Print
Whole Foods will no longer tell consumers if its products contain genetically-engineered ingredients. Consequently, you can no longer trust America’s favorite organic grocer.
Amazon secretly ended Whole Foods Market’s labeling requirements for genetically-modified organisms (GMO), Alternet reports. Disturbingly, Whole Foods’ new owner apparently made no effort to tell consumers about the change.
The company’s GMO-labeling requirements were supposedly scheduled to take effect on September 1, 2018. An email from Whole Foods President A.C. Gallo reportedly states that the labeling requirement is on indefinite hold.
Whole Foods’ GMO Labeling Indefinitely Paused
The email states the labeling is paused until the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approves mandatory labeling changes. Whole Foods allegedly sent the email only to suppliers and not to the media.
The company’s GMO-labeling was simply a public relations stunt designed to appease consumers, Alternet contributor Katherine Paul asserts.
“The company’s GMO labeling promise, too little too late from the get-go, was always more about saving face and scamming consumers than it was about real transparency and forcing Big Food to change its ways,” Paul wrote.
Whole Foods apparently agreed to GMO labeling to end protests by the Organic Consumers Association. The company then dropped its labeling plan because it would be a burden on Whole Foods’ suppliers, Gallo claimed.
“That statement suggests that the company will simply go along with the federal labeling requirements—a far weaker plan than what WFM originally promised consumers—and drop its own plan,” Paul charges. It seems like pleasing suppliers is more important to Whole Foods than consumers’ health.
The FDA Is Trying To Hide GMO Ingredients
The FDA is writing a set of rules for GMO labeling that have drawn criticism from organic advocates. Health blogger Dr. Mercola accused the FDA of trying to hide GMO ingredients with its proposed rules.
Manufacturers would not have to include some GMO ingredients in labels under the FDA proposal. Food manufacturers would not even have to list GMO under the FDA plan.
Instead, a manufacturer would simply put a quick-read (QR) code on the label. A QR code is a barcode that a consumer would scan with a smartphone. The code would direct the consumer to a website that would list the ingredients.
Using QR codes would probably save manufacturers money because they could then utilize smaller labels. Consumers would obviously have a far harder time learning what ingredients the food contained. It appears that the FDA is more interested in helping Big Food save money than in protecting consumers.
Big Food Owns Organic And Loves GMO
Whole Foods is the sixth-largest retailer of natural and organic foods in America. The five biggest organic food retailers are Walmart, Costco Wholesale, Kroger, Super Target, and Safeway-Albertsons.
Whole Foods, the nation’s most-visible organic grocer, almost collapsed because of over expansion last year. Whole Foods’ management sold out to Amazon to keep Kroger from buying the chain.
Amazon intends to use Whole Foods to expand its grocery delivery business and yet will not promote organic produce. Whole Foods will supposedly become more like a normal grocery store under Amazon’s ownership.
That means Big Food, which is committed to GMO, owns the natural and organic market. Consumers that want non-GMO produce will need to plant a garden using natural heirloom seeds.
All families should consider raising their own fruits, vegetables, eggs, milk, and livestock to avoid GMO. Other places to find non-GMO foods include farmers’ markets, family-owned farms, Amish farms, and community gardens.
The GMO labeling bait and switch proves that trusting retailers like Amazon is a terrible mistake. All consumers need to develop off-grid sources of food if they want to avoid GMO.
