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Dearest Mamas,
You may remember my post on health care from a couple of weeks ago, the Public Option in Health Care I’m a big fan of the single-payer system, it’s not even on the table right now, but I can dream.
The CEO of Whole Foods, however is not. And so a boycott has been started: Why you should Boycott Whole Foods
and the other side: Why I Ain’t About to Boycott Whole Foods.
I’m sure there are many companies out there that have CEOs that are philosophically opposed to single-payer healthcare, and I’m sure I shop at some of them, but seriously, it’s as if this guy doesn’t know who his customers are! and he obviously doesn’t care. So, I’m joining the boycott (today), no more shopping at Whole Foods, (at least until I run out of something that I really need, that only they carry. So maybe a week? ;o) hee hee.
But, then I went to my local Trader Joe’s the other day, and in a bit of a conversation with the Greenpeace spokesperson out front discovered that Trader Joe’s is selling 15 of the 20 red-listed (unsustainable) fish. Uh oh. Well, I figure with a letter or two we can probably get them to change their habits…
So, I’ve renewed my commitment to my garden and found this link (I haven’t started my compost bins yet! Hey I just moved in …gasp March!) :DIY compost bin and renewed my dream of chickens…Where for art Thou, chickens! sigh. Maybe next spring! ;o) In the meantime I have to find a good use for more zucchini than any family of 5 could possibly need, or want;o)
xox,
Heather
eating ethically often feels like a never ending challenge doesn’t it?
i dream of chickens, and the day i’ll have dirt instead of balcony… it’s a lovely dream!
my favourite thing to do with do with too many zucchinis is bake, specifically zucchini chocolate cake and cheese and zucchini muffins! and if you pick them when they’re extra small they’re really tasty pan fried with butter and nutmeg…
Hi Heather, I have been reading since I found out I was pregnant last summer. Now I have a sweet six-month-old boy and we still love your comics!
I’m so sad to hear about Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s. You’d think considering the views of a large portion of their customer base, they’d be a little more responsible!
You could make zucchini bread… my sister-in-law makes it with lots of cinnamon and nutmeg so it doesn’t really taste like zucchini, which was nice considering how much of it she got for free. She says you can also make cakes and brownies, but I am suspicious about that…
When I read your post (I know it’s about the boycott)however the one thing that came to mind is a keyhole garden for you and yours. Then I had to remember where I had come across it before, and voila: http://www.se7en.org.za/2009/08/02/saturday-spot-our-keyhole-garden-begins
Anyway some food for thought!
compost + chickens = free food! Seriously & mother earth news is a GREAT resource as well as their sister site community chickens! not to mention the rest of the articles on M.E.N., uh your hubby may be flying over here after me.
Personally I LOVE chickens if I wasn’t so darn allergic to the BIRD aspect of keeping them, sigh. Not to mention Hubby so resistant to changes of any kind. (the knee-jerk no is fairly obvious by now) Strange though since we LIVE in Europe his view on health care is very different then most stateside as well, hmm………
Funny articles, I’m gonna enjoy reading them, lol!
OOOOHHHHHHH! I went to that keyhole site, HEEEEATHERrrrrr you gotta, she has link on her “I’m thinking of doing this page” hat are just to die for! Basically the one in mind is YOUTUBE channel cowforce! (yes really, you’ll get the name when you see the site) WOW awesome videos, I won’t spoil it for you, just so wonderful, happy tears (I’ve warned you) just go, everyone, if nothing else be inspired! Thank you KAra for posting the initial page! (monkeys instead of crows, lol, I’m feeling better already!)
What about chocolate zucchini cake? http://www.allotment.org.uk/recipe/1308/chocolate-courgette-cake/
chickens are alot of fun, this year our chicks didnt make it(because we ad a cold snap and they didn’t want to sit near the red lamp) teehee the whole habby farming thing is a big interest of mine since i come from a long line of farmers (my german side of the family have a farm in indiana and ive traced the family back to the name Pflug, german for “plow”)
as for zuchini, i’d do either bread, grill em with button mushrooms, or put em in spagetti.
http://www.backyardchickens.com
http://www.moterearthnews.com
I am going to quote a passage from a book I am reading titled, “Radical Unschooling A Revolution Has Begun” by Dayna Martin.
“There was a period about ten years ago when I boycotted Nestle. I used to be so angry with Nestle for what they were doing by marketing infant formula to third world countries. I took the boycott very seriously and held on to much frustration and anger about the boycott. I warned other and emailed angry protesting emails about how everyone should join me in the fight against them. One day, I had a profound realization.
