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Title:Whole Foods Market : Company : John Mackey's Blog : The Upward Flow of HumanDevelopment

Date:Tue Jul 182006

URL: http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/blogs/jm/archives/2006/05/the_upward_flow.html

The Upward Flow of Human Development

What follows is a modified version of John Mackey's Keynote Speech at the March, 2006, Tribal

Gathering of Whole Foods Market in Austin, Texas. Every few years, approximately 600 members ofWhole Foods Market leadership come together for a long weekend dedicated to networking, educationand inspiration. This speech was delivered on the final day of the gathering.

Much loud and sustained applause

Let's hope you feel the same after hearing this speech. I went back and forth over whether to play it safeand give a typical keynote speech, but I decided to go for it and see if we can take Whole Foods Marketto the next levelon our growing edge.

Today I'm going to paint a really big picture, a picture of "everything," of how I think the world reallyworks, and where Whole Foods Market and Grameen Bank fit into it. [Muhammad Yunus of GrameenBank spoke immediately following this speech.]If I communicate this information in the way that I hopeto, I guarantee you will never look at the world in the same way again. You won't look at Whole Foods

Market in quite the same way, either. So that is my goal.

My philosophy is that life is all about learning and growing, and that life can be a real adventure oflearning, growing, compassion, and joyfulness. We all have the capability to grow all our livesif wedon't get stuckin emotional intelligence, wisdom, consciousness, ethical development, and love. Andnot only individuals are capable of growth. So are organizations such as Whole Foods Market andGrameen Bank, as well as larger collective societies, such as the United States.

One way to view human development is to see a decline in egocentrism. As Henry Gardner said, "Thewhole history of human development can be viewed as a progressive decline in egocentrism."Consciousness development engenders a decrease in narcissism and an increase in caring andconsciousness. Humans move from ego-centric to ethno-centric to world-centric as they develop inconsciousness. The upward spiral of development is at the same time a spiral of compassionfrom meto us to all of us.

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs

How many people here today heard my talk two years ago in Seattle on self-actualization? [lightapplause]Well, I'm not giving that talk today. [light laughter from audience]However, it doesserve as a springboard for what I want to talk about.

You may recall that I introduced Maslow's Hierarchy during that talk. Maslow identified ahierarchy of needs [see chart], which is one way to think about the upward flow of humanconsciousness. As we evolve upward we pass through levels of needs, from our physiologicalneeds to our safety needs, next to our belongingness needs, then to our self-esteem needs,then to our needs for the good, the true and the beautiful, and finally to our self actualization

needs at the very apex of the hierarchy.


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Maslow's hierarchy is a good reference point for the information that follows.

I now want to introduce another system from a man who was a peer and friend of Maslow's andwho influenced, and was influenced by, Maslow. This man, Clare Graves, created anothersystem for understanding the way the world works. Graves developed models in "emergentdeep value systems" that have been built upon by others, and we now call this model SpiralDynamics.

Spiral Dynamics is a bio-psycho-social-spiritual framework (I love this word) for understandingcore human thought processes. Spiral Dynamics helps identify how people change, organize,develop consciousness, make choices, create strategies, and communicate. This system helpsto reveal the hidden codes that shape human nature, liberate global diversity, and drive or hindersocial and organizational transformation.

Graves' work was built upon by a student named Don Beck and his student, in turn, Christopher

Cowan. They wrote a book called Spiral Dynamics. Ken Wilber of the Integral Institute has takenthe Spiral Dynamics model and incorporated it into his Integral models as a next step. Both ofthese are the basis for the information I'll be presenting today.

Spiral Dynamics Overview

Now I want to present a quick overview of Spiral Dynamics. Human consciousness evolves overtime, both for individuals and for the larger society. This evolution of consciousness can beunderstood as a hierarchical spiral that evolves to greater levels of complexity. This hierarchicalspiral doesn't consist of rigid levels but can be rather likened to flowing waves, with muchoverlap and interweaving. We are not monolithic as we move through these levels.

Within this system model, different colors represent different levels or waves of development,

each offering a viewing point for the "real world" according to unique perceptual filters. Thecolors, which have no significance in and of themselves, are a useful abbreviated tool, to help usquickly grasp the level of consciousness we are discussing.

I want to provide some additional background information to help us gain a common language.Spiral Dynamics uses the word "vMEME" with each color. The word MEME was invented byRichard Dawkins when he wrote The Selfish Gene. The little 'v' means "value MEME" to indicatethat we are referencing value systems. The Spiral Dynamics model currently has defined eightlevels of consciousness, but allows for the potential of new, more complex levels emerging. KenWilber's Integral models address this in more detail.

A graphic depicting the levels of the spiral is shown below.


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The vMEMEs are like invisible core intelligences. They are broad orienting paradigms that weuse to interpret the world. They are structures of thinking in that you can't see them.. Lifeconditions awaken vMEMEs which may emerge, surge, regress, or fade in response to thoseevents that trigger change. No one vMEME is better or worse than another, they are simply lesscomplex and more complex. As I mentioned earlier, the levels are not rigid.

All vMEMEs are good and necessary. To evolve to more complex vMEMEs requiresexperiencing/living the less complex vMEMEs first. The vMEMEs are not rigid levels but flowingwaves, with much overlap and interweaving, resulting in a dynamic spiral of consciousnessunfolding. The vMEMEs can express both healthy (for-better) and unhealthy (for-worse)qualities; sometimes it is more beneficial to the individual to be healthy at a lower vMEME thanto be unhealthy at a higher vMEME. An individual's vMEME can brighten and dim as lifeconditions change; each one of us experiences different things that set us off to the nextevolution.

In general vMEMEs follow several trajectories as they evolve. They go fromless complexnatural, technological, and human environments tomore complex. They likewise go fromsurviving in the bush through the awakening of new consciousness levels tosurfing beyond theInternet toeven higher levels of complexity, tounderstanding the entire global ecosphere.Finally, they go froma small piece of land via migrations across land and information terrains tothe global village and cyberspace, where a complexity of development through sharedinformation becomes possible.

The First Tier vMEMEs

Now I want to introduce the eight core vMEMEs. The first six are called First Tier vMEMEs, asopposed to the Second Tier vMEMEs, which I will explain later.

Beige "Instinctive/Survivalistic" vMEME

The first is the Beige "Instinctive/Survivalistic" vMEME. This first arrived on the scene, or"awakened," 100,000+ years ago. Its basic premise is: Do what you must to stay alive.

The characteristic beliefs and actions of the Beige vMEME are:

An individual uses instincts and habits just to survive

The distinct self is barely awakened or sustained

Food, water, warmth, sex, and safety have priority over anything else

Beige individuals form into family survival bands to perpetuate life

Where do you find the Beige vMEME expressed? Here is a representative list:

The first peoples, newborn infants, senile elderly, late-stage Alzheimer's victims, mentally illstreet people, starving masses, bad drug trips (if any of you ever had bad LSD trips, you were


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probably back in a Beige vMEME), and "shell shock." This vMEME is well described inanthropological fiction like Jean Auel's Clan of the Cave Bear.

The Beige vMEME includes approximately 1/10 percent of the world's adult population and zeropercent of the power.

Purple "Magical/Animistic" vMEME

As human consciousness evolves, it next goes into the Purple "Magical/Animistic" vMEME. This

second "awakening" occurred approximately 50,000 years ago. We're tapping into this vMEMEthis weekend at the tribal gathering, because we're tapping into the power of the tribe. The basictheme for the Purple vMEME is: Keep the spirits happy and the tribe's nest warm and safe.

The Characteristic beliefs and actions of the Purple vMEME are:

Thinking is animistic; magical spiritsboth good and bad

Obeying the desires of spirit beings and mystical signs

Showing allegiance to chief, elders, ancestors, and the clan

Preserving sacred objects, places, events, and memories

Observing rites of passage, seasonal cycles, and tribal customs

Although some of this sounds benign, it wasn't all good, because this was where slavery andhuman sacrifice came into the picture.

Where do you find the Purple vMEME expressed? Here is a sampling: belief in guardian angelsand Voodoo-like curses, animism, blood oaths, Native American Indians were living primarily inthe purple vMEME when the Western peoples arrived on the continent, chanting and trancedancing, good luck charms, mystical ethnic beliefs and superstitions, New Age beliefscrystals,tarot, astrology, and Harry Potter's magical world.

