When you mass-produce food, you strive to take the terroir out. The whole idea is remove any variations due to climate, or soil, or season, much as companies that are spread out geographically strive to reduce variation and develop a common culture. They work hard to make sure people throughout the organization are following the same rules, living up to the same standards, working toward the same goals, reflecting the same values. And there’s nothing inherently wrong with that. Weinzweig points to Whole Foods Markets—the national chain of natural-foods grocery stores—as a large company with a
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