Whole Foods reaches out to local growers.

• Author: Taylor, Mike
• Position: Whole Foods Market Inc.

Whole Foods Market is a bit too expensive for my taste, and yet seemingly by osmosis the natural-foods retailer has raised my interest in natural products--mainly because I have friends who shop there and are constantly telling me what a satisfying experience it is. Some will even throw in that the hormone-infused beef and pesticide-treated vegetables I buy at the conventional supermarket are going to kill me.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

One step at a time, I tell them. I haven't even completely killed off my junk-food beast yet, much less replaced it with a full-blown organic vegetable habit.

But there's no doubt that Whole Foods has played a huge role in bringing the organic and natural foods movement to the mainstream and making grocery shopping not just a chore but a celebration of food in all its variety. Launched in 1978 as a single vegetarian store in Austin, Texas, the company has grown to nearly 200 stores worldwide with revenue of more than $5.6 billion last year.

A great story, but along with that growth has come criticism that some of the organic ideal has been compromised as demand has climbed. The end products may be organic from a dietary standpoint, critics argue, but everything else--the growing, the harvesting, the packaging and the shipping of organic products--is industrial business as usual.

Whole Foods hasn't taken that rap lying down. On Feb. 1 the company's Rocky Mountain Region held an all-day seminar for farmers of all sizes at the Belmar Center in Denver. The purpose: to instruct area growers and producers how to become Whole Foods vendors, whether for just one store or several of them.

The event drew 130 attendees, including farmers, fruit growers, artisan cheese makers and small-scale winemakers from four states. In one segment, veteran Whole Foods suppliers sat as a panel and explained their relationship with the store and fielded questions about distribution, marketing, meeting quality standards and financing.

The emphasis throughout was on developing relationships with local suppliers.

"There's been a renewed focus and emphasis on 'local,' not just by our company, but from our competitors," said Will Paradise, president of Whole Foods' Rocky Mountain Region He cited Michael Pollan's book, "The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals," for increasing the emphasis on food that's locally grown.

Pollan points out, for example, that produce grown organically in California might be chemical-free, but if it's...