The Purple vMEME includes 10% of the world population, and only 1% of the power.

The following provides more detail about the typical qualities seen in the Purple"Magical/Animistic" vMEME:

Characteristics

Mystical spirits, signs

Safe clans and nests

Powerful elders

Our people vs. "them" [Whole Foods Market against Wild Oats and Trader Joe's]

Decision making

Custom and tradition

Elders' counsel


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Signs or the shaman

Clan gets the spoils

Education

Paternalistic teachers

Rituals and routines

Passive learners

Family-like learning; oral history to pass down the stories

Family

Extended kinships

Rites of passage

Strict role relations

Protects bloodline

Community

Respects folk ways

Honors ethnicity

Lets group be itself

Guards magic places

Life space

Old country ways

Focus on subsistence

Fearful, mystical, superstitious

Full of spirit beings

Just to explain the rhythm, the vMEMEs tend to alternate between individualistic andcommunity-focused. The Purple vMEME was community focused. The next level isindividualistic.

Red "Egocentric/Narcissistic" vMEME

The Red "Egocentric/Narcissistic" vMEME, the third "awakening," occurred about 10,000 years


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ago. Its basic theme is: Be what you are and do what you want regardless"Nobody tells mewhat to do."

Many teenagers are at the Red vMEME. Many of you in the audience probably remember goingthrough this phase.

The characteristic beliefs and actions of this vMEME are:

The world is seen as a jungle full of threats and predators

The individual breaks free from any constraints to please self as self desires

The individual stands tall, expects attention, demands respect, calls the shots

The individual enjoys himself to the fullest, right now without guilt or remorse

The individual conquers, out-foxes, and dominates other aggressive characters

An overly developed ethnic identity can lead to genocidal wars, slavery, and racism

The individual believes that: "I am special, I'll live forever, I am immortal, not like theothers."

Where is the Red vMEME expressed? The following sample provides an overview: the "TerribleTwos," rebellious youth, frontier mentalities, feudal kingdoms, street gangs, James Bondvillainsthe guys that conquer the world (I always wondered what the big payoff was if youconquered the world. Well, in the red vMEME these guys get all the women, the fast cars, andthe money), epic heroes, soldiers of fortune, wild rock stars, William Golding's Lord of the Flies,Sauron in Lord of the Rings, Voldemort in Harry Potter.

The red vMEME includes 15% to 20% of the world population, but only 5% of the power.

When adults are residing at the Red vMEME, we often think of them as "spoiled." But you needRed energy to overcome restrictions and boundaries put on you by other systems.

The following provides more detail about the typical qualities seen in the Red"Impulsive/Egocentric" vMEME.

Characteristics

Raw power displays

Immediate pleasure

Unrestrained by guilt

Colorful and creative

Decision making

Tough-one dictates


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What gets respect

What feels good now

Powerful grab spoils

Education

Rewards for learning

Tough-love tactics

Work on respect

Controlled freedom

Family

Gang-like battles

Builds us vs. them walls

Tests of worthiness

Struggles with the system

Community

Predators in control

Danger to the outsiders

Forms fiefdoms

Turf wars and vendettas

Life space

Unconstrained

Might makes right

Winners and dead losers

Attention-seeking

Blue "Purposeful/Authoritarian" vMEME

After the very individualistic Red vMEME, the next level goes back again to the morecommunity-focused orientation. The Blue "Purposeful/Authoritarian" vMEME, as the fourth


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"awakening," began approximately 5,000 years ago. The basic rules for the Blue vMEME are:Life has meaning, direction and purpose with outcomes determined by an all-powerful Other orOrder. This vMEME brings discipline to the spiral because you are now "following a higherorder."

The characteristic beliefs and actions of the Blue vMEME include:

Sacrificing of the self to the transcendent Cause, Truth, or righteous Pathway.

Allowing the Order to enforce a code of conduct based on eternal, absolute unvaryingprinciples of "right" and "wrong"there is one right way to live and deviations punishedfrom the path are punished.

Following the right path produces security now and guarantees future reward; if you don'tfollow the path, well, you've made your choices.

Displaying missionary zealotry, which can be short on evidence and long on belief andfaith, as well as closed minds. When you run into people with very rigid thought structures,you are dealing with someone who is residing at the Blue vMEME.

Engaging in pleasurable acts is seen as frivolous; humor is rare; actions are based injudgment not compassion, although there is a lot of talk about compassion.

Operating from a fundamentalist, conventional, traditional, and conformist worldview.

Where do you find the Blue vMEME expressed? The following provides a sample:

Christian and Islamic fundamentalism, Puritan America, Dickensian England, Singapore's strictdiscipline, witch hunts, codes of chivalry and honor, the Spanish Inquisition, the caste system inIndia, Frank Capra's It's a Wonderful Life, Boy and Girl Scouts, and patriotism.

The Blue vMEME includes 35% to 40% of the world population, and 25% to 30% of the power.The figures are somewhat lower in the United States.

The following provides more detail about the typical qualities seen in the Blue"Purposeful/Authoritarian" vMEME.

Characteristics

Only one right way

Purpose in causes

Guilt in consequences

Sacrifice for honor

Decision making

Orders from authority

Do right, obey rules

Adhere to tradition


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Righteous earn spoils

Education

Truth from authority

Traditional stair steps

Moralistic lessons

Punishment for errors

Family

Seat of truths and values

Proper places for all, respect for parents

Codes of conduct

Teaches moral ways

Community

Peace-and-quiet

Cautious and careful

Tidy, green, and neat

Born into society

Life space

Law abiding citizen (this was the bourgeoisie that drove Karl Marx crazy)

Places for everybody

Seeks peace of mind

Rewards to come

The Blue vMEME is one the core constituencies of the Republican Party and comprises the"moral majority" in the United States today.

Orange "Scientific Modernism" vMEME

The Orange "Scientific Modernism" vMEME, the fifth "awakening" began only 300 years ago. Itstagline is: Act in your own self-interest by playing the game to win.


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Some of the characteristic beliefs and actions of this vMEME include:

Strongly expressed individualism; Orange breaks away from the "herd" of the Blue vMEME.

Developed human rights, legal freedoms, free markets, capitalistic democracies

Strong faith in science and rationality, which eclipse superstition

Seeking to live the "good life" with material abundance

Believe that optimistic, risk-taking, and self-reliant people deserve their success

Play to win and enjoy competition; very success driven

Basing principles on ethics, not religion

Ignoring of inner spirituality to a high degree; the subsequent loss of the sacred

The Orange vMEME is expressed in ways such as the following: The Enlightenment, "success"

ministries (such as Napoleon Hill and Tony Robbins), American "Founding Fathers," Ayn Rand'sAtlas Shrugged, Wall Street, Rodeo Drive, The Riviera, the cosmetics and fashion industries,breast implants, emerging middle classes around the world (in India and certain parts of China),Chambers of Commerce, corporate America, Forbes magazine, materialism, and thestereotypical yuppies.

The Orange vMEME includes approximately 25% to 30% of the world population. In the UnitedStates, the figure is closer to 50% of the population. Worldwide, this vMEME wields 45% to 50%of the power. Orange is the dominant vMEME in the U.S. today.

The following provides more detail on the typical qualities seen in the Orange"Achievist/Strategic" vMEME.

Characteristics

Competes for success

Goal-oriented drive

Change to progress

Material gain/perks

Decision making

Bottom-line results

Test options for best

Consult experts

Successful win spoils


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Education

Experiments to win

High-tech, high status

How to win niches

Mentors and guides

Family

Upwardly mobile

Demands attention

High expectations

Image conscious

Community

Caters to prosperous

Displays affluence

Buys into society

Security for the elite

Life space

Wants to prosper now

Competition always

Leverages influence

Seeks material things

A few people in this audience may relate strongly to this vMEME. I know I do.

Green "Communitarian/Egalitarian" vMEME

The response to the somewhat singularly driven Orange vMEME is found in the Green"Communitarian/Egalitarian" vMEME, the sixth "awakening," which first appeared nearly 150years ago. The basic theme for the Green vMEME is: Seek peace within the inner self andexplore, with others, the caring dimensions of community. Another way to think of this vMEME isas "The Sensitive Self."

