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First, a personal confession: A few years back, the business of being a good environmentalist seemed, to me, a straightforward affair. As I weighed one issue after another, the world could be seen in just two colors””green and ungreen””which corresponded to two moral states: good and ungood. It was easy to distinguish one from the other. My thinking would run along lines like this: Trees are good, so the companies that chop them down are not. Or like this: Rivers are polluted, so the fault must lie with the most obvious, nefarious-looking suspect””discharge pipes at waterside factories.

My hoe strikes the ground every time I take a step. A local woman follows behind, tossing seeds in the holes that I dig. The West African sun beats down without mercy but I keep working. The soil is a well weathered remnant of the jungle that used to dominate the arid land that is now known as the Sahel. I am planting millet, one of the most robust crops known to man. I can not create or even fully control what will spring up from this seemingly barren field.   I can only guide it.

When the U.S. government goes to court this week to try to block Whole Foods Market Inc.'s planned purchase of Wild Oats Markets Inc., the judge will wrestle with this question: Which of John Mackey's arguments is most convincing?

The Federal Trade Commission contends Whole Foods and Wild Oats operate in a distinct market for premium natural and organic groceries and the $565 million deal would curtail competition and raise prices in that segment. To make its case, the agency is relying on comments by Mr. Mackey, the chief ...