He is the CEO of Whole Foods Market, which he co-founded in 1980. Sales doubled each year for the first four years. WFC became the largest outside customer of Texas Health Distributors, the wholesale division of Whole Foods Market. [7] Mackey, who was a vegetarian for 30 years, now identifies as a vegan.[8]. (Of those, the 35 Henry's Farmers Markets and Sun Harvest stores were acquired by a separate food retailer.) These stores join two Atlanta Whole Foods Market Stores in Briarcliff and Sandy Springs and continue to operate under the HFM banner. [10] By other[who?] Whereas all of the other companies that have become part of the Whole Foods Market family were started in the 1970's and early 1980's, Fresh Fields opened its first store in May of 1991 in Rockville, MD. In 1999 they joined Whole Foods Market. Harry's Farmers Market debuted in the Atlanta area in 1987 when founder Harry Blazer opened the first megastore in Alpharetta, Ga. He is the CEO of Whole Foods Market, which he co-founded in 1980. Sandy Gooch, a homemaker and former grade school teacher, became interested in natural foods after suffering severe allergic reactions to antibiotics and chemical additives in food. The Wild Oats story continued with a period of rapid growth through acquisitions and new store development, which peaked in 1999 with the addition of 47 stores in a single year. At the time of its acquisition by Whole Foods Market in 1992, Bread & Circus was the largest natural food retailer in the Northeast. Mrs. Gooch's held its suppliers to rigorous standards: no harmful chemicals or preservatives, no artificial colors or flavorings, and no white flour, refined sugar, alcohol, caffeine or chocolate. It authorized the FTC staff to seek a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction in federal district court to halt the deal, pending an administrative trial on the merits. Whole Foods, Whose Owner, Jeff Bezos, Is Worth $115 Billion, Is Cutting Health Care Coverage for Part-Time Workers [21], On December 24, 2009, Mackey resigned from the position of Chairman of the Board of Whole Foods Market, a position he held since 1978. While all of us empathize with those who are sick, how can we say that all people have more of an intrinsic right to health care than they have to food or shelter? Whole Foods' original founder and former co-CEO John Mackey, now 65, grew up eating cocoa puffs for breakfast, a hamburger for lunch and boxed … "[38][40] Instead, he called it "government-controlled health care". The seven stores together with central kitchen and warehouse joined Whole Foods Market in January of 2004. New stores opened in Cambridge (1979) and Wellesley (1980). He continued: "Many promoters of health-care reform believe that people have an intrinsic ethical right to health care – to equal access to doctors, medicines and hospitals. At the time of the merger with Whole Foods Market in 1996, Fresh Fields had 22 stores open in four different market areas: Washington/ Baltimore, Philadelphia, New York/New Jersey/Connecticut and Chicago. Beginning in 1984, Whole Foods Market began its expansion out of Austin, first to Houston and Dallas and then into New Orleans with the purchase of Whole Food Company in 1988. [4] A USDA Certified Organic grocer in the United States, the chain is … John and Margaret had a strained relationship, partly due to her desire for a different future regarding her son. Nevertheless, he rejects the scientific evidence for dangerous anthropogenic global warming, believing instead that "climate change is perfectly natural and not necessarily bad."[43]. The company went public in 1993 and launched a separate chain, Harry's in a Hurry, a small specialty store that was not a part of the Whole Foods Market acquisition. Wild Oats' similar mission, vision and values along with their knowledgeable and talented Team Members made them a welcome and valuable addition to our team. [6] Mackey spent almost six years studying various topics, deciding to focus solely on his interests and not purely seek out a degree. The first store, located in Durham, was completely "vegetarian." accounts, Mackey is the "driving force"[attribution needed] behind significant changes in animal welfare. Whole Foods Market acquired Mrs. Gooch's in 1993. L.P. Amrion was founded in Boulder, Colorado on August 18, 1987 by father and son team Henry and Mark Crossen, originally under the name of Bioenergy Nutrients, Inc. Our Access Discount offers Co-op owners who qualify for the program a 10% discount on most merchandise, making healthful choices that much more attainable. "[28] 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. Less than a year later, on Memorial Day in 1981, the worst flood in 70 years devastated the city of Austin. In 1991, Wild Oats opened their first supermarket-sized store in Santa Fe, New Mexico. While continuing to open new stores from the ground up, we fueled rapid growth by acquiring other natural foods chains throughout the '90s: Wellspring Grocery of North Carolina, Bread & Circus of Massachusetts and Rhode Island, Mrs. Gooch's Natural Foods Markets of Los Angeles, Bread of Life of Northern California, Fresh Fields Markets on the East Coast and in the Midwest, Florida Bread of Life stores, Detroit area Merchant of Vino stores, and Nature's Heartland of Boston.