Whole Foods goes on a diet

Steve - this article seems awkward, but as we have posted several times in the last few years, Whole Foods has gradually been getting away from its original mission.

Whole Foods is returning to its health-food roots.

"There have been these two dominant values driving our products over the years," CEO John Mackey said in an interview at the company's headquarters. "One is food as health and the other one is food as indulgence. Those have battled, you might say, for the soul of Whole Foods."

The chain spent the first half of its existence focused on food as the key to health. Then it shifted to food as indulgence, seizing on a gourmet revolution that put imported sea salts and truffle oil in many American pantries.The cycle has shifted back, and Mackey says the timing couldn't be better. Whole Foods is spending this year preparing for the transition, which it will roll out in 2010.It plans to increasingly push healthy eating and education — adding teams of employees, classes, books, DVDs and supper clubs dedicated to it.

The company isn't ditching its foodie fans, and its products won't change overnight. But gradually they will evolve, letting health become the dominant theme.