Boycotting Whole Foods is easy for me, as they are non-existent in Wyoming. Still, I encourage everyone who is near one to boycott them because they are anti-labor, among other things. That's why I won't shop at WalMart, which Casper now has two of. Fuck 'em.

I am anti-labor. My movie was non-union, so be sure to boycott that, too.

From what I understand a large portion of "organic" produce comes from China. I don't eat organic, because there's not proof it's any healthier.

I just don't like the signage. Give me a break. Proper labeling law is long past established. The problem is telling people, who believe themselves to be sophisticated, that they're gullible and idiots like the rest of us.

>> ^blankfist:
I am anti-labor. My movie was non-union, so be sure to boycott that, too.
From what I understand a large portion of "organic" produce comes from China. I don't eat organic, because there's not proof it's any healthier.


Did you import your crew from China?

The only real organic food comes from organs...I think.

>> ^dystopianfuturetoday:
Did you import your crew from China?


No, but I paid them the same.

Making film without money is tough. Especially in a non-right-to-work-state. My next film will be made outside LA, for sure.

'bf: non-right-to-work-state'

Your rhetoric is adorable.

Yes Jesus, usually Hammond B3s.

I'm also anti-labor, but not in the way you think...

>> ^dystopianfuturetoday:
'bf: non-right-to-work-state'
Your rhetoric is adorable.


It's tough trying to make a film where the unions exclude the little guy. Hell, they exclude art. The days of the unions being for the worker are a myth. They collude with Los Angeles city to make big money.

Even Leftist filmmakers find it unbearable, DFT. Stop politicizing every comment I make. Take German filmmaker Michael Haneke (Funny Games, 1997); not an anti-unionist and certainly not a right-winger. In this article in LA Weekly he passionately illuminates the difficulty of shooting in LA with the unions:

"You need five people for every job. If I want to move a pencil from here to there, then I have to tell this to my assistant, and he tells his assistant; I can’t just carry it myself. We were filming for eight and a half weeks, which wasn’t even enough time. But in Austria, we filmed the whole thing in six weeks.

“To work within this huge apparatus, you need a lot of money and a lot of time. If you’re doing a huge studio production with a $100 million budget, it’s great — you get 30 seconds of footage a day, and that’s fine. But if you want to get three minutes a day, it’s very paralyzing.”

You're an organic couch potato?

>> ^gwiz665:
I'm also anti-labor, but not in the way you think...

Sorry blanco, but it's hard to keep up with your ever changing rules of discourse. I didn't know I wasn't allowed to politicize your political statements. Hopefully this response falls somewhere within your regulations.

^You downvote because I make a solid case. If you understood what it takes to make a film, DFT... the risk, the stress, the effort. But you never will, and that's because you'd rather sit back in your comfy armchair and criticize those of us who do, and then tell us we're wrong. I feel embarrassed for you.

^Why is the self-described 'harrasshole' so buttsore lately?

Stop crying.

If the point was a vagina, you'd still be a virgin.

I've said nothing but nice things about your film and given you nothing but encouragement, and this regrettable transformation from blankfist to dourfist does not change this. If you feel the need to continue this sanctimonious tantrum, then by all means do so, but I've never once criticized your art or work ethic, so address your John Galt speech to someone else.

I don't hold grudges and look forward to welcoming the old fun blankfist with open arms when ever he decides to emerge - chest-burster-like - from your current emo carapace.

"Calfornia Blend" is a very common type of mix, not a place of origin. It's like saying you can't have French Fries from China.

That stinks that the USDA allows their label without any real backing though.

Whole Foods, country of origin
http://www.acc-tv.com/images/wjla/news/iteamwholefoodslist052108.pdf

>> ^alizarin:
"Calfornia Blend" is a very common type of mix, not a place of origin. It's like saying you can't have French Fries from China.
That stinks that the USDA allows their label without any real backing though.


While I understand your meaning...that's a bad analogy because "french" is the way the fries are prepared...not the country of origin ;-).

You just said exactly what he said, but managed to say he was wrong at the same time...

>> ^Jaace:
>> ^alizarin:
"Calfornia Blend" is a very common type of mix, not a place of origin. It's like saying you can't have French Fries from China.
That stinks that the USDA allows their label without any real backing though.

While I understand your meaning...that's a bad analogy because "french" is the way the fries are prepared...not the country of origin ;-).

