The same day Randfish posts about social media poisoning the CEO of Whole Foods is outed for panning a competitor. John Mackey posted defamatory comments about his main competitor in the organic foods marketplace.

 Company CEO John Mackey posted messages on a Yahoo financial forum under the user name “rahodeb,” according to a court document filed by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission and postings on Yahoo.

Mackey’s messages painted a bright future for Whole Foods, the largest U.S. natural and organic grocer, and downplayed (insulted and defamed) the threat posed by competitors.

Whole Foods confirmed Mackey had made the “rahodeb” postings between 1999 and 2006. It said references to those comments were among millions of documents the company provided to the FTC as part of the agency’s antitrust lawsuit.

What is truly sad about this story is Whole Foods strives to be a outstanding model  of integrity and quality to its customers and the community. This is not a good example of integrity by a CEO.

I am an advocate for quality natural food and wholesome products and had always looked up to Whole Foods as an example of this. I will now limit my shopping at this store.