Whole Foods CEO Getting Backlash for Saying the Best Healthcare Solution Is to ‘Change the Way People Eat’

Whole Foods CEO John Mackey has sparked some backlash for saying that he believes the best healthcare solution to be to “change the way people eat.” According to CNBC, Mackey made the comments during an interview with Freakonomics Radio host Stephen J. Dubner. “I mean, honestly, we talk about healthcare,” Mackey said. “The best solution is not to need healthcare.”

He went on to say, “The best solution is to change the way people eat, the way they live, the lifestyle, and diet. There’s no reason why people shouldn’t be healthy and have a longer healthspan. A bunch of drugs is not going to solve the problem.” Mackey then went on to claim that 42.5% of Americans are obese and that 71% are overweight. “Clearly, we’re making bad choices in the way we eat,” he stated. “It’s not a sustainable path. And so, I’m calling it out.”

Mackey’s comments have led to a lot of debate on social media, with many seeming to find his comments out-of-touch with the reality of the situation. “John Mackey is out here acting like shopping at Whole Foods isn’t just as expensive as health insurance,” tweeted healthcare advocate Kendall Brown. “If only it had occurred to me to eat healthier before I was born with a genetic disease. Thanks, John Mackey!” she later added.

Medical professionals have also pushed back on Mackey’s statements, with Dr. Mark Lewis — an oncologist and director of Intermountain Healthcare — offering his take. “Because nothing makes a cancer diagnosis feel better than being shamed into the notion that you could have simply avoided it through diet & exercise,” he tweeted, then adding a facepalm emoji. “Are healthy eating & fitness great things? Of course. But they are not panaceas and the most common cause of cancer is bad luck.”

Mackey co-founded Whole Foods in 1980 and has regularly taken a stance that eating better is an alternative to more healthcare. PEOPLE notes that in 2009, Mackey wrote an editorial titled “The Whole Foods Alternative to ObamaCare,” for the Wall Street Journal. “Rather than increase government spending and control, we need to address the root causes of poor health,” he wrote in the controversial essay. “This begins with the realization that every American adult is responsible for his or her own health.” At this time Whole Foods does not appear to have issued a statement on Mackey’s comments.