Whole Foods agreed in February to buy Wild Oats for $18.50 a share, totaling $565 million. Since then the FTC antitrust wheels have been grinding away. A lawsuit filed in June resulted in a decision to allow the merger to proceed, however the FTC decided last week to appeal. The merger is on hold but additional arguments must be quickly filed by Wednesday, leading some to believe that the appeal is not expected to succeed. But if a stay is granted, the merger could be in limbo for months longer. The stores’ defense claims that mainstream markets now sell plenty of organic produce, so consumers will still benefit from competition.