Some of the characteristic beliefs and actions of the Green vMEME include:


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Becomes more aware of the suffering of the world, of other sentient beings

The human spirit must be freed from greed, dogma, and divisiveness

Feelings, sensitivity, and caring supersede cold rationality

Share the Earth's resources and opportunities equally among all

Reach decisions through consensus processes

Anti-authoritarian and against hierarchy; establishes lateral bonding and linking

All values are pluralistic and relativistic; no one should be marginalized

Environmentalism becomes a socio-political movement

A fundamental belief is "All people are good; it's society that makes them bad." Highlyidealistic.

Can create cults of victims and censorship through politically correct thinking; can also bepolitically dogmatic.

The Green vMEME is seen in the following: John Lennon's music, deep ecology, Greenpeace,animal rights, Woodstock, single payer health care, ACLU, humanistic psychology, diversitytraining, multiculturalism, Boulder, Colorado, Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream company(pre-mergerI have a feeling they are more orange vMEME after Unilever acquired them), TheBody Shop, politically correct thinking, deconstructionism, postmodernism, The Utne Reader,Paul Ray's Cultural Creatives, and the natural/organic foods movement.

I believe that the essence of the culture wars in the U.S. is the differences between the Blue,Orange, and the Green vMEMEs.

The Green vMEME comprises 10% of the world population, and holds nearly 15% of the power;in the U.S. you can double these numbers. The Green vMEME now has more power in the U.S.than the Blue vMEME.

The following provides more information on the qualities inherent in the Green"Communitarian/Egalitarian" vMEME.

Characteristics

Seeks inner peace

Everybody is equal

Everything is relative

Harmony within the group

Decision making

Reach consensus

All must collaborate


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Individuals who operate from the Second Tier are capable of fully appreciating the value andnecessity of all the vMEMEs. They comprehend that the health of the entire spiral, or allvMEMEs, is essential. At the Integral level, fear and anxiety largely disappear fromconsciousness. At the Second Tier, systems thinking becomes the norm, and mental activityconsists of joining, linking, and synthesizing in pluralistic systems. Individuals who haveachieved the Second Tier find a greatly increased capacity for love and compassion. This is the"Self-Actualizing and Transpersonal" level in Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, as presented earlier.

I realize I'm giving you a lot of information. This is all background for what I really want to talk

about. I want to provide you with an underlying structure for the discussion that follows. Bearwith me, I have just a bit more background.

Yellow "Autonomous/Integrative" vMEME

The first level within the Second Tier is the Yellow "Autonomous/Integrative" vMEME, which isthe 7th "awakening," and it occurred approximately 50 years ago. The Yellow vMEME's basictenet is: Live fully and responsibly with authenticity.

Some of the characteristic beliefs and actions of the Yellow vMEME are:

Pursuit of learning for its own sake.

Systems thinking.

Viewing life as a kaleidoscope of natural hierarchies, systems, and forms

Valuing the magnificence of existence over material possessions

Prioritizing flexibility, spontaneity, and functionality (Here at Whole Foods Market, you havelong seen that I have a huge bias toward flexibility.)

Valuing knowledge and competency over rank, power, and status

Integrating complex systems with ease

The risk at this level of the wave is what Darth Vader from Star Warsor Sauruman from Lord ofthe Ringsfaced, which is the risk of the fall downward.

The Yellow vMEME is expressed in the following: Carl Sagan's astronomy, Peter Senge'slearning organizations, Stephen Hawking's Brief History of Time, chaos theory, appropriatetechnology, eco-industrial parks (using each others' outflows as raw materials), Fred Alan Wolf's"new physics," Deepak Chopra'sAgeless Body, the movie What the Bleep Do We Know?, Wiredmagazine, Gandalf the Grey from Lord of the Rings, and Dumbeldore from Harry Potter.

The only two companies I know that are operating frequently at the yellow level are Google andWhole Foods Market. There are probably many more, but those are the two that spring to mind.

This is a recent vMEME, and only 1% of the population is found in the Yellow, but it holds 5% ofthe power world-wide.

The following qualities typify the Yellow "Integrative" vMEME.

Characteristics

Big picture views

Integrative structures


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Naturalness of chaos

Inevitability of change

Decision making

Highly principled

Knowledge centered

Resolved paradoxes

Competent get spoils

Education

Becomes self-directed

Whole-day package

Tuned to interests

Non-rigid structure

Family

Shifting roles

Expects competence

Takes each as is

Information base

Community

Does more with less

Appropriate technologies

Power is dispersed

Integrated systems

Life space

Life is learning

Intrigued by process


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Freedom to just be

Rarely fearful

Turquoise "Holistic" vMEME

Beyond the largely individualistic Yellow vMEME, the Turquoise "Holistic" vMEME, as the 8th"awakening," began expressing about 30 years ago. This vMEME's basic premise is: Experiencethe wholeness of existence through mind and spirit.

Some of the characteristic beliefs and actions of the Turquoise vMEME include:

Experiencing the world as a single, dynamic organism with its own collective mind

Acknowledging the Self as both distinct and a blended part of a larger, compassionatewhole

Viewing everything connected to everything else as incredibly beautiful ecologicalalignments

Experiencing energy and information as permeating the Earth's total environment

Thinking that is holistic and intuitive, with an expectation of cooperative actions

Synthesizing science and religion into a universal spirituality

The Turquoise vMEME is seen in: David Bohm's theories, McLuhan's "global village," RupertSheldrake and morphic fields, Gandhi's ideas of pluralistic harmony, Ken Wilber's "Spectrum ofConsciousness," James Lovelock's "Gaia hypothesis," transpersonal psychology, Pierre

Teilhard de Chardin's "noosphere," the White from Lord of the Rings, and Dumbledore fromHarry Potter[if he isn't really dead-we are waiting to see what happens in book seven]. WholeFoods Market is evolving towards the Turquoise vMEME as an organization, working withGrameen Bank and our various foundations.

The Turquoise vMEME currently has around .01% of the population, but already holdsapproximately 1% of the power in the world.

Some of the differences to note are that the Yellow vMEME figures things out on an individualbasis, and is very good at figuring out paradoxes on a one-up basis. The Turquoise vMEMEgoes back into the community orientation. It begins to connect on a global basis to otherorganizations and individuals that it harmonizes with to magnify the good we can do. With ourpartnerships with Earth University and Grameen, Whole Foods Market is recognizing that if wereally want to help the world to evolve, we have to link up with other organizations with whom weharmonize to extend our influence.

The following qualities define the Turquoise "Holistic/Integral" vMEME.

Characteristics

Scans the macro


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Synergy of all life

Safe, orderly world

Restore harmony

Decision making

Blend natural flows

Look up/downstream

Plan for long range

Life gets spoils

Education

Access to world

Blends feelings and technology

Bring past to life

Maximize the brain

Family

Global awareness

Grows consciousness

Broad interest ranges

Seeks outreach

Community

Interconnected

Highly diversified

Not isolationist

Information rich

Life space

Belong to universe

Fit into chain of being


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Do something here

As one with life-force

Are there any vMEMEs beyond Turquoise? New vMEMEs will continue to be created as the

evolution of human consciousness so requires. Beck and Cowan claim that a new vMEME,Coral, exists but that it lacks a sufficient number of people to be statistically meaningful.Likewise, Ken Wilber believes that vMEMEs beyond Coral also exist. He calls this the "ThirdTier" of consciousness. He states that fully realized beings such as the Buddha and Jesusevolved to this Third Tier. Non-dual consciousness and universal love and compassioncharacterize this level of consciousness.

Spiral Dynamics and Whole Foods Market

We needed to go through all that background information to acquire some basic language incommon. Now, how is Spiral Dynamics relevant to Whole Foods Market? Spiral Dynamics is auseful model to understand one's personal values and one's current level/wave ofconsciousness. Spiral Dyamics is also a useful model to better understand what is happening in

the world today. In addition, Spiral Dynamics is a useful model for understanding organizationsand businesses. Why are we different than most other corporations in the world? Mostcorporations in the United States are rooted firmly in the Orange vMEME; a few are in the GreenvMEME, as are many non-profits. There are very few Second Tier (Integral) corporations. Ibelieve Whole Foods Market is a Yellow, Integral organization. Finally, Spiral Dynamics is auseful model to understand the evolution of our agricultural system over the past 100,000+ yearsand where it is headed.

