In a move that will most likely shake no one to their core, but still annoy them on the surface, Whole Foods (the healthier grocery store alternative that sells more organic and gluten-free products than you could find if you spent 10 years at a vegan rally in San Francisco) will put an end to their food labor program in conjunction with the Colorado Correctional Industries.

The program, which had inmates refining, cleaning and packaging several fish and cheese products, is being shut down by Whole Foods after one reproachful protest at an Austin, Texas chain made Whole Foods big wigs shake in their wee lil’ boots. Whole Foods spokesman Michael Silverman said the company has agreed to part ways with the Colorado Correctional Industries because some customers felt uncomfortable knowing their Tilapia was being packaged by inmates.

The reaction of Whole Foods shoppers when they heard about the program. Grow up, Whole Foods shoppers in Texas.

Well you can go fuck yourself, Whole Foods. With one of your $12 organic gluten-free cucumbers at that.

The program created between CCI and Whole Foods not only helped to reestablish inmates into the working, civil world of society, but it also taught them valuable skills that could potentially translate into real world jobs when they were released. They were also getting paid, albeit in tiny unsustainable amounts, but that is the standard for every job in prison.

In the end, I guess the question we need to ask ourselves is twofold: Do we want to sacrifice a minuscule amount of comfort in exchange for knowing our purchase is bettering someone else’s life? Or would we rather act like a convicted rapist is maliciously fingering our cod before it's consigned to our dinner tables?

Your move, America.

Photo Credit: Nightmare Factory