Whole Foods Magazine, which has no connection to the grocery store chain, Whole Foods Market, declared Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell its “Person of the Year,” but confused Whole Food shoppers, who are, apparently, mostly left-leaning, thought their their favorite place to get vegan, fair trade, locally sourced, artisan organic products was vocally supporting a conservative and they completely lost their minds.
McConnell posted the Whole Foods Magazine cover on his Twitter and expressed his deep gratitude at being recognized for his contributions to the “natural products industry.” The magazine named McConnell their “Person of the Year” because of his efforts to legalize hemp farming and to prevent the government from prosecuting those who produce hemp and CBD products under marijuana laws.
“Honored to be named WholeFoods Magazine 2019 Person of the Year. I was recognized as the most influential person in the natural products industry, specifically because of my work to legalize industrial #hemp for farmers in Kentucky and around the country,” McConnell wrote.
Honored to be named @WholeFoodsMag 2019 Person of the Year. I was recognized as the most influential person in the natural products industry, specifically because of my work to legalize industrial #hemp for farmers in Kentucky and around the country. https://t.co/Nu9ZZLs1pZ pic.twitter.com/xB6PbkQe9G
— Leader McConnell (@senatemajldr) November 27, 2019
The magazine itself promoted McConnell’s issue, also on social media, tweeting, “Our December digital issue is now live! In it, we recognize our 2019 Person of the Year, cover the market of good-for-you goodies and report on the latest research and offerings in cognitive health, immune health and more.”
“Odds are, you have an opinion about the Republican senator from Kentucky, and regardless of whether that opinion is positive or not, one thing is certain,” Whole Foods Magazine added in an accompanying press release. “Mitch McConnell has done a tremendous amount to influence the natural products industry in 2019, and what he has set in motion will continue to impact this industry for a long time to come.”
Whole Foods Magazine is not affiliated with Whole Foods Market; the two are separate entities altogether, even though Whole Foods Magazine does seem to cover topics of interest to the regular Whole Foods Market shopper. Somehow, despite years of co-existing, neither has managed to challenge the other one’s use of the name, possibly because it’s not clear which “Whole Foods” came first. The grocery store chain says it was founded in 1980. The magazine lists two dates, 1977 and 1983.
Regardless, the two managed to coexist peacefully … until now.
Angry leftists definitely didn’t think too deeply about the possible differences between the magazine and the market and, as soon as they saw the “Whole Foods” name, they immediately saw red. Some even declared a personal boycott against the grocery chain for merely daring to suggest that a Republican might have a good idea when it comes to hemp farming.
“Who shops Whole Foods? Not me anymore!” wrote user @1anniem, according to the New York Post.
“Whole Foods gave Mitch McConnell an award for supporting cannabis. F–k Whole Foods,” wrote another.
A campaign to harass Whole Foods Market on social media quickly materialized and the chain was, it seems, bombarded with angry missives from incensed leftists wondering why their precious Whole Foods Market would dare to tangle with the dark side.
Whole Foods Market tried valiantly to control the fallout and sent dozens of tweets to leftists engaged in the boycott campaign, pointing out that Whole Foods Magazine and Whole Foods Market are two different things, but it was to no avail.
Thanks for bringing this to our attention, Donna. Whole Foods Market is not affiliated with this publication!
— Whole Foods Market (@WholeFoods) November 27, 2019
Hello Bob. Whole Foods Market is not affiliated with this magazine publication.
— Whole Foods Market (@WholeFoods) November 29, 2019
Whole Foods Market engaged in a two-day long campaign of its own to correct the record, but, it seems, as of publication of this article, Whole Foods Market is still getting tweets excoriating the editors of the unaffiliated Whole Foods Magazine for “ruining” the grocery chain.
Oddly enough, it seems leftists may have missed some facts about Whole Foods Market they’d find just as distasteful as its non-embrace of Republican royalty. Whole Foods Market’s founder, John Mackey, is an avowed libertarian who campaigned aggressively against the Affordable Care Act and has been outspoken in his opposition to things like increased government regulation, particularly increased government regulation in pursuit of heading off climate change.
As of a few years ago, Whole Foods is under the Amazon umbrella, however, and Jeff Bezos is reliably left-leaning.