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Whole Foods Up Close: Breaking Into the Chain (Part 3 of 3)

My recent tour of Whole Foods has got me thinking about how true the company has stayed to its core values despite its size. Sure, there are problems. The buying decisions are made centrally, bakery items are shipped to local stores par-baked, there are only 5 local vegetables this month in the Minneapolis location, and - most troubling - a friend recently let me know that Whole Foods has been accused of union-busting. But all things considered, Whole Foods does an excellent job of walking the talk, and helping customers find the good stuff. This post highlights the extensive process Whole Foods uses to vet potential new partners.

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Whole Foods Up Close: Where's the (Local) Beef? (Part 2 of 3)

In yesterday's post, about Whole Foods' Local, Organic Values, I wrote about the core values of Whole Foods and how they influence the food sold at the stores. Today's post is about how purchasing happens, specifically related to the meat we get in the Minneapolis store.

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Whole Foods Up Close: Local, Organic Values (Part 1 of 3)

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About a month ago, I went to the Minneapolis Whole Foods Market looking for local meat. I’ve been a Minnesotan long enough to know that our produce choices are severely limited in the winter months, but I figured there’d be plenty of local pork and beef to bring home. Turns out I was wrong - there was almost none. I left Whole Foods confused and surprised, and I left them a note. The next day, Renee Howard sent me an email.

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Michael Pollan's "Farmer in Chief" is Well Worth Revisiting

On my friend and neighbor Kathy's advice, I just re-read Michael Pollan's outstanding letter to our nation's "Farmer in Chief," first published in the NY Times on the eve of Barack Obama's election. It's a wonderful letter, all 9 pages of it, a true embarrassment of riches. Pollan's letter starts with a summary of where we're at currently in terms of food, health, and the environment.

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Pennsylvania Buy Fresh Buy Local Program Celebrates Regional Foods

My Dad, eater of Joyva jelly rings, Kosher beef tongue, and the biggest bags of salad you've ever seen, moved from New York (where I grew up) to Bristol, Pennsylvania with his wife Paula several years before he died.

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Thousand Hills Cattle Company: Grass Feed, Midwestern Beef

One of my favorite things about writing the Simple, Good, and Tasty blog so far is that I get to share information about people and companies that are working hard to do something good for themselves, their families, and their communities.

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Bryant Lake Bowl Serves Up Sustainable Food

Bryant Lake Bowl is unlike any other place I've been. The front of the place is a bar/restaurant with a terrific beer list (including local favorite Surly and several Belgian beers) and some of the best tofu and egg scrambles in town.

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The Every Kitchen Table Blog: Why CSAs Aren't Enough

Some of my favorite writing on the topic of local, sustainable food these days comes from Rob Smart in Vermont, whose Every Kitchen Table blog (and Twitter posts) cite some of my favorites (Michael Pollan, Eric Schlosser) as inspirations. Smart's March 27 post, explaining the downside of the Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) model, is especially good.

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