What are the limitations of First Tier business models? Large corporations are solidly groundedin the Orange vMEME. Corporations are the most influential institutions in the world today andyet most people do not believe they are "good" or that they can be trusted. Corporations arewidely perceived as greedy, selfish, exploitative, and uncaring; they are only interested in profits.Poor, and very public, examples of ethical lapses include Enron, Tyco, NYSE, WorldCom,

Mutual Funds, AIG, and Martha Stewart. The Orange vMEME thinks in terms of machine orengineering metaphors; for example: labor, land, and capital are "factors of production," and aretherefore merely means to the end of efficiency.

The Orange vMEME doesn't grasp systems interdependencies and therefore largely lacksecological consciousness or a sense of responsibility for other stakeholders. Theanti-globalization movement is primarily a Green vMEME anti-corporation movement. Manypeople are afraid that corporations want to "rule the world." Corporations and capitalism bothhave serious "branding" problems. These problems are inherent problems within the OrangevMEME, because it doesn't communicate well with other vMEMEs, especially Green. It is myopinion that large corporations need to evolve to Green vMEME, and then to the Second Tier(and become Integral). That is why it is so exciting to see Safeway and Wal-Mart becoming moresensitive to their stakeholders besides their investors. They are beginning to recognize that theyneed to evolve.

What are the limitations of First Tier non-profit organizations? Most American non-profitorganizations are grounded within the Green vMEME, creating inefficiencies, waste, andstagnation. I would argue that most are ineffective. Nearly 99% of non-profit organizations aredependent upon donations from the business sector of society in order to exist-they aren'tsustainable on their own. All institutions need inputs of resources, energy and money in order tofulfill their purpose. Ultimately all money is produced through business enterprise.

We need to be asking: "Are altruistic goals by themselves enough to make a non-profitorganization "good" or "ethical?" Do these altruistic goals make them effective? Are non-profitorganizations able to completely transcend self-interest simply because they have altruisticgoals? I would argue they don't. It is my opinion that non-profit organizations need to evolve to


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the Second Tier (become Integral), just like business.

We see a basic conflict between the Orange and Green vMEMEs; a perceptual wall between the"good" non-profits and the "bad" corporations. The wall needs to be torn down and the polaritiesintegrated at a higher level, the Second Tier (Integral). Business needs to become "good," with adeeper and more comprehensive purpose. Corporations must rethink why they exist. They mustevolve past machine metaphors and learn how to think holistically. At the same time, non-profitsmust become economically sustainable and discover that money and profits are good, not evil,and part of the healthy holistic organization. Grameen Bank is a great example of an altruistic

organization that has learned the importance of sustainable enterprise. We need to recognizethe increasing importance of social entrepreneurship. This will continue to grow.

Once the perceptual wall is torn down, it becomes clear that business and non-profitorganizations are much more alike than they are different. They both can become Integral. Atthe Second Tier, THEY AREN'T ANY DIFFERENT!!!!

Second Tier (Integral) holistic view of interdependence of all stakeholders

Second Tier (Integral) holistic view of interdependence of all stakeholders


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When you fully understand the need to simultaneously satisfy the stakeholders, you'll see thatbusiness enterprise and non-profit enterprise are far more alike than different, and they havemuch to teach each other.

A Quick History of Food Production

I'm going to paint a big picture of the entire history of food in the next few minutes, using SpiralDynamics to help illustrate the talk.

The following is an overview of the evolution of food and agriculture from a Spiral Dynamicsperspective:

Beige vMEME

Began 100,000+ years agohunting and gathering

Purple vMEME

Began 50,000 years agohunting and gathering plus early horticulture

Red vMEME

Began 10,000 years agotransition to settled agriculture as main source of food

Blue vMEME

Began 5,000 years agotraditional agriculture established; authoritarian cultures built uponagricultural surpluses

Orange vMEME

Began 300 years agoindustrial system gradually applied to agriculture; we began to

apply science, technology, and industry to agriculture

Green vMEME

Began 150 years agoin response to the industrialization of food, the natural and organicmovement began evolving over the past 50 years in response to the industrial model of theOrange vMEME

Yellow vMEME

Began 50 years ago"Deep Organic" and animal compassionate movements began about20 to 30 years ago. These movements are still scattered and not well linked together. Partof the Whole Foods Market mission is to link these two together.


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Turquoise vMEME

Began 30 years agoits effects on food production not known as yet

Industrialization of our Food

I would now like to discuss the industrialization of our food production, which began with theOrange vMEME. I want to give the Orange vMEME full credit for the benefits this mentality has

brought to our food systems before I critique it.

Over the last 300 years the Orange vMEME has steadily replaced the Blue vMEME approach toagriculture. As a result, an industrial model of food production has spread throughout the world.World food supplies have tripled in the past 30 years. World grain production requires onlyone-third the amount of agricultural land that it required 50 years ago for the same level ofproduction. These massive increases in productivity have greatly reduced the price of food.Cheaper food has enabled individual and societal resources to be spent in other ways toenhance our quality of life. Americans now spend less than 10% of their disposable income onfood. In 1950 we spent over 20%.

That being said, there are a lot of negative effects from this industrialized model. The large

increases of productivity are primarily the result of massive chemical inputs. Each year about 3million tons of farm chemicals are applied to the surface of our planet where they escape into theglobal environment. This has resulted in the degradation of both soil and water. Nearly one-thirdof the original amount of U.S. topsoil is now gone. Agriculture uses two-thirds of the world's freshwater resources, and, in many cases, it is polluting and depleting groundwater supplies.

The creation of animal "factory farms" has greatly lowered the cost of all animal products, but ithas come at tremendous cost in animal welfare. Most farm animals are now raised indoors inconfined animal feeding operations, where almost all natural animal behaviors are denied. Over12 billion farmed animals are now slaughtered every year in the United States.

Animal factory farms have huge negative effects on the environment. The volume of farm animalwaste products is 130 times greater than human waste in the United States, and this materialusually does not pass through sewage treatment plants. One big industrial hog operation

produces more waste than the entire city of Los Angeles over a year.

Farm animals in the U.S. now consume 70% of all the grains we grow. Including the land usedfor grazing cows, this means that means that 80% of all agricultural land in the U.S. is used toraise animals for food. That is equal to almost one half of the total land mass of the continentalU.S.

Our oceans suffer from the Orange vMEME approach, as well. Industrial pollution andover-fishing cause tremendous damage to our oceans. Coral reefs have declined by 30% in thelast 30 years. It is estimated that the total number of whales in the world has declined 90% in thelast 100 years. World supplies of cod, swordfish, marlin, halibut, skate, and flounder have beenreduced by almost 50% in the last 50 years. We are fishing out the oceans, it is happening in ourlifetimes.

Industrial mono-cultures are causing a loss of genetic diversity around the world. And theremaining genes in agricultural crops are being modified and introduced into the food supplychain at an alarming rate. Genetic engineering of our food crops has great potential and greatrisks. Unfortunately, it is currently being developed almost strictly from the consciousness of theOrange vMEME.

The current obesity epidemic is probably directly related to the industrialization of our foodproduction system. The figures are staggering! Over 60% of Americans are classified asoverweight and 26% are considered obese.

The success of Whole Foods Market in the last couple of years has extended beyond our coreGreen vMEME customer base and has attracted the Orange vMEME customer. This is certainly


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good in one sense, because it is extending our business mission further into the world. Thesuccess with this customer base is also now resulting in increased competition from OrangevMEME businessesWild Oats, Safeway, Super Value, Wal-Martwho are chasing ourcustomers. The integrity of our industry will be under increasing pressure. There will be acompetitive pressure to "dumb down" the organic movement.

What are the causes of these negative effects from the industrialization of our food production?One effect is that the Orange vMEME lacks the perspective to think holistically or ecologicallyabout agriculture. The environmental impacts of industrial agricultural production processes are

not fully factored into cost models - the pollution of air and water and the degradation of soil.Next is the failure of the market to effectively communicate other values besides prices toconsumers. Quality, nutritional value, and the environmental impact of products are not fullycommunicated to the consumer. The market system doesn't communicate any values other thancost.

Farm animal welfare is completely ignored because livestock animals are seen as merely a"factor of production" instead of as sentient beings to be cared for. Factory farms are, for mostcitizens and business owners, "out of sight, out of mind."

The negative effects of the Orange vMEME in agriculture are most clearly seen in our "FactoryFarms." With this model, all that matters is minimizing costs and maximizing productivity. That, ina nutshell, is the logic of the Orange vMEME in agriculture today.

