Whole Foods Admits Its Organic Foods Contain GMOs, Tries to Play Victim – Hayden’s Note
Posted on Jun 07, 2011 in Featured Articles, Health, Food News, & Big PharmaTruthisTreason.net – Kevin Hayden
Source: Tara Green – Natural News
Genetically modified foods have become so ubiquitous in the US that even the grocery store ‘Whole Foods’ now admits it cannot keep biotech foods off its shelves. A representative for the corporation acknowledged in May of 2011 that the realities of the marketplace have forced a shift in the company’s previous no-GMO’s policy.
Joe Dickson, quality standards coordinator for Whole Foods Markets, notes that GMO’s dominate the market, especially for corn, soy and canola crops from which ingredients in most processed foods are derived. “Until there’s federal government mandated labeling of GMO ingredients, there’s no way to tell if packaged products contain GMO ingredients,” Dickson said. “Our approach is to work in the spirit of partnership with our suppliers … to encourage them to take active steps to avoid GMO ingredients.”
In spite of public skepticism about GMO foods, the FDA has backed Monsanto and other corporations, declaring that modified foods do not require special labeling letting consumers know they are eating Frankenfoods. This is in contrast to the European Union, where public concern over health issues resulted in a moratorium on GMO’s. Many European countries, including France, Germany, Greece, Austria and Luxembourg have banned genetically modified foods, while other countries in the EU permit their sale only when products include clear labels of GMO ingredients.
Hayden’s Note:
The problem, you see, is that Whole Foods does not do a “Whole” lot to encourage and demand GMO labeling. One would think that a business model such as Whole Foods would be leading the fight. But… by paying lip-service to the organic-minded consumer and saying, “We just can’t do anything… we’re at Monsanto’s mercy, woe is us! Until the Federal Govt does something… we have to stock GMOs,” while doing little (mediocre, at best) at lobbying for health and food liberty, they can appear to be on the consumer’s side while still sleeping with the BioTech Terrorists and staying in their good fortune, reaping the financial benefits of “organic foods” that really aren’t.
I recommend checking out the Non-GMO Project. I will say, that Whole Foods is a participating retailer with the project, but with such a namesake and deep pockets, I would expect them to be at the forefront of this GMO labeling battle and they clearly are not. Such is the free market. C’est le vie, eh?
Whole Foods’ recent admission proves how successful the biotech companies have been in their efforts to replace foods unadulterated by hormones with Frankenfoods. The fact that one of the best-known purveyors of natural foods has decided to throw in the towel rather than holding the line against biotech foods means consumers will have fewer places to go in their quest to buy non-genetically engineered foods.
Jeffrey Smith points out in his book Seeds of Deception, the biotech industry has co-opted the watchdog agencies of the federal government and sought to silence critics in the media and the scientific community who question sloppy science which they use to “prove” the safety of Frankenfoods. Natural News readers should read Smith’s book to understand the efforts Monsanto and others have gone to — including smear campaigns and threats against those who seek to present other points of views and the theft of research materials contradicting their biotech claims that Frankenfoods are completely safe.
Even the long-standing EU “zero-tolerance” policy on biotech foods has shown signs of cracking in the past few months, as the Union considers lifting import restrictions which formerly kept US-grown GMO’s from being sold in Europe. As reported on Natural News late last year (http://www.naturalnews.com/030828_G…), the forbidden information which surfaced through Wikileaks included documents revealing that the US government has conspired with the biotech companies to pressure European countries on the issue of genetically engineered foods.
Move past the propaganda put forth by Monsanto and their government lapdog agencies by educating yourself on the dangers of GMO’s both on this website and in Jeffrey Smith’s books and website. Try to keep your diet Frankenfood-free by finding a local food coop whose “quality standards” do not involve caving in to the biotech companies.
Sources for this article include:
http://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2011…
http://www.naturalnews.com/031224_G…
http://www.responsibletechnology.org/
http://www.seedsofdeception.com/Pub…
http://www.euractiv.com/en/trade/eu…
Related Articles:
- How to Get More Fruits, Vegetables and Super Foods into Your Diet While Avoiding GMOs
- Research Links Genetically Modified Foods (GMOs) to Long-Term Sterility
- USDA Refuses to Enforce Organic Standards, Allows Synthetic Additives in Horizon Organic Milk
- The Organic Elite Surrender to Bio-Tech Terrorist Monsanto – Why?
