John Mackey

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About John Mackey

John Mackey is the founder and CEO of Whole Foods Market. He helped fuel the rise of organic and natural food in the United States and also popularized the idea of “Conscious Capitalism.” Mackey is a best-selling author and his new book, The Whole Foods Diet, talks about why a whole foods, plant-based diet is the optimum choice for health and longevity.

Why You Should Listen

In this episode, I get John Mackey’s thoughts on the following: 

On Health and Diet

  • Mackey refers to Whole Foods Diet as a “bucket list” book because he believes he has a simple and powerful answer that can help save people’s lives, and it all starts with a proper diet. To write his latest book, Mackey looked at Blue Zone studies, long-term research that analyzes the lifestyles of people in places that have the longest life expectancies. In his view, eating a whole foods, plant-based diet and being mindful about what we buy and consume is the best place to start when improving overall well-being.

On the Future of Plant-Based Proteins and “Clean” Meat

  • Mackey is vegan, but he’s not looking to just please vegans when it comes to his recommendations for what people should eat to achieve optimum longevity. As a strong advocate of eating whole, plant-based foods, Mackey is not a proponent of processed meat substitutes and in fact, is more in favor of the idea of clean meat that is grown in a lab, without having to slaughter animals. Though we might view lab-grown meat as artificial, Mackey argues it is closer to a whole food than some vegan items on shelves today.

On What Consumers Want

  • As the CEO of a billion dollar food company, Mackey is on the pulse of what consumers are looking for and what they value. He has helped introduce many plant-based, organic, non-GMO, and natural options to the market, but he has done so with the help of a lot of consumer knowledge and understanding. In our conversation, Mackey breaks down how Americans have gradually started to shift away from meat and dairy products and points to what they’re choosing instead. When it comes to the next generation of spenders, Mackey notes that Millennials are more socially and environmentally conscious than their predecessors which drives different purchasing behaviors.

On His Personal Tips and Tricks

  • Mackey certainly practices what he preaches when it comes to leading a healthy lifestyle. Although he is constantly traveling and juggling the many stressful tasks that come along with being CEO of a massive corporation, Mackey has mastered how to eat well and take care of himself while on the road. From how he keeps on a tight grocery budget to the things he brings along to make himself whole foods, plant-based meals while in hotel rooms, Mackey divulges his most trusted secrets that we could all learn something from!

People/Companies/Resources Mentioned in This Episode