Whole Foods Market Caves to Monsanto

by PRW Staff — January 28, 2011 - 3:09pm
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WholeFoodsMarketAfter 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.)

Main Source: 
CounterPunch, January 28, 2011

Comments

OH NO!! This is so terrible

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on April 20, 2011 - 10:59am.

OH NO!! This is so terrible for the world!! Monsanto is eating up every last bit of healthy all over the world. Canada farmers are overwhelmed. In India it's ruining farmers and land, water, and eating up every spice/herb and rice to either ruin competition or steal it and make a patent on it and then make even more $$ when it comes to the states. It must be so difficult for the real organic companies to hold the line against the abusive, aggressive big chemical/poison makers/distributors. I keep thinking of the movie classic "Soylent Green", how all that was left was soy beans and once the master plant had died the crackers were made out of people. The poison known as soy(bean) in any form is being pushed into virtually every product, and hawked as healthy (the crap ruins the health of the body). Then the BGH, which is SOOOO bad for the glandular system (of which 70% of the immune system is in the digestive system), that poison should be banned!!! And the antibiotics that are used on the animals and random tests done to give a false stamp on the end product that it is free from antibiotics... all manipulations and sleeping with the FDA is bad business. Shameless!! I will be saying prayers for all truly organic companies so they can survive without being ruined by the ugly, evil Monsanto, Cargil, etc.

Whole Foods, Stonyfield Farms, and Organic Valley

Submitted by Ken Roseboro (not verified) on April 18, 2011 - 8:56am.

This article is wrong. Whole Foods, Stonyfield, and OV have not agreed to stop the mass commercialization of GE crops. They are funding legal action to stop GE alfalfa and sugar beets.
With GE alfalfa, the USDA was either going to deregulate the crop witout restrictions or partially deregulate it with restrictions. WF, Stonyfield and OV supported the second option because that was the only choice they had. Word spread by a misleading blog from Organic Consumers Association that WF, Stonyfield, and OV "surrendered to Monsanto," which was totally untrue.
Instead of using a circular firing squad to attack leading supporters of organic foods, we need to focus on fighting Monsanto and the biotech industry.
Instead of protesting or boycotting Whole Foods why not protest the conventional supermarket giants like Safeway who don't care that GMOs are in 75% of their products.
At least Whole Foods is doing something about GMOs by putting their own brand products through a non-GMO verification program, the Non-GMO Project.

USA's Bottom Line

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on April 21, 2011 - 8:46am.

The sad part about all this is the money being lost to other countries who have figured out that it will be a financial advantage, as well as healthier for their citizens, to actually export GMO free crops. Ireland is the latest behind Egypt and Japan. When will we wake up. We could have been one of the leaders in wind, also. Now that money goes to Europe and China!

Whole Foods didn't cave..

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on April 15, 2011 - 2:22pm.

Whole Foods has been telling us about GMOs for years, they're even working on 3rd party verified labeling of non GMO conventional products. I got an email from them in january or february urging customers to contact their congress folks and the usda and say they opposed the GE alfalfa move. then the stupid OCA attacks them and organic valley and who ever else tried to stop the usda. and now counterpunch jumps on the same bandwagon? really sad folks. really sad.

a single email to contact usda and members of congress

Submitted by Lisa Graves on April 18, 2011 - 12:06pm.

That's simply not good enough. Asking for a quick contact to your member of congress in this situation is a weak reed under the circumstances and more like a c.y.a. move, in my opinion.

Had the companies used their power to walk away from the table and escalate public awareness, along with a sustained and heightened campaign against the false "two choices" of the Monsanto lobbied USDA would have been a real response.

What I think is sad is the number of people willing to be apologists for Whole Foods on this.

But what is really sad is that GMO alfalfa is now going to be widely used.

Spoke with Whole Foods

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on April 14, 2011 - 3:27pm.

I contacted Whole Foods, and they denied an agreement with Monsanto. In fact, I doubt Monsanto would open a door for future litigation from farmers.

LIES!!!! whole foods even has

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on April 13, 2011 - 9:24pm.

LIES!!!!
whole foods even has a nonGMO education month as well as a new labeling system for vendors to get there products tested for gmos.
this is ALL propaganda . John Mackey would shoot himself before giving into the likes of GMOs

gmo...NO

Submitted by Nancydah (not verified) on April 8, 2011 - 9:23pm.

I will never give up opposing GMO foods, or Monsanto. Monsanto is the true, insidious evil doer...and might just be the harbinger of the end of the human population. Agent Orange killed my father, who survived Viet Nam....Monsanto is pushing its way into 3rd world countries, patenting (which is the most bizzare notion ever) thousand of seeds every day....while using us as their laboratory to play out their evil science experiments. Evil...pure evil.

the "naturals" cave to Goliath

Submitted by Beverly (not verified) on April 8, 2011 - 5:44pm.

i intend to boycott all 3 of these "natural" foods corporations & encourage others to do the same. is there no safe place left for organics?

BLAH

Submitted by Cubicle.Jockey (not verified) on April 8, 2011 - 12:05pm.

We need more stores like PCC!