Tiny URL for this post: http://tinyurl.com/3p36jcq
While I agree with you that Whole Foods could (and in my opinion, SHOULD) be doing a lot more about GMOs, and that they do in fact sell many GMO containing foods, certified organic foods are required by law to be GMO free. I think the title of your post is a little misleading.
I appreciate your comment, Clarity. And I would agree with you except for the increasing number of instances where we see ‘USDA Certified Organic’ products containing synthetic materials and ingredients.
Horizon Organic Milk is a prime example – recently, it was discovered (and admitted) that their DHA Omega-3 additives were synthetic and “technically” disqualified it for ANY “organic” label. However, they continued to bare the seal of the USDA’s Organic Certification.
Laboratory-made, synthetic DHA additives and still considered “organic?” What’s stopping other companies from adding GMO ingredients and still retaining their “organic” seal? How many manufacturers and producers are doing this that we don’t know about? It took “us” – the masses – awhile before we realized what Horizon was doing and getting away with…
Just one example of many.
Again, thank you for the comment! I’m not trying to butt heads or argue, but I believe we both have valid points.
Respectfully,
Kevin Hayden
Founder, TruthisTreason.net
Thank you SO much for this article!
By the way you make it sound, considering it’s almost as if we actually *shouldn’t* bother. If even organic certified foods are GMO (considering the guidelines against it), then how will we feel certain which non-GMO foods are legitimate?
That is the million dollar question, GW.
Once a person – or organization, in this case – betrays the trust that had been built between the consumer and their product, how are we to believe any future claims? How are we not to cast doubt on other brands and products, as well.
It’s sad that Horizon did this. It’s worse that the FDA has allowed it to continue without making a big deal out of it.
All that we have left is to demand GMO labeling. That way, there is punishment for not properly labeling products that contain GMO ingredients. Europe does it. Germany simply banned GMOs, along with several South American countries. At the very least, our meats, grains and vegetables need to be identified in some fashion and distinguished from simply “natural” -> “organically grown” / “sustainably grown” -> USDA Certified Organic -> GMO – Free! Something has to happen.
How we get there? I’m not real sure. Consumer demand and outcry DOES have it’s place in the supermarket. That’s what those little “discount cards” are for – to track spending habits and for free research into what people are buying. They tell a corporation whether consumers are willing to spend an extra dollar in order to buy GMO-free, organic produce as opposed to the $h!t grown in California, full of pesticides and then trucked 2,000 miles away.
Europe was able to, in part, get labeling requirements strictly from consumer outcry.
Thanks,
Kevin Hayden
Founder, TruthisTreason.net
Seeking some clarification here. Fruits and vegetables on their shelves labeled organic… Are you saying that some of those might have GMOs? Or are you talking about some of the more processed foods containing GMO ingredients but being labeled organic? Thanks for caring and informing us about this issue.
Well, thanks for taking the time to comment!
From what I have seen and read, it seems to be the more-processed items on the shelves that contain some synthetic materials and are not 100% organic.
As for the fresh produce, I would like to believe that it isn’t an issue… but as I stated above, once our trust (as consumers) has been betrayed, how are we to be sure of ANY thing?
And if the FDA is not willing to step up and make an issue out of a company adding synthetic additives to “organic-labeled” products and immediately demanding a correction, issuing a fine, etc etc, then why SHOULD we trust the USDA label? It’s a sad situation that leaves many confused.
Until we have some sort of REAL process in place for identifying GMO items, we will never truly know.
Thanks again,
Kevin Hayden
Founder, TruthisTreason.net
whole foods makes me upset because their name alone makes such a big claim. we go in there expecting to be safe from toxins and gmos only to be disappointed. we really must read the labels and question everything before we buy!
Sadly, that is the world we now live in, Aprille.
