Mostly opinion but interesting.
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I gave them up a few months ago. For purely political reasons.
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Article is a bit of a hack and most of this is pretty old news.
Also some of it isn’t whole foods specific – eg what hoops producers / growers have to jump through to get organic certification being skewed so only large companies can comply, not small farms, which led to folks complying with requirements ut not seeking certification.
Anyway, not defending WF especially of late, but it would be nice to have some alternatives for what they used to offer (because it certainly isn’t coming from the other big chains).
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Click bait.
Luckily there’s local alternatives to WF in the SF East Bay so I rarely go. Still, better to have the WF option, instead of not.
Would love to know any larger supermarket chain that doesn’t have those same issues at one time or other…
Whole Foods claims not to do those things. That’s the difference, to me, at least.
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It’s always depressing to find out things / corporations / people aren’t what or who they seem to be.
More honesty and transparency in general would be nice.
If you read the Michael Pollen book (Omnivore’s Dilemma), your illusions regarding Whole Foods might have shattered a long time ago. 
This article is picking up things like overcharging or mislabeled items – what grocery would say they do that? There are mistakes at any grocery store, and while it’s not excusing those errors, if they fix them promptly without hassle then that’s ok. The hype and confusing marketing terms is prevalent in the industry, and WF certainly does over-use it, knowing how many in their customer base are the Lulu Lemon, yoga moms who would never buy anything that doesn’t have an organic label. Note: I like yoga and have nothing against Lulu Lemon products (but they are ridiculously overpriced).
I still prefer a Whole Foods if they are in the area over other grocers for non-Asian goods, but I don’t think their products are anywhere near as good as the local butchers and farms that offer direct sales to customers at the farmers markets.
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Before Amazon bought WF, there was plenty of negative press about it, beyond what the article mentions. Weird team cult like stuff, crazy pricing (Whole paycheck), weird CEO, and a lot I can’t remember. Amazon seems to have cleaned up a lot of that via pricing reform, marketing and PR but it has brought its own weirdness that’s particular to itself. I’m not a fan of Bezos (tech oligarchy) so I avoid, but then I can given the exceptional options near me but when I’m not near home, WF is an option…but I will avoid if I can.
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Erewhon is the new Whole Foods (circa 2000s)
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You must be kidding
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I’m a big believer that whole foods are indeed better for you, but I don’t believe them to be miracle cures for all diseases (which is somewhat what Erewhon wants to pitch to you). But then to mark it up to ridiculous prices? It truly is the LuLu Lemon of grocery stores (or the Gwyneth Paltrow’s Goop of grocers).
Those people want to buy a lifestyle and health; they are not really that interested in living that life. Funny that many will deride them as crunchy and granola, but I find it to be the exact opposite. Yes, crunchy and granola stereotypes include people who prefer natural foods and grains, but also living as simply and as naturally as we once did. The LuLu Lemon set just like to put out vibes of a natural life - and if they can afford it, they will buy it - but they don’t embrace the simplicity. The easier, the more modern, the more zen sounding, and the more sheen you can give to it, so it looks good on social media, the better.
Have you been to an Erewhon ? Even though it is not an exact comparison but there are definitely several factors which make a comparison between today’s Erewhon and 2005 WF quite compelling
