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

No need to cave there

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on May 16, 2011 - 9:45am.

New season's already carries lots of GMO foods.

Don't idealize corporations!

Submitted by yankee2 (not verified) on April 5, 2011 - 4:13pm.

You mean WFM? They are not a great ANYTHING, except perhaps corporate profit concentration machine. Like virtually ALL corporations, they have absolutely no ethical standards. By their own definition (of their motives), if they could maximize profits by selling us poisons, and get away with it, they would, just as many corporations have in the past. We, and YOU, should not idealize corporations!

i agree with yankee2.

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on June 19, 2011 - 12:34pm.

if it will increase profits they will put a "green" or "natural" spin on it.

you are right, we should not

Submitted by gee (not verified) on April 25, 2011 - 1:44pm.

you are right, we should not idealize corporations. but until we realize our unity and abolish capital, it is good for us to know that there are several corporations which understand the value of life, of which whole foods is most definitely one. being such, i doubt that they would sell poisons - ever. we live in a world where corporations are currently favored and therefore, exist, but it is important to support those who are, at the very least, aimed in a similar direction to us.

Whole Foods.

Submitted by savannah43 (not verified) on June 16, 2011 - 12:12pm.

Whole Foods, Wal-Mart--no difference. Both guilty of green washing. Anyone who defends either of them is either a corporate shill or misinformed.

WFM do sell poisons

Submitted by makeadifference (not verified) on April 26, 2011 - 12:20pm.

Your statement about WHF never selling poisons is false - they already do but they're just not labeled as such. Many common food additives have been shown to be poisonous, such as aspartame, contributing to food allergies and in some cases child deaths, cancers (BT insecticide in all Glucose/Fructose Corn sweetener), liver and kidney damage, ADD, etc. These poisons are killing us over time, and costing a fortune in health care costs. The US which has the highest penetration of GMO's in the world also has the highest health care costs in the world. The experts who have done these studies have been discredited by the corporations, and the government, who is in the pocket of the corporations. Food & Drug regulation is controlled by Monsanto shareholders. Do your research - the corporations and government regulators do not operate in your best interest, but in the interest of profit. Make a difference with your dollars, don't buy products containing Monsanto GMO's (corn, soy, cotton, sugar beets)

Actually, WFM does NOT sell products with aspartame

Submitted by ch1807 (not verified) on May 12, 2011 - 3:55pm.

Perhaps you should do YOUR research, "makeadifference." Contrary to what you state, Whole Foods Market (WFM) does NOT sell any products with aspartame, which is an artificial sweetener (and is indeed, as you argue, quite dangerous). Let's be clear: WFM doesn't sell any products with artificial sweeteners.

I'm pretty sure I've seen

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on June 17, 2011 - 8:17am.

I'm pretty sure I've seen diet coke at WFM.

Morons

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on January 10, 2012 - 5:51pm.

Wfm doesn't sell diet coke. I work for wfm. We don't sell ANY products with aspartame.

WFM

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on January 10, 2012 - 2:13pm.

Whole Foods does not sell any diet products. You probably notice their Zevia zero calorie soda which contains stevia as a sweetner, which is a natural productt.