He also lambasted the Federal Trade Commission for its investigation of Whole Foods' acquisition of Wild Oats Markets, a deal that has since been completed, although the FTC mandated that Whole Foods must still seek to sell 32 locations by next March.

Mackey's free-market approach, however, is tempered with a substantial dose of social consciousness. He believes executive pay should reflect the pay of other employees in an organization, for example. Since 2007 he has paid himself a salary of only $1 a year, and other executives' salaries are limited to a multiple of the average earnings of the company's hourly laborers. In addition, the company has a broad-based stock option plan that is primarily used to reward non-executive workers.

“Their mission at Whole Foods is based on taking care of all their constituents,” said Wolf of BB&T Capital Markets. “They believe they are making a difference in the world, that eating natural and organic foods is good for individuals and makes people healthier and happier.”

Mackey explains that he wants to “tear down the wall” that people imagine exists between for-profit corporations and non-profit social organizations.

“We need to move people away from the idea that business is bad because it tries to make money,” he said. “I want to get people to see that business has the potential for deeper purpose.

“I didn't start Whole Foods to make as much money as possible. I wanted to sell healthy food, help people earn a living, and do something I felt good about, and was on fire about.”