Is Whole Foods the New Franken-Market?

An issue near and dear to most of us in the Green movement, and everyone else who believes that you truly are what you eat, is the safety and quality of our food supply here in the United States.  We’ve already discussed the food processing giants at length; their manipulation of the American palate to boost their corporate bottom lines has been well-documented, as has the resulting surge in obesity rates and chronic diseases across the country.  The Green response has been to avoid processed foods, grow your own produce where possible, patronize local farmers, and shop for organic and natural foods.

Whole Foods Markets is frequently cited as a good source for healthful, natural foods.  Their website features a list Core Values of the company, and the top two items read as follows:  Quality Standards:  “We carry natural and organic products because we believe that food in its purest state – unadulterated by artificial flavors, sweeteners, colorings and preservatives – is the best tasting and most nutritious food available.”  Organic Farming:  “…farming without the standard array of modern toxic and persistent chemicals used in conventional food production … it’s actually farming with our future at heart.”  Values such as these are the primary reason that health-conscious consumers pay the higher prices charged at Whole Foods (“Whole Paycheck” to some detractors); after all, how can you quibble about a few extra bucks when your family’s well-being is at stake?

Why, then, did Whole Foods make a pact with the devil?   Executives from Whole Foods Markets, along with those of other organic movement leaders Stonyfield Farms and Organic Valley, have sold out, publicly admitting that, “The policy set for GE {genetically engineered} alfalfa will most likely guide policies for other GE crops as well.  True coexistence is a must.”  Who is behind the production of GE alfalfa and other crops?  Why, Monsanto of course, the biotech behemoth that has given us such favorites as Agent Orange, DDT and PCBs, the same Monsanto that Congress recently gave carte blanche to continue growing their “Frankenproduce” even though courts have deemed it dangerous.   Once this GE alfalfa permeates the cattle feed supply, there will be no more organically-raised meat because none of this stuff is labeled, and organic farmers won’t have much choice.  Yes, in its infinite wisdom, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has concluded that, wait for it, “genetically modified products are safe and {therefore} the agency doesn’t require that they be labeled.”  There’s a ton of evidence to contradict the FDA’s pronouncement, and we’ll look at some of it next time.

Whole Foods, meanwhile, announced recently that, by 2018, it will label all foods it sells that contain GMOs.  2018 is a long way away.  Pardon my lack of applause.

Author: Lee Ann Rush