If Whole Foods Market doesn't work to correct the horrible abuses of farm animals, then whowill? This is factory farming, so you can take a good look at it.

*[presentation of Meat Your Meat, a video prepared by PETA]*

click here to choose your player and download speed and watch the video

[The audience buzzes at the conclusion of the video.]

I hope I didn't mess up your lunch today!

Evolving Solutions for Agriculture

What are the solutions to the industrialization of agriculture? Agricultural needs to evolve fromthe Orange vMEME to the Green vMEME and then make the leap to the Second Tier (Integral).Food producers need to evolve to systems thinkingholistic and ecologicaloptimizing theentire system, not just one part. The U.S. needs to eliminate all agricultural subsidies toagribusiness. Farmers and producers need to internalize the costs of environmental impacts.We need to more fully adopt the tenets of the "Deep Organic" agricultural movement. As asociety, we need to support local agriculture. We need to demand the compassionate treatmentof farm animals and the integration of farm animals into ecological farm systems.

Organic Solutions

Organic agriculture is certainly one of the solutions. Organic agriculture produces food withoutsynthetic fertilizers and pesticides. The organic agriculture movement was originally activated bythe Green vMEME, but now the Orange vMEME is co-opting organic agriculture. As a society,we are better served by adopting Deep Organic (Second Tier-Integral) versus Shallow Organic(Orange vMEME) agriculture. An example of shallow organic agriculture would be the labeling ofcertain brands of milk as "organic." A factory farm can legally produce organic milk if it is feedingthe cow organic feed, but otherwise maintaining factory conditions. By contrast, the DeepOrganic world-view sees the farm not as a "food factory" but as a human-managed microcosmof the natural world. The Deep Organic world-view sees the soil as a living system to be nurturedand replenished instead of "mined" and exploited.

Whole Foods Market was instrumental in helping to develop the national organic standards into


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law. However, we have got to do a much better job of educating our customers and the mediaabout the value of Deep Organic agriculture. We must not compromise our higher values, butmaintain the very highest standards. We are going to have to stand strong and fight thecorporate movement to dumb down organic agriculture.

Animal Welfare

Whole Foods Market Animal Compassionate Standards are a great leap forward over whatexists now conventionally. But we have to do better. Our long-term goal is to develop

compassionate standards for all meat, poultry, and fish species sold in Whole Foods Marketstores. Duck, pig, beef, and sheep standards are completed and can be viewed on our website.Lobster, broiler chicken, laying hens and turkey standards are planned for 2006, and dairy cows,goats, and fish farms are slated for 2007. We are developing the standards as amulti-stakeholder process, involving major animal rights organizations: Animal Welfare Institute,Viva!USA, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, Humane Society of the U.S., AnimalRights International, and Farm Sanctuary. We are producing a living document that is subject torevision. Any future product that adheres to these standards will be clearly marked with soon tobe developed Animal Compassion logo.

I want to talk briefly about the Animal Compassion Foundation.

Our intention with this foundation is to create a worldwide network of ranchers and farmersinterested in improving humane treatment for farm animals. The foundation will search the planetfor innovative methods to be studied and provide research money for scientific studies toimprove the welfare of farm animals. The foundation will collect information for knowledgesharing on a worldwide basis. The foundation will be funded through a Whole Foods Marketannual Global 5% Day.

Moving Forward

In conclusion, I want to say WAKE UP!!! Wake up! Learn and grow! Evolve your consciousnessto a higher level. Open your heart wider and extend love, care and compassion further.

Fulfill the mission and core values of Whole Foods Market. Our company is making a realdifference in the world. We are making it better. You are contributing to the evolution of theworld, by fulfilling our mission.

Think in terms of creating value for all of our stakeholders simultaneously. All stakeholders areinterdependent and connected together. When you do this, you are thinking with Second Tier(Integral) consciousness. As you practice this at Whole Foods Market, you are practicingSecond Tier thinking. Sometimes it seems as if the Team Members are only thinking about theTeam Member's interests, although many are paying attention to the Customers. It seems likethe only ones paying attention to the investors are the Team Leaders. Maybe that's how they got

to be Team Leaders. The trick is to think in terms of creating value for all stakeholderssimultaneously.

The final message is Whole Foods Whole People Whole Planet. We are all connected togetherin an upward spiral flow toward greater health, happiness, peace, love, and ecologicalsustainability. That is our purpose, and that is what we are doing.

Here are a few resources if you'd like to learn more:

A Theory of Everythingby Ken Wilber


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Spiral Dynamicsby Don Beck and Christopher Cowan

Essential Spiritualityby Roger Walsh

Boomeritisby Ken Wilber

www.spiraldynamics.org

http://integralinstitute.org/

http://www.itp-life.com/

http://www.flowproject.org/

I'll entertain a few questions:

Q: You used several terms: arrested vs. activated. What do those terms mean, and are thesethe only states you can be in?

A: When a vMEME is activated, that means it is starting to "light up." If you are in a particularvMEME and it stops making sense to you, if something has happened in your life to make youquestion the values you hold, the next MEME will start to make sense, and will "light up."

If you are arrested in a certain level, your growth has stopped, you're not letting other input orinformation in, your thinking has become rigid.

Are there only two states? No, but can't think of anything else to tell you right now.

Q: You referenced "power" and the percentages each level held several times in your talk. Howwere you defining power?

A: They weren't my statistics (I got them from Don Beck's book Spiral Dynamics), but I define itas power in society, economic/political/social power. Orange is most powerful level today in theUnited States. Green growing in power, and Blue is still pretty powerful, but is in gradual decline.You have to view the statistics on a world-wide basis. The figures are different in the U.S.,because we've got more Green activated.

Q: You identified the need for the entire food industry to move toward a more holistic manner ofproduction; do you believe enough people will embrace having to pay for the additional costs?

A: Yes, I do. Look at how much the industry has changed in 20 years. Many more people arebuying organic food, even though it costs more. Look at Wal-Mart, selling organic produce.Who'd have thought that would happen 20 years ago?

Make no mistake, Whole Foods Market will be leading the way; especially if we become moreconscious, we can then grow and evolve more quickly; as we network with evolvingorganizations around the world, such as Grameen Bank and Earth University, we'll be helping tospeed up the evolution into the Second Tier.

At Whole Foods Market, we have a great balance of Orange, Green, and Second Tier energy inan interesting mix. We have many challenges ahead, but let the fear go, people. WE AREMAKING A DIFFERENCE.

Q: Is Whole Foods Market willing to address Population Control in its networking activities?

A: Maybe. I prepared this talk today because I wanted to challenge each level to understand the


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other. Some of the most important upward movements in the world today are in places like Indiaand China, where people in the Blue vMEME are moving in great numbers into the Orange. Associeties move into the Orange vMEME, populations tend to self-limit. I believe population willtake care of itself. As economic power grows, the incentive to have many children lessens. Ibelieve population will limit itself voluntarily, or internally by cultures, as a country'sconsciousness grows. I don't see a real need for external controls or programs. I think theanswer is to make the whole world prosperous, fulfill Muhammad Yunnus' vision for empoweringthe poor, on a world-wide basis.

Q: You talked a lot about Genetic Engineering and how its name would need to change, andhow it needed to change. What would you change the name to, and what would it look like at theSecond Tier?

A: Genetic Engineering is caught in the crossfire of the Orange vMEME vs. Green vMEMEthinking. At the Second Tier, it could potentially become of great benefit to the world, manybeneficial things could come from it, but it probably wouldn't be called GE. If undertaken from ahigher consciousness, and from a position of care, compassion and love, and an understandingof the complex systems involved, Genetic Engineering has the capacity to do great good. I rejectthe Green vMEME thinking that Genetic Engineering must be stopped at all costs. I think itneeds to be implemented from a systems perspective, which isn't currently happening, but couldin the future.

I know I will be misquoted and misunderstood. I didn't SAY that I favored Genetic Engineering.

Let's be clear about that.

Q: As the world goes through the evolutionary process, with half the world still in thebeige/purple/red/blue vMEMEs, how much leap-frogging will take place? Must societies go thrueach level?

A: Yes, but they may move through them more quickly. I wouldn't even be doing this talk, exceptthat I'm hoping to accelerate Whole Food's evolution. If everyone here, if everyone in thecompany made a commitment toward growth, it could have an accelerating effect on ourorganization's influence at the next level.

