Whole Foods CEO John Mackey Returns to the BlogosphereThe megagrocer finally defends himself against allegations that he sabotaged the stock of his competitor Wild Oats by posting anonymously on a Yahoo bulletin board.
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Whole Foods CEO’s Online High Jinks Unmasked; Magnolia Bakery ReopeningJohn Mackey, CEO of Whole Foods, has been going online anonymously on Yahoo Finance bulletin boards for seven years to blast rival Wild Oats and talk up Whole Foods stock. [NYT]
Related: Did Michael Pollan Throw the Whole Foods Debate? (Just Asking)
Magnolia Bakery, closed for less than a day for having only one sink, has now been reopened after promising to install another one. [Eater]
Related: A Sad Day for Overhyped Pastries: Magnolia Shuttered [Daily Intel]
Anthony Bourdain is warming up to The Next Food Network Star. As a matter of fact, you could say that he’s become a devoted fan: “Whether it’s the butterfly mobiles dangling from my ceiling, the onset of early dementia, or long delayed side effects of past drug use drawing me to the tube Sunday nights, I’ll be watching.” [Ruhlman]
Beef
Did Michael Pollan Throw the Whole Foods Debate? (Just Asking)What exactly is up with Michael Pollan? We sat up late into the night waiting for him to put hard questions to Whole Foods CEO John Mackey in the discussion we previewed the other day. Part of Pollan’s bestselling book The Omnivore’s Dilemma was devoted to unmasking Whole Foods’ claims to sustainability and the like, but when the author finally sat down with Mackey, he was as cordial and giving as the publicity-obsessed CEO. Still, the discussion being two hours and all, there were inevitably highlights. (If you prefer to comb through it yourself, you may do that here.)
Beef
Michael Pollan Versus Whole Foods: The SmackdownIt’s a match made for the ECW: John Mackey, co-founder of Whole Foods, versus Michael Pollan, author of The Omnivore’s Dilemma, the best-selling critical overview of modern industrial foodways that reveals Whole Foods to be … just another big supermarket chain! In an open letter, Mackey has accused the writer of not doing his research, but this afternoon they will meet face-to-face and finally resolve the question of who’s handier with a folding chair. Actually, they’re just going to debate, after Mackey gives a presentation modestly called “The Past, Present, and Future of Food.” It’s happening at the University of California, Berkeley, at 10 p.m. our time; you can see it Webcast live here — or wait for our breathless take on the proceedings tomorrow.