I came to see that I was not contributing to the peace of the world by holding on to these strong negative emotions. My children were being affected. I was contributing to the negativity of the world through my thoughts and my angry actions and feelings.
I changed my thoughts and actions to focus on what was working with the world. I pledged: I am going to focus more on breast feeding awareness and helping women with breast feeding difficulties, as opposed to being anti-formula, or anti anything for that matter. This was a huge shift in thinking for me and it has spiraled me upward to release any kind of “anti” mindset that I had about anything in the past. This has not only benefited me as a person, but everyone I come in contact with. Mother Teresa said, “If you ever have an anti-war rally, do not invite me, but if you have a march for peace, I will be there.” Reading her statement is profound. When you are against something you feed into it, and it grows in your consciousness. The energy you are putting forth is always adding to what you are focused on, regardless if you are for or against something.
Contributing to peace and what I believe in and stand for, rather than butting up against what I don’t believe in or value, has been one of the keys to my happiness in life. I no longer judge others for their choices when they are not in alignment with my own. I know that everyone is doing the best they can with who they are and with what they know.”
Again, the above was a quote from a book I am reading by Dayna Martin.
I love you Heather and I love Mama Is and Hathor.
I just want to put this alternative view out there as food for thought, another view point about boycotting.
Much Love and peace,
Susan
Did you know that the Wallstreet Journal titled Mackey’s article “Whole Foods Alternative to Obamacare”? Mackey himself had actually simply titled it “Health Care Reform.”
That makes quite a big difference when you understand that he was not bashing Obama’s plan, but rather offering his solution, which is what EVERYONE is doing right now.
My husband has been employed with Whole Foods for going on 8 years now, and I can tell you first hand that the health care plan they implement is both effective and low cost. And it really does inspire the participants to be more responsible with their health care. We love it! We get to pay our lay midwife without a dime coming out of our pocket or anyone grilling us as to her “license” (or lack thereof
Dear Fearless, Medicine in other countries is practices that way as well! Heck even the U.S. MILITARY practices “preventative care” and it’s a required course BEFORE you can really see a Dr. Midwives are also a HUGE part of the Maternity plans as well though they aren’t homebirth though.
The U.S. HAS public healthcare, which is what everyone IS forgetting…..what we don’t have is universal access to it. You have to be “Special” or flat out broke to get it, anyone else is out of luck but ESPECIALLY those that make just a little too much, which is a huge group of people!!!!!!!! We’ve already invented our wheels…..so to speak, we just need to be ALLOWED to put them to use!
Zucchini…Here is a recipe for MD style crabcakes (without crab!) http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Connies-Zucchini-Crab-Cakes/Detail.aspx
I’ve put shredded Z in just about any baked dish (just cut back on the other liquids/oils). Its also a great way to add veggies to spaghetti sauce. Google Zucchini Soup for lots of other ideas.
Here is a great way to kick new life into the 27th loaf of Z bread. Instead of greasing your pans with spray or shortening/flour try butter and a sprinkling of cinn/sugar. It adds an element of yummy.
Z freezes pretty well. Slice, chop or shred before you freeze it and then you can revisit your recipes in a few months (when you are no longer sick of Z!)
I cant help but to laugh at this article. I am a Whole Foods customer and I am not for communist health care so I guess that Whole Foods does know who there customers are. So you are going to boycott them because one opinion of one of the employees? Thats strange! Are you going to boycott everyone that disagrees with you because if so you will not be able to leave your house. Whole Foods has an excellent health care plan for there employers. You can read about that here:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204251404574342170072865070.html
You should be proud to shop at a store that takes such good care of its employees, I am!
Why do you want to shove health care down the throat of people that dont want it? I do not get health care threw my husbands employer and I cant get state health care because of too many assets but I am in the low income bracket and I dont want communist health care, Id rather have nothing or pay for it myself or purchase high deductable insurance. Why dont you join a commune if you want to live a communist life style? Why do you want to force everyone to pay for your crap, like youre slaves? I dont want to be a slave! Communism works alot better on a small scale and when it is voluntary. Do you not understand the violence that you are causing by trying to force people to pay for you health care? I always thought that you were a peaceful person but now I see that inside you have no problem using violence and/or the threat of violence to get what you want.