My generation, which includes the Boomers, was the first that activated the Green vMEME inlarge numbers. Unfortunately many of the Boomers got stuck there. They didn't go any higher.You see a lot of the negative parts of the Green vMEME now manifesting in society and this hasfueled the culture wars.

I'm most excited about the millennial generation, the young people born after about 1982. Thesekids are collectively very, very awake. Many of them are moving into the Second Tier already,and they are only 20 years old! The next generation will be moving into the Second Tier insignificant numbers. I start to cry when I think about these young people, because they are soawesome and their potential for doing good is so great.

I think this is a good place to stop. Thank you.

Posted by John Mackey on May 01, 2006

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John Mackeys blog post will be posted. If you have a question or comment for Whole Foods Market that isunrelated to this blog, please use our Contact Us page so we may respond to you accordingly.

great post John. good to know that one of my favorite hangout places is in touch with the spiraling colors;) very fluffy.

~C4

Posted by: ~C4Chaos at May 1, 2006 06:36 PM

Bravo!

I would never have believed that the CEO of a food market chain would actually address head-on theissue of animal suffering or the environmental side-effects of factory farming.

The model you have outlined is a neat way of framing the changes taking place all around us. However,there is much more turbulence than you acknowledge. There are entire societies sinking into blue andred - eg Iraq after our ill advised intervention - while many individuals in all countries are movingupwards.

My hope, like yours, is that as things get 'worse' more persons will move up individually and this willcreate a collective move upwards.

Keep spreading this message and more power to you.

Srikumar Rao

Posted by: Srikumar S. Rao at May 3, 2006 07:07 PM

Wow! This is quite a treatise. I have been shopping at my local Whole Foods market for years, andgrousing about the prices but knowing I am doing the right thing. (Our local store was called Bread andCircus until Whole Foods acquired it -- we used to call it "Bread and Checkbook").

Recently I have become more aware, initially about energy and environmental issues, and as I becomemore aware I realize how important food is in the whole equation. I have been writing about my efforts tomake a difference in my blog since last year, and am putting the pieces together. I can see that WholeFoods has got it right.

This morning, my wife and I started participating in your Energy Credit partnership withrenewablechoice.com, and as I was writing about it in my blog, I saw this post here. I read the wholearticle with rapt attention, and have to say it's one of the coolest things I have seen in a while. Maslowalways struck me as simplistic ... not wrong, just not really enough to do much with. Spiral Dynamicsseems like a fine and useful framework for business, politics and our daily lives. Thanks for introducingme and others to the idea, and of course to the authors who conceived it.

As an Economics student in college, I struggled with the apparent conflict between greedy business andselfless but silly do-gooders. The Enrons, Exxons and Wal-Marts were equally as harmful aswell-meaning charities like "Save the Children" whose incompetence and inefficiency only really madethings worse. This seemed unnecessary to me, but I have continually faced irreconcilable conflictsbetween the two through my career in the last 20+ years since I graduated. The view of the world youpaint here is the first cogent, sensible, realistic, viewpoint I have had the chance to see.

I am now part of a small company and in some ways we are evolved and evolving, but we're still actingpretty "orange". I'll look to help us move to a secondary color. And I salute your leadership in a companythat can truly make a difference in so many important ways.

And, I'll stop grousing about the prices at the checkout counter :-)


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Posted by: Tom Harrison at May 7, 2006 04:13 PM

If the e-mail name doesn't show i have a sense of humor nothing does. You seem like a very interestingman.And if you write your own speeches you are funny and witty. Maybe I should have worked in yourstore for 10 years I might of learned a thing or two. GREAT SPEECH.

Posted by: Yvone at May 8, 2006 12:55 AM

Bravo!

Thinking out loud is good in good company. Reading and listening are fundamental from the cradle tothe grave (said the librrrrarian) and knowing ones self is essential whether you are wandering throughMaslow's pyramid or spiraling in vivid color. My contribution to the common good this year is"theFamilyReunionOnPaperJournal.

It is my hope to help folks get the premise in "Love thy neighbor as thyself". This can help no matterwhere one may be in the process. Reconciling with ones self will pave the way for self love and the loveof neighbors. Life, Meaning, Purpose-- you can find it when your mind and heart is available (reconciled).

Again--Bravo!

Posted by: Dalva E. Yarrington at May 8, 2006 08:34 PM

As a supplier to Whole Foods I continue to be awed by you, John. You make me and our company wantto be better. Walking lightly on the planet is so important and treating animals in a humane way is part ofthis. Keep up the great work not only at WFM but on using your influence to educate other corporationson how to be good stewards of our fragile planet.

Warmly,Debra MyersFounder, Enfusia organic body products

Posted by: Debra Myers at May 9, 2006 03:09 PM

I was very moved by your Austin speech and connect with the spiral flow theory, particularly with thestruggle to reach the second tier. My partner and I launched our online organic, Fair Trade store formany of the reasons you espouse in the interconnectedness and higher consciousness to which we allaspire. It is refreshing and supremely delightful to hear a man of your stature and influence sharing thesethoughts with a genuine interest in moving our global society in a direction that will benefit us all.

Posted by: melanie mitzner at May 10, 2006 02:49 PM

VERY Shocked I Was! I first saw John on a TV interview tonight and really enjoyed it. So I browsed thewebsite and found it very interesting that this speech, made in a closed door setting was made availableto the public to view. THAT alone is very remarkable.

Many educated authors like Deepak Chopra, Dr. David Hawkins, Donna Eden and many others, whichJohn mentioned as well, are separately coming to the same conclusions. Which is really Amazing! OfRaising our awareness of who we are, how we impact those around us, and how to understand andevolve into something even better than before.

Perhaps, One way that Whole Foods can help communities evolve to their next level, is to incorporate aclassroom/cooking school space, into their layouts. A few other major stores, that have done this, havehad great success. the topics however, are along the lines of traditional levels.


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Just imagine, if Whole Foods, could offer the Best Customer Service, in a Whole New Way, to educatetheir communities...to those that are yearning to evolve, but havent found a clear way yet.

Just a thought I had of many.

Great speech and article.

Richard Cinta

Posted by: Richard Cinta at May 11, 2006 04:29 AM

Thanks for an awesome world view which amplifies and values every individual and their potential tocontribute to the common good.This view is certainly serving and will continue to honor the best interests of all.thanks again.Desmond Green(Author)Quantum Being,Living and loving.

Posted by: Desmond Green at May 11, 2006 08:23 AM

The more I read the more I appreciated the synergy your views have with where we should take ourlives. As a big believer in our abiltiy to live to a ripe (but not too ripe) old age of 120, the upward spiral ofconsciousness or "sensitivity" to our personal wake is key. Recognizing our own or collective "carbonfootprint", garbage output or trans-emotional-ripple (my best shot at hyphenated word)empowers us torealize we do and, therefore, can make a difference. As one of my life mentors, Barry "Bears" Kaufman,would say "We are a force of nature".John, thank you for being the catalyst for this, my first, BLOG post.

Sincerely,

Warren Love

Posted by: Warren Love at May 11, 2006 05:41 PM

Dear John,

Reading your keynote speech of March 2006 was very enlightening. It didn't cross my mind whileentertaining a future at Whole Foods that your mind set would be as advanced as the ideas set forth inyour keynote speech. Before giving my additional comments concerning your statements I would like todiscuss one point of contention and a simple error. You have explained that power is defined as(economic, political, and social power) a measure of impact that each color will impart on the world seen.The color beige uses many of the worlds community resources and therefore secondarily controls morepower then implied by your senario. If you check the Blue color you will notice that the word punish isused once to often.

Your keynote speech was beautiful. If I'm correct you did say you relate very srongly to the Orange color.It almost seems necessary for a leader of a profit driven business entitiy to find themselves drawn to thisarena. Your parallel between Jesus and Buddha and the third tier seems very accurate. It would beinteresting to see Whole Foods reach the third teir. One example would be the joining of smaller basedorganic farms with their limited economic power and the Whole Foods Organization to ensure theirviability and future. The message of Jesus and Buddha was one of unity. A second example would bethe combining of competitors resources to better serve the world community as a whole. It would be wisefor all of us to realize we are but one family traveling on a very small and fragile planet.

I will be applying for a position at Whole Foods this week, wish me luck!!

Posted by: Perry Press Epstein at May 15, 2006 12:01 PM


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Bravo, John!

