Whole Foods Market Caves to Monsanto
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After 12 years of battling to stop Monsanto's genetically-engineered (GE) crops from contaminating the nation's organic farmland, the biggest retailers of "natural" and "organic" foods in the U.S., including Whole Foods Market (WFM), Organic Valley and Stonyfield Farm, have agreed to stop opposing mass commercialization of GE crops, like Monsanto's controversial Roundup Ready alfalfa. In exchange for dropping their opposition, WFM has asked for "compensation" to be paid to organic farmers for "any losses related to the contamination of his crop." Under current laws, Genetically-Modified Organisms (GMOs) are not subject to any pre-market safety testing or labeling. WFM is abandoning its fight with biotech companies in part because two thirds of the products they sell are not certified organic anyway, but are really conventional, chemical-intensive and foods that may contain GMOs and that they market as "natural" despite this. Most consumers don't know the difference between "natural" and "certified organic" products. "Natural" products can come from crops and animals fed nutrients containing GMOs. "Certified Organic" products are GMO-free. WFM and their main distributor, United Natural Foods, maximize profits by selling products labeled "natural" at premium organic prices. (A typographical error in the second sentence of this story was subsequently corrected. We regret this minor error.)
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Comments
Consumers have no fundamental right to eat foods of their choice
In a Wisconsin law suit regarding right to consume unpastuerized milk, the judge ruled that humans:
“Do not have a fundamental right to own and use a dairy cow or a dairy herd;”
“Do not have a fundamental right to consume the milk from their own cow;”
“Do not have a fundamental right to board their cow at the farm of a farmer;”
“Do not have a fundamental right to produce and consume the foods of their choice;” and
Cannot enter into private contracts “outside the scope of the State’s police power.”
Ruling against raw milk forces consumers to drink genetically modified, antibiotic-laden milk from cows fed an unnatural diet of pesticide-loaded feed. No doubt that makes Monsanto a major fan of Patrick Fiedler. His decision was rendered on Sept. 9 and he stepped down from the bench on Sept. 30.
He immediately went to work for one of Monsanto's law firms.
http://foodfreedom.wordpress.com/2011/10/11/%E2%80%98no-food-rights%E2%80%99-judge-quits-to-work-for-monsanto-law-firm/
I love how are attention can
I love how are attention can go from a serious mistake caused by a huge multibillion dollar corporation to one of our fellows so quickly, this is the problem if only we were as critical to these coporations as we are to each other, we might start to see a change.
Do you eat seedless
Do you eat seedless grapes????? It's a GMO.
oh dear another moronic troll
oh dear another moronic troll
there is a BIG difference in
there is a BIG difference in GMO and Monsanto GMO.... they are "roundup ready" which in turn means you are eating pesticides and agent orange. they should be labeled.
seedless grapes are created
seedless grapes are created through natural selection, and can be done in the field with no special equipment. Grape plants are selected that have diminutive seeds over a few generations until a grape is produced that is so small that it isn't noticed, the plant is then propagated through grafting.
GMO foods are created in a lab with specialized equipment. Genetic material from multiple organisms are combined. For example bacteria resistant to roundup are injected into corn or beet's DNA creating corn that will not be killed by that particular pesticide. Another example is moving a gene from a bacterium into corn and cotton plants to produce their own pesticide.
UMMMMMM, NO.
There is a HUGE difference between NATURAL SELECTION and GMO, you moron.
Do you eat corn?
Because that's a GMO created by people, not natural selection.... moron.
corn
You have a point about Corn, but selective hybridization is not exactly on the same level as splicing frog genes into tomato plants. That's also true of seedless grapes and seedless oranges. Most of the produce that you know on your table is a result of selective hybridization -- people purposely cross breeding the same family of plants to create desired results such as bigger pumpkins, meatier tomatoes, starchier potatoes or whatever.
As to the article: I used to work for a company that is now owned by UNFI. I understand the capitulation. It's an expensive fight against Monsanto and others who ally themselves with Monsanto's interests. It's not only like fighting Golaith but it's also like whacking those gophers in the arcade game.
I think that a new line has been drawn to protect organic farmers, and that is imperative that their crops and the integrity of "organic" be protected. My personal feeling is that this is a better and more effective use of resources. My hope is that Whole Foods and the natural foods industry will focus on education about what organic is, its benefits (some are perceived incorrectly), heirloom varieties, the importance of seed perservation for varieties, the importance of having a varied diet, and not the least... how better stewardship of land and waters is good for human beings (environment, atmosphere, health for ecosystems, health for people).
Genetic Engineering
What you call NATURAL SELECTION, UMMMMM, NO., could be called Genetic Engineering. Many grapes used to have many seeds in them that were good for us. Lots of nutrition in them too when we ate them... about 30 or so years ago. The 'powers that be' changed the grapes in our markets today, to seedless varieties - which I'd never heard of before that. How times change - and with them, our foods in a lot of not-good ways.