Whole Foods Market Caves to Monsanto

by PRW Staff — January 28, 2011 - 3:09pm
Share/Save Share this

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

STOP MONSANTO is easy; Shop Local, not chain stores.

Submitted by Lorene Reed (not verified) on February 1, 2012 - 1:30pm.

EVERYONE has a right to know what they are eating. Monsanto doesn’t want people to know b/c if they were transparent about what their products were NO ONE would buy them. Monsanto is dispicable. They threaten the livelyhood of many small family farmers, put them out of business and sue them if they show opposition to their unlawful patent laws. What they are doing is criminal and we should all be willing to stand up to this kind of bullying and harrassment.

My company, Planet Organics (www.planetorganics.com), has been bringing organic produce –from small family farms- to the doorsteps of thousands of households over the past 15 years. We will NEVER stop protesting, fighting and voting in opposition against Monsanto. This is too important. I'm disappointed that Whole Foods would back down; they could use their super -chain store- power for good instead of caving to the evil empire of Monsanto. It’s shameful.

It’s time to get back to the basics; shop local, at Farmers Markets and from people you know and trust. If we stop supporting these large chain-stores, then there is no place for Monsanto and their GMO Franken-Foods. Bye Bye, the end of them!

monsanto

Submitted by skawt1187 (not verified) on February 1, 2012 - 9:20pm.

tell me how to help, I am new to eating strictly organic and trying to buy local.

2 quick tips!

Submitted by Linzootart (not verified) on February 2, 2012 - 6:28am.

Hey! I wanted to reply to you specifically because I know how confusing organic vs not can be! First of all, definitely make sure it says "certified organic" - a lot of packaging can fool you! I am often fooled, and I have to really read it, and it'll have every natural phraseology in the book on it except for "certified organic". So really read (seems obvious, but it's not. They are working to trick you, so even long time organic eaters have to really read) - and another huge tip! Anything certified organic has a PLU number that starts with "9" - even if the product says "organic" and it doesn't have this PLU number, it's not really organic. That has helped me so much! Hope it helps you!

2 quick tips!

Submitted by Bob Messing (not verified) on February 2, 2012 - 12:34pm.

I am the perishables buyer (not produce--- dairy, refrigerated grocery, bread, frozen) at a large natural foods coop. I have lots of certified organic products and a "plu" number that does not start with "9" is not and indication of whether the product is organic or not. I assume you mean "upc" by "plu", but that number there with the barcode, Organic Valley starts with 9, but, for example, Horizon starts with 7 and Stonyfield organic starts with "5". So, forget the tips, and look at the lable for the certified organic symbol or some other creditable statement concerning the nature of the ingredients.

We have a right to know.

Submitted by Chuck Spidell (not verified) on February 1, 2012 - 11:51am.

We have a right to know what's in our food. This is the reason, I buy from our local farmers market.

Inaccurate Information

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on February 1, 2012 - 8:58am.

The Monsanto article is a). a year old, and, b). misleading. Whole Foods has never had ties to Monsanto.

Real story:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/genetically-modified-crops-get-boost-over-organics-with-recent-usda-rulings/2011/03/10/ABAAWNLB_story.html

Thanks for posting!

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on February 3, 2012 - 7:52am.

Thanks for posting!

Read

Submitted by Content but Deeply Concerned. (not verified) on February 2, 2012 - 12:40am.

No mater how old the article may be, it is still relevant and true. The link you suggested, though informative, is not the main focus of this piece. This article was sourced, meaning that excerpts were taken from another print that resulted in this publishing. They posted the link below the story. It seems as if you bothred not to read it before you posted. Have no fear. Here is the link to the sourced material.

PSYCH!! Go back and you'll find it. You will also see where Monsanto and WF are suggested tied.

Time to reclaim our country before it is too late.

Thanks for posting this! I

Submitted by Little Miss M (not verified) on February 1, 2012 - 7:01pm.

Thanks for posting this! I just posted something similar because people don't seem to do their own due diligence any more.

Difference between "natural" and "organic"

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on January 31, 2012 - 10:04pm.

In some cases "natural" does mean "organic," just that the company/farm was too small and/or the process of/barriers to becoming "certified organic" was too costly. It is important to acknowledge that "natural" doesn't always mean something, but I think a much more important point is to just do research on individual companies and products and make sure you understand where the products are coming from. We can all be more mindful consumers by not relying on these "always/never" rules but rather seeking out information about food we are buying ourselves.

I'm not defending Whole Foods necessarily, but just pointing out the fact that the author(s) took this part of it a bit too far.