As an Integral / Spiral Dynamics teacher and facilitator of several years, I commend you. Yourpresentation was clear, comprehensive and brave, given the current meme antagonisms. Thank you.

That said, I have some concerns about the assumtion that both you and Ken voice about the benign orneutral quality of economic systems (like free-market capitalism - or communism, for that matter), orcommunication systems (like the internet). I referrence here your conversation on integralnaked.org.

My opinion is that all societal structures, because they arise within a complex, interobjective humanmatrix, carry some degree of intrinsic baggage. To say that these systems are somehow neutral, andthat all the problems that arise from them are simply a consequence of individuals or groups with eitherlow moral development or ego/ethnocentric worldview (or both) using them recklessly is, I feel,unnuanced at best and at worst simplistic or dangerous.

Because all social and economic systems, tools and structures are "products" of our humanperspectives, none are neutral. They require constant assessment and critique from a deep and broadintegral vantage point.

I'd love to get your take on this issue. Thanks again for your strong and inspiring leadership.

Kulu Sadiraworldbeatcircle.comDurango, CO

Posted by: Kulu Sadira at May 17, 2006 04:32 PM

Thank you John:

It is no surprise to me that we are one family from one ultimate source and that we will ultimatelysucceed in providing for our great family through this realization. Thank you for your inspiring address aswell as its manifestation in your stores... An awesome beginning well done.

Posted by: Dorothy Wood at May 19, 2006 11:28 AM

Hello John Mackey,I commend your company agenda...regarding your spiral dynamics overview, yes very good except, if I may suggest, the prevalentassumption reproduced here that Astrology and anything new age is purely B O (PURPLE VALUEMEME.The A'N' (YELLOW VALUE MEME) emergence means the environment of uncertainty increases, theadvantage of that from an evolutionary point of view is that the coping method of questioning theassumptions that create the 'lower' value systems occurs.I have found the assumptions from even great intellects andin fact especially intellectuals is based onsuperficial understandings of 'alternative fields'

regardsLaurence James Lucas

Posted by: Laurence James Lucas at May 20, 2006 10:51 PM

I currently work at the Charlottesville, VA Whole Foods Market. I am so proud to work for this company. Ilove my job. I love knowing that even at the corporate level Whole Foods takes the world on with openarms, high expectations, and awe. Thank you, John, for setting an amazing example and continuing tochallenge us all to a higher place through work, learning, and community.

Peace.


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Ellisa FrantzWhole Body Charlottesville!

Posted by: ellisa frantz at May 27, 2006 04:20 PM

Nice to see this talk coming from a corporate CEO. Unfortunatley, I don't think JM has thoroughly lookedat all the criticisms that are extant in regards to Wilber and the spiral dynamics model. Correct me if I amwrong and you have looked at these criticisms. If not, I encourage you to do so, as Wilber has a lot ofcharacteristics of a brainwashing guru figure and there are serious flaws in his thinking and model thatneed to be addressed.

Maybe next gathering you can give a talk about how WF is going to respond to climate change.

Todd LeVasseur

Posted by: Todd LeVasseur at May 28, 2006 11:00 AM

It is inspiring to see a CEO talking about Spiral Dynamics. If you ever decide to bring a WF to Lincoln,NE I'm on board & will help you. The Omaha one is great but too far for prudent petroleumconsumption...

Namaste ~

D. YostCalmEagle on zaadz.com

Posted by: Deborah Yost at May 30, 2006 09:02 PM

BRAVO JohnThis was very enlightening and confirming of my decision to stop eating meat after working in the poultryindustry in New Zealand and the pork and pigmeat industries in Europe. The environmentalconsequences of intensive meat production are horrendous! I believe too that Generation Y consumers

will address some of the imbalances and think this is why it is important to give them choices to buyproducts that do not always support Multinational Enterprises getting richer. At Bravo Project we aretrying to help consumers buy products that will support their own community groups. We would love tohave access to enlightened organisations such as Whole Foods. Vivienne, Auckland New Zealand

Posted by: Vivienne Hunt at June 4, 2006 04:12 PM

Very moving. Mr. Mackey continually makes me proud to be a whole foods consumer.

- Consciousness development engenders a decrease in narcissism and an increase in caring andconsciousness. Humans move from ego-centric to ethno-centric to world-centric as they develop inconsciousness. The upward spiral of development is at the same time a spiral of compassionfrom me

to us to all of us. -

It is rare to see a businessman be a proponent of higher states of consciousness. Ever read "The FourthWay," by Ouspensky?

Posted by: Joel at June 5, 2006 01:23 PM

Thank you for waking up . Thank you for yourclear chat on 60 minutes.I am a community member of CWGOD reading and discussion group.We are one , there is enough , life is eternal.


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Also I enjoy sharing the life laws fromAbraham-Hicks.com Law of attraction, creating, allowing.I would love to be part of your expansion .peace always, elizabeth

Posted by: ELizabeth Lower at June 5, 2006 09:17 PM

Limitations of "First Tier" nonprofits and sustainability issues.

Some nonprofits can provide sustainability to recipients even if they themselves are not internallysustainable. The main problem with most nonprofits is not just that they are not sustainable and do notprovide sustainabilty, but that they only provide - THINGS!

In addition to providing useful tools, Dollars for Water Dollars for Life also provides a most importantintangible commodity - TIME!

Posted by: John Copeland at June 8, 2006 11:59 AM

Mr. Mackey,

I read your speech and was envigorated by the thinking that goes into what you do. Your "SpiralDynamics Model" is interesting and in many ways does display what happens in the world order. Iappreciate your conscientiousness. While I see the progressiveness of your model and the attention youascribe to wanting to improve conditions for many, you on an individual level, seem to operate in a "blue"level. Is there not a need for a continuous flow through and not just a spiraling towards, seeing that thismodel shows the ability to control what is not always controllable, human behavior.

I love the fact that you have given this forum for feedback. You are one of my business mentors. Just soyou know and I think you do, "To whom much is given, much is required".

God is in the details.

Patricia Scott

Posted by: Patricia Scott at June 9, 2006 11:51 AM

As a Libertarian, I continue to enjoy John Mackey's writing and acting. As a pragmatist, I do believe hegrossly overestimates the number of Oranges. While the number who CLAIM to be Orange may indeedbe near 50%, I suspect the real number is more like 5%, or even lower.Hopefully, WFM will come to Fredericksburg soon.

Posted by: Vjklander at June 12, 2006 09:19 AM

Hi John,

I'm a health writer from Australia.

I appear regularly on 40 radio stations across Australia talking about how to improve your health withnatural diet and lifestyle changes.

Just last week I was travelling through Texas to attend a seminar in Austin at the Crossings.

We passed a Texan "dairy".

In Australia most dairies consists of rolling green hills of grass, plenty of shade trees and the cows lineup peacefully every day ready to be milked.


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They're quite pleasant places to visit.

The dairies we passed in Texas you wouldn't want to visit without a gas mask and very heavy boots.

The smell will haunt my memory forever.

I lived for several years in Australia in one of the world's largest eco-villages and studied ecologicalfarming, settlement design and permaculture.

I would add to your list of recommended reading "Permaculture: A Designer's Manual" by Bill Mollisonand "A Pattern Language" by Christopher Alexander.

As you so eloquently pointed out in your talk it is simply impossible to create humane, sustainableagriculture without creating an integrated wholistic approach to every part of our lives...our philosophy,the homes we build, the way we design our properties and communities, the way we grow our food andraise our livestock, the way we design our businesses and earn our living.

It's interesting to note that the population in Russia produces over 60% of it's food needs in small homegardens.

What sort of an impact could "home agiculture" make if it spread through the western world.

Growing some of your own food may not be quite as sexy but it's certainly no more difficult thanmaintaining a lawn.

I first visited a Whole Foods store just 12 months ago on my first visit to the USA.

After being stunned at the pitiful quality of food here in the USA Whole Foods was like an oasis.

But I couldn't really believe what I was seeing.

Was there really a large corporation in the world making exceptional progress by putting principlesbefore profits?

I've said for years that business's primary function is to serve people and the "the bottom line in

business" mantra is fundamentally flawed.

Among other things a business with a service ethic and a genuine purpose creates client loyalty.

Just yesterday my girlfriend and I drove 15 minutes out of our way to shop at whole foods in Austin.

On the way we joked that this might not be entirely environmentally sound behaviour but when we're inthe USA if we can get to a Whole Foods we do.

