Wonderly Plus subscribers can binge all episodes of business wars the Whole Foods Rebellion early and ad-free right now.

Join Wonderly Plus in the Wondery app or on Apple Podcasts.

Let's talk about the speed with which we are watching this market deteriorate. It was the worst day on Wall Street since the crash of 1987.

Lehman Brothers is going bankrupt.

And financial markets from Asia to Europe are doing their utmost to prevent Monday from turning from dark to black.

This could be the most serious recession in decades. And that means life, as most Americans know it, is about to black. This could be the most serious recession in decades.

And that means life, as most Americans know it, is about to change, in some cases dramatically.

It's March 2009.

Inside the Nashville Marriott Hotel, Whole Foods annual shareholders meeting is underway.

Usually, it's a day of celebration, but thanks to the tanking economy, not this year.

From the stage, CEO John Mackey looks out at the sea of grim-faced shareholders, listening

to his state of the business address.

While we're disappointed to report the first decline in same store sales in our history,

we are working to contain costs to get through this difficult period.

Mackie can't rely on his mission to get people eating organic and ethically farmed food to win over

this crowd. These people invested in whole foods because of its track record of

delivering good returns. But ever since the economy crashed, the company's growth streak has been

slowing. Mackie opens the Florida questions. One investor questions his plans to revive growth.

Mr. Mackey, you talked about more cost controls, but what about prices in store?

I'm wondering if you could do more to get those prices down now that shoppers are watching their

spending more closely. Other people in the audience, not in agreement. The chain's nicknamed

whole paycheck for a reason. Many customers can no longer afford high-price organic groceries.

...