On the heels of my post earlier this week on supporting universal access to food and health care, comes this report from today's Democracy Now!:
Single-Payer Advocates Call for Boycott of Whole Foods
Advocates for universal healthcare are calling for a boycott of the grocery chain Whole Foods over the views of its CEO, John Mackey. This week Mackey wrote an editorial in the Wall Street Journal criticizing President Obama's plan to create a government-funded public healthcare option and dismissing the single-payer healthcare system of countries such as Canada and Britain. Mackey said he doesn't believe in "an intrinsic right to health care, food or shelter," which he said are best provided through "market exchanges." On Thursday, the group Single Payer Action released a letter calling for a boycott of Whole Foods.
As I said previously, not only is there a dire need for universal access to both food and health care, but there is also a need to mobilize resistance to corporate driven privatization — like that advocated by John Mackey — if we want to ensure that health care is both universal and comprehensive. As such, I encourage everyone to join in supporting the boycott of Whole Foods Market.