I forgive you for all the violence that you are supporting because I was once in your shoes. I once thought that violence was ok if it was the government program of MY choice but then I realized that I was wrong. Violence is never the answer, even when you cant see the violence that you are causing its there. More people will die with gov. health care than are now from lack of health care and when they do, you will have blood on your hands! I hope that you are open-minded enough to think about this over, if so please read “Healing Our World in an Age of Aggression” By Dr Mary Ruwart, she can explain these concepts way better than I. I know that you only want to do what is right, I hope that you will reconsider, otherwise I might have to boycott you since I cant stand all the violence you are preaching.
Have you ever thought about starting a health care Co-op? It would way more efficient and voluntary. You can get Health Care, you just need to be more creative and not just jump to the guns. Besides health care was affordable at one time in this country, so what change? Government interference. They more they get involved the more it cost, the more it cost the more they get involved, the more they get involved the more it cost and so on and so on. Dont believe me then go ask you grandparents if healthcare was affordable back in there day. And look at all the charity hospitals that the government has ran out of business.
Anyways, I hope you stay open minded and dont just jump down my throat. I wish you the best of luck on your journey in this life and hope that someday you can find peace in your heart.
it may all be well and good, but the article you link to is singularly uninformative…
i’m in the middle of my own personal campaign to have my family boycott the supermarket system altogether. trying to move to farmer’s markets, csa, and maybe even own food growing.
I can’t say as I’m really all that surprised – they’re also against the “Card Check Law.” I prefer, instead, to shop at my local co-op. They’re member owned – just like my credit union – which suits my sensibilities and values much better.
LibertyJunkie I don’t think you have been reading Hathor or Mama is for a very long time. And I don’t think you really understand what “communist health care” is. Boycotting is not violent, it is peaceful way to protest.
As to this comment…”Besides health care was affordable at one time in this country, so what change?” Well drug companies and the insurance companies are the problem. Just goggle united health care. Read the stories of all the people who were denied coverage for life saving medical procedures.
I am a proud military wife. And I can tell you that the medical health care we get from the Army is the best I have ever had in my life. This is government health care my children and I get. Obviously serving in the military does not equal communism.
I love the what Heather Cushman-Dowdee does. I have enjoyed her comics since 2003. I may not agree with what she says all the time but this is a forum for her voice! If you don’t like her comics then maybe it is time for you to branch out on your own.
i wish i had more options, i do. we are not vegan, so we like more than just fruit and veggies in our pantry. and unfortunately, living in an apartment doesn’t afford us the opportunity to have a large pantry. we can’t store and stock food by freezing or canning. there simply isn’t room. so, we buy fresh every week.
we do have farmers markets that consist mainly of veggies, some fruit, eggs, and overpriced meat. i go for the veggies and the fruit, but even then, there are times when i have to get produce at the store because it isn’t at the market. i could have joined one of the CSAs, but again, i would still need to go to the store for some things. i could opt to purchase a half or whole cow to store, but where would i store it? i’d love to have chickens for eggs, but not feasible in an apartment. hell, i’d love to have a garden and not have to rely on the farmers market, but again, apartment…
all of this to say, my options are limited given my current situation, so i will continue to shop there. however, would i boycott whole foods if i could? not necessarily. the CEO voiced his opinion. he also recently voiced his opinion that his stores were carrying too much processed food and he wanted to go back to the way it used to be, with more bins and barrels of bulk foods, a store filled with whole, natural, good for you foods, with minimal packaged stuff. so is he all bad just because he has a different opinion on how we should approach health care reform? i don’t think so…
if i boycotted everyone and every company who had different ideals and opinions from my own, i would be making things very difficult for myself and my family, all in the name of working for my personal utopia.
i loved susan’s post. i think this is a beautiful idea, and THAT is what i’m going to take with me and start using in my daily life.
Dear Liberty Junkie,
I’m not going to get into a big back and forth about with you about this issue, I sense that you are a libertarian with the belief that your money is equal to your life and is equal to your freedom. Like many contemporary conservatives, you probably don’t think twice about wiretapping, extraordinary rendition, torture and indefinite incarceration (these things only happen to ‘terrorists’ and aren’t about YOUR ‘freedom’.) but, come after your money to collectively pool and pay for services for everybody including yourself, and ‘gasp’. I’m suddenly a violent aggressive psychopath just for even talking about it. well.
My post was about deciding ‘ethically’ how much I’m willing to support. Health care reform is an important issue with me, and I don’t want to give my money to people who are actively working against it. I’d like whenever I can to support companies who are in line with my principles.
