey thinks a better plan would be allowing consumers to purchase health insurance across state lines and use a combination of health savings accounts and catastrophic insurance, as Whole Foods does.[15] Mackey's statement, "A careful reading of both the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution will not reveal any intrinsic right to health care, food or shelter" [15] led to calls for a boycott of Whole Foods Market from the Progressive Review and from numerous groups on Facebook.[16] Alternatively, Tea Party advocates organized a number of buycotts in support of Mackey's suggestions == Total sales for the company during that quarter revealed a net gain, suggesting that the boycott was ultimately unsuccessful.

Unions

John Mackey is known for his strong anti-union views, having once compared unions to herpes in that "it won't kill you, but it's very unpleasant and will make a lot of people not want to be your lover." Whole Foods Market, along with Costco and Starbucks, teamed up in 2008 to create an alternative to the Employee Free Choice Act. The three companies invited other corporations, unions and public interest groups to join them, proposing instead that unions be given more access to meet with workers, stricter penalties for labor violations and a guaranteed right to request secret ballots in all circumstances.

Suggest removing this paragraph. The citation for the first statement does not relate to the statement and is several years outdated. The next statements lack any citation. Whole Foods Market is one of only two non-union Fortune 500 companies listed by Forbes among the "25 Best Companies to Work For" in 2005.[17] Mackey ascribes this to his pro-employee philosophy. He supports non-adversarial unions and advocates their legalization in the U.S.[citation needed]

"It's illegal in the United States for there to be company unions — special unions which are formed and controlled by the employees and managers of the company to represent their interests and collectively bargain on their behalf. These type of unions are legal in many countries such as Japan, but are illegal in the United States. Instead the law requires that all unions be outside unions. I believe this law should be repealed and that company unions should be as legal as any other kind of voluntary association."[18]

Thanks for your consideration. If you have no feedback, suggestions or objections, I'll make the changes on October 17, 2012.

 Done--JayJasper (talk) 21:25, 25 October 2012 (UTC)

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He's a dropout

The section on his education was grossly POV violating. I have corrected it somewhat. 24.224.212.90 (talk) 14:23, 16 December 2020 (UTC)

• Hi! Thank you for your correction, as I believe it was very much valid. While some of your edits I believe to have been unnecessary removals from the page, I want to thank you for your NPOV correction to education, and for your removal of uncited information from the animal welfare section. There may be a place for some of that original information, but it has remained uncited for a long time and I'm glad you fixed it. Since clearly you know your stuff about Wikipedia editing, I highly recommend getting an account, and I want you to know I'm always here as a support system if you continue editing. Best, PickleG13 (talk) 11:50, 24 December 2020 (UTC)