The Artists and Factories (And This Contributor) Vs. Whole Foods

Via www.crainsnewyork.com

Because there's no where else in Brooklyn to get organic produce, except for, you know, all of the places that sell organic produce, Whole Foods is continuing it's long, hard-fought battle to open a 58,000 square foot grocery store in Gowanus. The space they want is only zoned for 10,000 square feet of commercial retail space, but Whole Foods is hell bent on settling there, perhaps because the nearby canal makes its own unique form of compost tea.  

Whole Foods recently took another run at the windmill (and by "windmill" I mean "Board of Standards and Appeals"), only to find that a coalition of artists and light industrial business owners have joined together to oppose the construction of a gigantic grocery store at 3rd and 3rd.

Here's what each side is arguing.

The Artists and Factory People Against Whole Foods: Too much traffic, manufacturing brings more jobs, the neighborhood will lose its special and unique character.

Whole Foods: We'll bring a couple hundred jobs to the neighborhood, and all you artists can work at the grocery store for actual money, plus we'll show your paintings in our café (just don't expect us to pay you for them). 

See, Whole Foods is making a big deal about how Fortune Magazine rated them one of the best companies to work for.  Fortune Magazine, for what it's worth, was willing to overlook their history of union-busting AND their CEO's opposition to health care reform, AND the fact that wages at Whole Foods are super, duper low. 

Of course, there are lots of other reasons not to like Whole Foods. Like the fact that their Organic California Blend Salad is not from California at all, but from China! How about the fact that some of the food they label as "organic" is not organic at all? The anti-Whole Foods people haven't even clued into the controversy about shrimp that is not turtle safe. What about that?  Huh? WHOLE FOODS IS FUCKING KILLING SEA TURTLES AND NOBODY IN BROOKLYN CARES EXCEPT FOR ONE LONELY AND EXTREMELY GOOD-LOOKING FiPS CONTRIBUTOR! 

Lookit. You can't fight a tidal wave. Whole Foods is taking over the world, and Brooklyn is next. I wish the coalition well, but honestly, if the Wal-Mart of organic grocery stores has our neighborhood in its sights, it's probably inevitable, right?

I know one thing, though.  That coalition better be careful about how they protest, or they'll wind up getting arrested, just like these Whole Foods protestors in Chicago.