Errol Schweizer is a former national vice president of grocery at Whole Foods. He is an International Panel of Experts on Sustainable Food Systems panelist, and he runs an industry newsletter called the Checkout Grocery Update.

Errol Schweizer, a former national vice president of grocery at Whole Foods, argues in Jacobin that the private sector is responsible for ever-rising grocery prices and can’t be relied on to fix the problem. Our food system needs a public option.

Will Amazon disrupt groceries? How did Walmart take over food sales? Is Zohran Mamdani’s public grocery plan too small? Why is the market increasingly polarized between Erewhons and dollar stores? An ex–Whole Foods vice president gives us an industry tour.