MEGA Whole Foods in Pasadena—Sustainable?

For as long as I can remember, I have affectionately referred to Whole Foods as Whole Paycheck. There is something both extremely seductive, yet insidious about the Whole Foods experience. Look at us: we're beautiful, organic, polished to perfection, and totally dirt-free, cry the aesthetically arranged fruits and veggies. Come hither and partake in our naturally-derived botanical formulas, beckon the emollients and grooming products. We're bright-eyed, just plucked from the ocean and have never ever ever been frozen, coo the fish (even the fish in Chicago). Don't we have spiffy labels with lovely typography and a tasteful colour palette, whisper the 365 Organic® jars of marinara sauce. Buy us, buy us, buy us. Consume and feel good about it because you're shopping at Whole Foods. Well, heck, I just spent my Whole Paycheck.

Although, I rarely read the Sunday L.A. Times, I happened to pick up a copy today. In the Magazine, I came across an article on "The Green Giant," Pasadena's new flagship store. I must say, it sounds like even Whole Foods has outdone itself. According to Christopher Hawthorne:

The Whole Foods regional flagship in Pasadena, designed by the KTGY Group in Santa Monica, is an architectural monument to this idea. Along with the Ecolution hemp shopping bags for $7.49 and the "Certified Organic" cotton candy near the checkout aisle, the store has a salsa bar, a coffee bar, a nut bar, a noodle bar, a tapas bar with 20 wines by the glass, a soup bar, a pudding bar and a charcuterie. And a chocolate fountain. . . .

On the Sunday I visited, a group was settling down in the center of the second floor, just behind the pizza oven and not far from the roast-beef carving station, for a full-blown Champagne brunch. TVs hang everywhere so you can watch PGA golf (that's what was on when I was there) while you pick out fair-trade roses from Ecuador.

Evidently, this store is quite large (as it would have to be to house all of the above), yet somehow, with its sustainable building materials, it's supposed to be ecologically responsible. Hmm, I can envision this store's customer purchasing the brand new H-Green Hybrid Hummer. Thank you very much, but I'll continue to buy my just harvested, dirt-speckled Tuscan kale at the local farmer's market.