>> ^Jaace:
>> ^alizarin:
"Calfornia Blend" is a very common type of mix, not a place of origin. It's like saying you can't have French Fries from China.
That stinks that the USDA allows their label without any real backing though.

While I understand your meaning...that's a bad analogy because "french" is the way the fries are prepared...not the country of origin ;-).

argument fail

>> ^dystopianfuturetoday:



Simmer down, boiling water. So again. If the point was a vagina, et cetera.

"Government should protect consumers" - really?

This statement probably solicits nodding heads from the same folks who cry out that the US government shouldn't be in the business of regulating anything.

And I was going to shop at Whole Foods as a new buyer. I guess I'll have to stick with my previous grocery store. Yes, my previous grocery store doesn't have much gluten free products (a protein found in Wheat, Rye, and Barley), but they would post 'Product of ....." Right next to the price. Once you stroll through the fruits and vegitables, you find which items not to buy. I'll buy Canada, and sometimes Mexico. Their standards are alittle better then China.

Also, dont buy from Wal-Mart. They represent 1/4 of China's export to the USA. Why give china US dollars?

^I found a middle eastern market close to my house that has the freshest, most delicious produce I've ever had at literally a 1/3 of the cost of the supermarket (1/6 the cost of 'Whole Paycheck'). Red/Green Peppers that normally cost $2/lb are 69 cents, and yellow/orange peppers that can go for as much as $6 a pound are $1.39. There are dozens of places like this all over town, but they can be tucked away in the nooks and crannies of the city.

It irks me how healthy food is treated as a status symbol and sold at a premium at places like Whole Foods and Wild Oats when there are so many dirt cheap alternatives off the brand-name radar.

Ralph's is expensive, too. It's not just Whole Food's. Though, Whole Foods fish is excellent. Very pricy, but damn good. Sushi grade. Their salad bar is really good, too. And where else am I suppose to purchase my Kombucha? Come to think of it, Whole Foods is damn awesome!

Seems to me the issue on display in the video is "Whole Foods commits fraud to increase profit margins", not their labor practices.

It also seems to me that one can be against a particular stupid thing a union does, or even against a particular union whose management you find wrongheaded, without finding the need to defend all anti-union sentiment.

There's no reason for Whole Foods to underpay their workers, when they are ultimately a high-end, high-margin kind of shop. Seems a union could fix that kind of issue nicely.

It also seems that better government oversight (and QAI protecting their reputation better) would help to combat dishonest crooks from labeling non-organic food organic, and selling it to people who want to pay a premium for a certain type of product, but instead get a generic knockoff product.

BTW, "right to work" means the state forbids employers and unions from including exclusivity into their mutually agreed upon private contracts. In other words, "right to work" is a socialist mop.

I thought "right to work" meant people negotiating their contract of employment could do so without having to join a union. It makes unionizing voluntary versus compulsory like it is in the film industry here in Los Angeles. If that's a socialist mop, then I'm with Obama! Give me a mop so I can help out!

^ No one is making unions compulsory anywhere. It may be that in the film industry most of the talent worth having is part of one or more unions, and those unions have exclusivity agreements with the major movie houses, but as your own sweatshop-made film would prove, it's not against the law to have a film-related job without a union.

You can always find a non-union job at Walmart or Whole Foods, for example.

You cannot use union actors if you're non-union. If you do, and you do not specifically get the actor to sign a contract explicitly agreeing he is non-union, then SAG will sue you... and SAG will win. There's no fighting that evil behemoth.

Unions are silly in the film industry, but that's a long drawn-out conversation for another time. Later my Hitler-lovin' Socialists!

^You are the only person I know who red-baits and Godwins simultaneously. I award you with one downvote for cognitive failure.

1st this is about frozen produce which is labeled as being from china. If you shop at a whole foods you are probably the same kind of person who checks the labels (I know I do). All the fresh produce is labeled on the price plaques. 2nd the organic fresh produce sold at whole foods here in Chicago is often cheaper than the pesticide produce at regular grocery stores. I don't see whole foods as a premium store simply because they are generally cheaper at least in my area.
-Karl

PS. I think it sucks that they don't seem to have better checks on their verification process, especially when dealing with stuff from china. When I worked at IKEA I found that they have a whole division of the company dedicated to worker protection in the various countries they have factories in. Being a Swedish company they would have to be really careful just because of how active the people are politically and human-rights wise in Sweden. Now you would figure Whole Foods would behave similarly knowing who their customers are.