We're loyal without even trying.

But I'm still a skeptic...

At the checkout I was talking to the happy young man bagging our groceries.

(That's another thing about Whole Foods. All the staff seem so much happier.)

Anyway being a writer at heart I tried digging for some truth.

I asked this young employee "What does Whole Foods mean to you?"

"Do you think this whole philosophy is real or is it all just bull****?"

Now I can tell you most of the large businesses I worked when I grew up just about every staff memberwould have gone for cow manure answer - myself included!


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This young man looked at me for a minute then said "I think Whole Foods is doing a lot of things right.Buying produce locally for example..."

"It's insane to freight peaches from Chile!"

After he listed several other wonderful ways Whole Foods was "getting it right" I asked him about hisbackground.

He was finishing a Masters in Business Administration.

Now here's one of the most uplifting things I've heard in my recent years.

When he finishes his MBA this young man plans on consulting with large corporations helping them runtheir businesses more ethically.

"You don't have to chase the buck to make a profit," were the words he used.

In many places a statement like this would be discarded as idealistic dreaming.

But we were standing in a Whole Foods store - a living example that you can work for real, measurableprinciples and make exceptional profits while embracing and nurturing every person who comes incontact with you - clients, employees, stockholders - everyone.

I can't say for certain that this young man got his advanced business philosophy from Whole Foods butI'd be pretty certain you had a huge influence.

In my opinion Whole Foods has become the most important large corporation in the western world.

It stands as an icon of new values that can endure and thrive in the marketplace.

I applaud you and pray your vision of a better world lives and grows.

I also look forward to the day when you come to Australia.

If I can help you in any way it would truly be an honour.

Kindest regards,Andrew Cavanagh

Posted by: Andrew Cavanagh at June 13, 2006 03:12 PM

Mr. Mackey,

It appears that I'm destined to be the first dissenter from your theory of the Upward Flow of HumanDevelopment. Please take my dissent as it is intended, that is, in the spirit of discussion.

First, Maslow's Need Hierarchy was and remains theory. Its apex, Self-Actualization, has never beenwell defined, and I'd say that it is demonstrably not our highest need, or if it is, then our highest need isfor unhappiness. Perhaps the likes of Machiavelli, Hitler, and Pol Pot were temporarily satisfied byseeking self-expression and self-fulfillment, but I don't think such pursuits provide long-term serenity.Self-fulfillment is an oxymoron. I don't believe anyone can be happy focusing only on their own"actualization."

Second, Spiral Dynamics is and remains theory, and not very good theory at that. Neither Don Beck,Christopher Cowan, Ken Wilber, nor anyone else knows what "awakened" among humans "100,000+years ago," or at any time before recorded history began some 5,000 years ago. Is there any evidencethat 10,000 years ago, "the individual" began to "stand tall...enjoy himself to the fullest...conquers...otheraggressive characters...believe that 'I am special...immortal, not like all the others,'" or that enjoymentand conquest didn't exist previously? None that I know of.


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Memes are also theory, with no demonstrable existence outside the minds of those who believe theyexist. Dawkins defined a meme as "a unit of cultural transmission, or a unit of imitation" and likenedmemes to genes. The difference is that nobody has ever found a structural component in the braincorresponding to a meme, nor found any other bodily method of transferring these "units" from onegeneration to another. Unless memes have some independent existence from those who use the term, ameme is only that, a term.

It also appears to me that Spiral Dynamics, like memes and other postmodern beliefs, largely flatterthose who believe in them. I've never heard of anyone who claims that human beliefs and behavior are

governed by abstractions like memes who simultaneously believes that he or she is witlessly governedby same. Is this not a contemporary version of "I -- and those who agree with me -- are special, not likeall the others"?

Mr. Mackey, is it not self-flattering to identify Whole Foods as "evolving toward" the top of the Spiral, the"Turquoise vMEME" -- where only one-tenth of 1% of the world's population reside? "We are special, notlike 99.9% of the others." Unspoken is the belief that Turquoise-level people actually know how to"Restore harmony" ("restore"? when did this harmony previously exist?), "Maximize the brain," "Growconsciousness," "Belong to the universe," etc. It is all vague and unprovable, but it all sounds so darngood. "We" are special indeed.

May I suggest that those who want to "Bring past to life" gain a better understanding of it? Read throughthe Tanak, also known as the Old Testament. It shows what people believed about themselves and theirhistory during the so-callled Blue vMEME. It shows that they believed themselves to be enjoined to love

their neighbors in general and specifically enjoined to be nonpartially just, to support "widows, orphansand foreigners" -- those most likely to be poor -- and to treat dependents well and to periodically forgivedebts. It shows them engaging in what we still call pleasurable acts; the Song of Songs remains one ofthe most erotic love poems ever composed.

It appears to me that the description of the Blue vMEME could be summarized as "Everything weTurquoise vMEME people don't like about other people whom we don't know personally, and whom wedon't know much about historically, either, except that we know they hold traits we don't like." In anyother context, wouldn't the description of Blue vMEMEs be called bigotry?

Lest you wonder: I value both religion and science. They aren't necessarily antithetical.

As far as I can see, those who buy into theoretical frameworks like Spiral Dynamics, presumably

nominating themselves the most evolved human beings on the planet, by definition display precious littletolerance toward literally billions of others with whom they share it. I can't see how this belief system isconsistent with stated goals and traits like "Restore harmony," "Seek outreach," and be "Not isolationist."Or, for that matter, why the Blue vMEME "Law abiding citizen" has no place in a Turquoise vMEME"Safe, orderly world."

As I see it, Spiral Dynamics sets up a series of mutually exclusive groups who largely never existed.Those paragons of Orange vMEME values, America's Founding Fathers, never rejected Blue vMEMEreligion; they thought it essential to the republic they were creating and wrote the First Amendment toprotect religious belief from state interference, not vice versa.

Nor did people who pursue "Knowledge for its own sake," "Value knowledge and competency for its ownsake," and "Integrate complex systems with ease" burst into human history with the Yellow vMEME 50years ago. Nor is theirs the first generation to hold "Big picture views." I hazard that every human

throughout history and prehistory has held big-picture views. The difference is their content, and perhapsthe latterday tendency to admire only those who share one's big-picture view.

But, no, that tendency has to be as old as humans. In keeping with that tradition, it is possible to see"The Upward Spiral of Human Development" as yet another method of dividing the world into(enlightened and admirable) People Like Us and (ignorant and/or despicable) Everybody Else outsidethe blessed circle. Dividing the world into PLU and EE is demonstrably a historic human trait. You'll find itin the Tanak as well.

I think we'd all be better off to let others, past and present, be individuals in whom good and bad traitsare mixed. The reason people still read Homer and the Tanak and Shakespeare is that the individualsdescribed therein are recognizably human. We aren't all that different from our hunting and gathering


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ancestors. What we believe is different, but not persistent human tendencies like love and conquest.

Finally, Mr. Mackey, I know you to be a very intelligent man, and I also know that you couldn't build a tinyAustin store into behemoth with (annualized) revenues of $12 billion without a sharper, more realisticview of society than the airy notions of "The Upward Flow of Human Development."

It may heretical to wonder whether this Keynote Speech is a mere marketing ploy: cynical flattery of youremployees, suppliers, partners and customers. But the possibility must be considered.

You, Mr. Mackey, can value Turquoise global ties and effective use of technology as essential parts ofbusiness today. But I have a hard time reconciling the Turquoise belief that "Life gets spoils" with thestark fact that some Whole Foods employees get cash, others also get stock options, and shareholdersget dividends. One can't be defined, let alone shown to occur. The other gets reported to the SEC everythree months.

With respect,A longtime observer

Posted by: Alyoshevna at June 13, 2006 10:05 PM

I think Whole Foods is at the Orange level. This is simply due to the fact that Whole Foods is a public

company. Therefore Whole Foods is accountable to its real owners, the stockholders. Thesestockholders own Whole Foods stock in order to make money. Period. They are playing the game to win.Whole Foods must satisfy its stockholders, therefore Whole Foods MUST function at the Orange level.The owners give Orange-level issues highest priority. Therefore Whole Foods must give those issueshighest priority. The company does not have a choice. If it does not comply, those in authority will losetheir jobs.

If the company is to maintain and advance its idealism and move on to "higher levels of development", Ibelieve it will need to find a way to get away from the corrosive inf

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