SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
The Amazon takeover of Whole Foods could be the beginning of a new era of automation at the grocery store chain. (Photo: Mike Mozart/Flickr/cc)
1984 at the Grocery Store
Amazon is buying Whole Foods, and that's bad news for humans
Jul 16, 2017
Wall Street analysts tell us that Amazon's $14 billion buyout of Whole Foods isn't only a win-win for both of them, but also for consumers, for Amazon intends to lower the organic grocer's prices.
Really? Yes, they say, because Amazon will use its amazing computer-driven tactics to cut Whole Foods' cost of selling groceries.
But Amazon's robotic "efficiency" is achieved by cutting people. It ruthlessly squeezes suppliers, for example, demanding that they give bankruptcy-level wholesale prices to the retail colossus.
That means that small organic farmers and food artisans are destined to be squeezed out of Whole Foods, displaced by deep-pocket, global food makers who are willing to cut corners on quality and the environment in order to get on Amazon's new grocery shelves.
Next on the chopping block is Whole Foods' helpful and friendly work force. Jeff Bezos, Amazon's CEO, doesn't view workers as assets, but as costs. So to jack up the grocery chain's profits, he'll cut those "costs"--aka, people.
He's already testing a store concept that has no cashiers to interfere with your shopping "experience." It uses computer sensors to take your money electronically, instead of paying bothersome humans to do the job of checking you out and--God forbid--conversing with you.
Oh, another plus of connecting us to the corporate computers is that they'll track and record our every move and every purchase, building a detailed personal profile on each of us in order to...well, to do what? And why?
According to the calendar, we're living in 2017. But the Brave New Future of Amazon's electronic, robotic Whole Foods Market tells us we're living in the corporatized version of 1984, where human needs for jobs and personal relationships are subverted to the corporate love of automation and avaricious profits.
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, The U.S. is on a fast track to authoritarianism like nothing I've ever seen. Meanwhile, corporate news outlets are utterly capitulating to Trump, twisting their coverage to avoid drawing his ire while lining up to stuff cash in his pockets. That's why I believe that Common Dreams is doing the best and most consequential reporting that we've ever done. Our small but mighty team is a progressive reporting powerhouse, covering the news every day that the corporate media never will. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. And to ignite change for the common good. Now here's the key piece that I want all our readers to understand: None of this would be possible without your financial support. That's not just some fundraising cliche. It's the absolute and literal truth. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. Will you donate now to help power the nonprofit, independent reporting of Common Dreams? Thank you for being a vital member of our community. Together, we can keep independent journalism alive when it’s needed most. - Craig Brown, Co-founder |
This column was distributed by OtherWords.
Jim Hightower
Jim Hightower is a national radio commentator, writer, public speaker, and author of the books "Swim Against The Current: Even A Dead Fish Can Go With The Flow" (2008) and "There's Nothing in the Middle of the Road But Yellow Stripes and Dead Armadillos: A Work of Political Subversion" (1998). Hightower has spent three decades battling the Powers That Be on behalf of the Powers That Ought To Be - consumers, working families, environmentalists, small businesses, and just-plain-folks.
Wall Street analysts tell us that Amazon's $14 billion buyout of Whole Foods isn't only a win-win for both of them, but also for consumers, for Amazon intends to lower the organic grocer's prices.
Really? Yes, they say, because Amazon will use its amazing computer-driven tactics to cut Whole Foods' cost of selling groceries.
But Amazon's robotic "efficiency" is achieved by cutting people. It ruthlessly squeezes suppliers, for example, demanding that they give bankruptcy-level wholesale prices to the retail colossus.
That means that small organic farmers and food artisans are destined to be squeezed out of Whole Foods, displaced by deep-pocket, global food makers who are willing to cut corners on quality and the environment in order to get on Amazon's new grocery shelves.
Next on the chopping block is Whole Foods' helpful and friendly work force. Jeff Bezos, Amazon's CEO, doesn't view workers as assets, but as costs. So to jack up the grocery chain's profits, he'll cut those "costs"--aka, people.
He's already testing a store concept that has no cashiers to interfere with your shopping "experience." It uses computer sensors to take your money electronically, instead of paying bothersome humans to do the job of checking you out and--God forbid--conversing with you.
Oh, another plus of connecting us to the corporate computers is that they'll track and record our every move and every purchase, building a detailed personal profile on each of us in order to...well, to do what? And why?
According to the calendar, we're living in 2017. But the Brave New Future of Amazon's electronic, robotic Whole Foods Market tells us we're living in the corporatized version of 1984, where human needs for jobs and personal relationships are subverted to the corporate love of automation and avaricious profits.
Jim Hightower
Jim Hightower is a national radio commentator, writer, public speaker, and author of the books "Swim Against The Current: Even A Dead Fish Can Go With The Flow" (2008) and "There's Nothing in the Middle of the Road But Yellow Stripes and Dead Armadillos: A Work of Political Subversion" (1998). Hightower has spent three decades battling the Powers That Be on behalf of the Powers That Ought To Be - consumers, working families, environmentalists, small businesses, and just-plain-folks.
Wall Street analysts tell us that Amazon's $14 billion buyout of Whole Foods isn't only a win-win for both of them, but also for consumers, for Amazon intends to lower the organic grocer's prices.
Really? Yes, they say, because Amazon will use its amazing computer-driven tactics to cut Whole Foods' cost of selling groceries.
But Amazon's robotic "efficiency" is achieved by cutting people. It ruthlessly squeezes suppliers, for example, demanding that they give bankruptcy-level wholesale prices to the retail colossus.
That means that small organic farmers and food artisans are destined to be squeezed out of Whole Foods, displaced by deep-pocket, global food makers who are willing to cut corners on quality and the environment in order to get on Amazon's new grocery shelves.
Next on the chopping block is Whole Foods' helpful and friendly work force. Jeff Bezos, Amazon's CEO, doesn't view workers as assets, but as costs. So to jack up the grocery chain's profits, he'll cut those "costs"--aka, people.
He's already testing a store concept that has no cashiers to interfere with your shopping "experience." It uses computer sensors to take your money electronically, instead of paying bothersome humans to do the job of checking you out and--God forbid--conversing with you.
Oh, another plus of connecting us to the corporate computers is that they'll track and record our every move and every purchase, building a detailed personal profile on each of us in order to...well, to do what? And why?
According to the calendar, we're living in 2017. But the Brave New Future of Amazon's electronic, robotic Whole Foods Market tells us we're living in the corporatized version of 1984, where human needs for jobs and personal relationships are subverted to the corporate love of automation and avaricious profits.
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.