It’s very similar to the decisions libertarians must make whenever they use the highways, the libraries, the fire department, or sleep well knowing that grandma’s social security and medicare are keeping her safe and sound. Libertarians use all of this ‘common ground’, yet feel like it takes away their freedom to pay for it. That must make every day an ethical dilemma, one that I’m glad I don’t have to worry about.
This blog isn’t a debate blog, so we are moving on…
xox,
Heather
people round here used to keep pigs in the (very small) backyards. i still find bones when i dig in the garden
pork is tasty and the pig eats all the leftovers..
as for chicken, i found this interesting website:
http://www.bobrow.net/kimberly/chickens/butchering/index.htm
i guess, i stick with the pig (sheep would be easier to erm… kill (they don’t scream as much as pigs do), but they require far too much space).
Mama,
I dont want to get into a back and forth either. I know that you cant change a person mind through a comment and I usually avoid arguments but I guess I was caught off guard and responded spur of the moment. For the record, wiretapping, extraordinary rendition, torture and indefinite incarceration bother me very much and I dont think that is the peaceful way to handle those problems. I am very much anti war and think that the only way to achieve peace is through peace and setting a good example for others to follow. We will never achieve peace through the barrel of a gun. I think that they we can both agree that when it comes down to it we both just want peace and happiness for everyone, we just have different ideas on how to get there. I hope that whatever happens happens for the best, may the best man win so to speak.
I have been enjoying your comic for about a year and I love it and will continue to enoy it. You are very talented and I hope that you will be very successful with it. I am sorry if I came off too strong in my last post, like I said I was kind of caught off guard and decide to post when there is no real point in it. I am glad that there are people with different opinions because otherwise how would we learn and grow, just look how far we have come already. I do respect you and your opinion even if I dont agree with it.
In peace and love,
LibertyJunkie
I cannot believe that Military health care was talked about positively. I grew up a child of military, served on active duty, and spent the last 5 years married to the navy. If anything, military health care is one reason I am opposed to universal systems. It is very sad and ineffective. They DO ration care in the military, and there IS a waiting list that is absolutely ridiculus. You have to jump through hoops to get any care at all and most times are denied things that are very necessary so that you can have what is UNnecessary and harmful. They use servicemembers and their families as guinea pigs for vaccines and other harmful drugs. From my experience and listening to other wives and women in the military communities I’ve been a part of, military hospitals are the absolute WORST about pushing even more interferences onto women. The sad thing is that people are helpless in making changes to the military health care. I don’t think that most people who are against the current health care reform bill on the table are uncaring of others. I think they are just scared that the same thing will happen on a national level as has happened to other government-run healthcare, such as the military.
I normally wouldn’t speak up, but I could not believe I read above the MILITARY healthcare used as an example of successful government-run healthcare.
Heather, I wish we could have some chickens and a great big garden too. It just hasn’t happened yet, but we’ll get there.
I’m sad to hear people are boycotting an entire company because one person explained their personal feelings/thoughts/etc. on a political issue.
Does shopping at Whole Foods direct your money towards an action you whis it didn’t? Or are you boycotting someone’s right to express an opinion different than your own?
Hi Lori,
For me, I was shocked to find out about the CEO’s beliefs (but perhaps more shocked by his publishing them in the newspaper, as if the ‘loyal’ customers, a great many of whom would disagree, didn’t matter.) But I was more shocked to hear that he’s anti-union. My family is a union family and proudly so. But I misspoke in my post, I’m not technically joining the boycott, a boycott is effective as a temporary withdrawal of money, to prove a point. Not as an endless removal of cash forever. I don’t shop at Whole Foods very often anyways, I have one (a brand new flagship store, gorgeous!) within 2 miles of my house (as the crow flies, though I would have to drive to get there) But I frankly can’t afford to shop there. I go if I need a remedy of some kind, and can only buy a few things there, ever.
Whether I join or not is probably immaterial to the CEO (I do find it interesting, that as corporations have gained ‘personhood’ and constitutional rights to free speech and other guaranteed provisions, that we allow that there isn’t any one person who is responsible for the corporation. Is there no one that speaks for them, or acts for them in their name?The CEO is just an ‘employee’, the shareholders are just one of many, who is actually responsible for the actions of the corporation? If no one is responsible then why do they have the ‘rights’? I’m not asking anyone, I’m just asking ;o)
But, this knowledge will guide my personal shopping choices. But really, there aren’t many choices are there? (Okay, that one I’m asking)
xox,
Heather
ps. I had hoped that the nuances of my thinking on this subject would come through, but I’m altering the original post a bit to reflect my real thoughts on the matter.