On August 23, 2017, it was reported that the Federal Trade Commission approved the merger between Amazon.com and Whole Foods Market. The following day it was announced that the deal would be closed on August 28, 2017.
In 1978, John Mackey and Renee Lawson borrowed $45,000 from family and friends to open a small vegetarian natural foods store called SaferWay in Austin, (the name being a spoof of Safeway). Two years later, Mackey and Lawson partnered with Craig Weller and Mark Skiles to merge SaferWay with the latter's Clarksville Natural Grocery, resulting in the opening of the original Whole Foods Market, which included meat products. At 10,500 square feet (980 m2) and with a staff of 19, the store was quite large in comparison to the standard health food store of the time.
Whole Foods is the first grocer in the United States to have certified adherence to National Organic Program standards, which involves monitoring products from the time they reach stores until they are placed in a shopping cart.
Whole Foods Market only sells products that meet its self-created quality standards for being "natural", which the store defines as: minimally processed foods that are free of hydrogenated fats as well as artificial flavors, colors, sweeteners, preservatives, and many others as listed on their online "Unacceptable Food Ingredients" list.
According to wikipedia
