• Washington Post , Wednesday, August 19, 2009 10:36 AM

You've got to love the lede on Ylan Q. Mui's piece about the reaction of a flurry of Whole Foods shoppers to CEO John Mackey's op-ed piece in the Wall Street Journal last week: "Whole Foods aficionados who assumed the company's management was as crunchy as the brand are feeling betrayed."

Mui concludes her piece by retweeting a self-confessed WF addict who says it was "only a matter of time before i'd have to reconcile my politics w/my addiction to #wholefoods. i have to get my puffins elsewhere."

In between lies the sort of cautionary tale that keeps the pantries of crises communication experts well stocked with premium goods. Mackey's article criticized President Barack Obama's health care plan and called for less regulation of the insurance industry, Brian Gaar reports in the American-Statesman.

His take on the issue, which a Whole Foods spokeswoman insists is Mackey's personal viewpoint and does not reflect the company's nonexistent stance, has led to the retailer's liberal customer base going "ballistic," writes Mui. The headline, which Mackey did not write, was, unfortunately for the company, "The Whole Foods Alternative to ObamaCare."

A forum created on Whole Foods' Web site to discuss the issue has nearly 11,500 posts this morning. Of all the other topics, only "Suggest a Store" breaks 500.

On the other side of the political dial, Retailing Today reports that Wal-Mart, CVS and Best Buy are among a list of 20 companies that ColorOfChange, an African-American online political organization, says will stop advertising on Glenn Beck's Fox News show after he called President Obama a racist.

Read the whole story at Washington Post »