Cheers,
Kevin hayden
Founder, TruthisTreason.net
Thanks for the article. I love my country but I’ve been scratching my head a lot lately. In response to Leila’s fruit and vegetable question, I recently read something about that waxy substance that’s applied to produce is derived from cheap GMO corn. I smell a ‘population control’ conspiracy here.
Has anyone ever considered printing up GMO stickers and attaching them to these items in protest? Just a thought.
That’s a really great idea. They’d have to be CHEAP stickers. Perhaps one could get GMO printed on a roll of those cheap-o “garage sale/bargain bin” fluorescent stickers…you know the ones I’m talking about. The small, round hot pink or bright orange stickers? Perhaps a roll of those would only cost a few bucks and you could slap them right on the front of food boxes. That’d be great. If nothing else, a bit of psy-op … consumers would take brief notice of the stickers and think, “GMO…GMO…everything says GMO…”
This is what it comes down to. I think that instead of relying on the institutions that have already been compromised and co-opted as watchdogs for our health its time, this is a signal that we MUST watchdog for ourselves AND for one another. Its time we find out what has GMO ingredients in it and we go into whole foods and put big pink GMO stickers on each of these products on a regular basis to inform ourselves and each other this will also make a big media issue and bring the discussion in a creative informative manner to the fore of consciousness.
I would like to point you towards the Non-GMO Project – http://www.nongmoproject.org/
It started as a private endeavor, reaching out to large companies and asking them to put their products through rigorous, 3rd party testing. If verified, their product would receive the “stamp of approval.” They have grown exponentially over the last few years, and I now see numerous products on the shelf that contain their mark of approval!
Ventures such as this will truly help us until we can get true labeling laws or the (unlikely) repeal of GMOs across the board!
Cheers,
Kevin Hayden
Get a rubber stamp made that says GMO and then it can be stamped onto the cheap garage sale stickers. Small investment that can be used over and over.
I used to work at Whole Foods, and unfortunately, what you’ve written isn’t really a surprise.
They preach a small business and “whole food” mentality, but when it comes down to business, they’re just that. ALL business.
Money is first.
In this way they get the best of both worlds, avoiding unions and such while training their management in the same way that a normal corporate chain would.
In my experience (six years, four as a cashier, two in the bakery) team leaders (what they call the department heads) did not ‘lead’, they were straight up management, no different than in a regular store.
This might not read as much to most people, but consider that this way of ‘portraying themselves’ juxtaposed against ‘the truth’ continued throughout the running of the entire store.
They’d preach one thing ( like GMO consciousness) but when you got down to the working parts: say the true quality of the prepared food, or the absurd quantity of waste the bakery would produce (plus the stores negative outlook on sharing this waste with anyone but the trash can) the contradiction became astounding, especially to a person like me who thought I was supposed to be working somewhere other and more conscious than a Vons.
To be fair, its been about six years since I worked there, it might be different now. But I left because my store was really (in my opinion) starting to tumble down the very slippery slope of big business. And if they’re ignoring the fight against GMO’s these days I can’t really see them fighting to correct their smaller issues.
Well said, and thank you for your insight!
Cheers,
Kevin Hayden
Founder, TruthisTreason.net
I’M WITH TIM! I think that is a super fantastic idea!
http://www.stickers4u.com/circle_roll_labels.htm
Eh??
The claim in the title of this article is not supported within the article. It appears to be an unsubstantiated fabrication. Ironically, your defense in your first comment better applies to this article than it does to Whole Foods. Why should we believe anything you write if your headline is a lie?
I went to a Whole Foods for the first time the other day and I was surprised to see that well over fifty percent of their products were NOT organic. So I asked one the employees working behind the cash register why that was and her response was that though Whole Foods products are not all organic, they are all still “natural”. Seriously?! The only differences I see between Whole Foods and your average grocery store are polished wood floors and a “well-trained” staff. My reason for going to Whole Foods was to find some grass-fed butter and the closest thing I found was butter from free-pastured cows? So with blind faith, I paid the FIVE DOLLARS for a tiny bar of butter, to later finding that day, Kerrygold’s grass-fed butter at Trader Joes for 2 bucks!! I felt like such a sucker!
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