http://www.organicconsumers.org/bytes/ob371.html

Subscribe & Read Past Issues | OCA Homepage | Donate  ESSAY OF THE WEEK The Whole Truth About Whole Foods GMO Labeling Policy Whole Foods made a huge splash in the media last week when the company announced that its U.S. and Canadian stores will be required to label all genetically engineered (GE) foods in its stores, by 2018. But five years? Surely the largest national organic grocer in the country can do better than that. After all, Whole Foods is already labeling in its European stores. Don’t get us wrong. This is great news. It’s a clear victory for consumers and the GMO labeling movement. And a serious blow to Monsanto. And it’s proof that marketplace pressure works, that consumers have the power to change food policy. So let’s take it a step further. Whole Foods makes billions of dollars a year selling products that carry the misleading “natural” label. Not only do most of these products contain genetically modified organisms (GMOs), but they’re also full of pesticides, synthetic chemicals and a host of very unnatural additives. It’s time for Whole Foods to clean up its whole act, by creating a policy that says no product in its stores can be called “natural” if it contains GMOs. Or any of that other unnatural stuff. Read the essay Read the press release TRAITOR BOYCOTT C'mon Ben & Jerry. How about Throwing Some Dough into the WA and VT GMO Labeling Campaigns? TAKE ACTION: Tell Ben & Jerry’s You’re Boycotting Their Products Until They Throw Some Dough into the Washington State Ballot Initiative and the Vermont GMO Labeling Campaign Ben & Jerry’s sat silently by last year while its parent company, Unilever, dumped almost half a million dollars into the campaign to defeat Proposition 37, the California Right to Know GMO labeling campaign. Now the GMO labeling movement is working feverishly in Washington and several dozen other states, including Ben & Jerry’s own Vermont backyard, to get a statewide GMO labeling law passed. But the so-called socially responsible ice cream maker claims it can’t help out with a donation in Washington or Vermont because it wants to get the “dough out of politics.” Seriously? C’mon guys, you can do better than that. Sure, you’ve got a statement on your website that says you support the consumer’s right to know. And great that you’ve promised to get GMOs out of your own products by the end of this year, we’ll hold you to it. But Washington and Vermont consumers – you know, those consumers who put you on the map when you were just a couple of struggling nobodies – need your help. And your dollars. And a promise from you, not a suggestion, that Unilever will keep its money out of all future anti-labeling campaigns. TAKE ACTION: Tell Ben & Jerry’s You’re Boycotting Their Products Until They Throw Some Dough into the Washington State Ballot Initiative and the Vermont GMO Labeling Campaign   Download your wallet-sized boycott guide (PDF) Download a poster-sized boycott guide (PDF) Sign the boycott pledge Order printed copies of the boycott guide or poster

Organic Consumers Association Responds to Whole Foods Plan to Label GMOs by 2018

TO READ THE WHOLE STATEMENT:
 http://www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_27166.cfm

Food Retailer's Plan to Label GMOs a Victory for Grassroots Food Activists and Consumers, but Five-Year Timetable not Comprehensive or Aggressive Enough 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 11, 2013    

CONTACT: Organic Consumers Association, 
Katherine Paul, 207.653.3090

FINLAND, Minn. - The million-strong Organic Consumers Association (OCA), North America's leading watchdog over organic and fair trade standards, said today that it is encouraged by Whole Foods Markets' plan, announced last week, to support consumers' right to know by requiring labeling of all foods containing genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in its U.S. and Canadian stores by 2018. 

However, the OCA called on Whole Foods, the nation's largest national organic foods retailer, to move up its labeling deadline to July 2015, and to take the lead in the organic industry to end deceptive labeling practices by requiring all the stores' products that include the word "natural" in their labeling or packaging to be GMO-free.

Whole Foods not happy about this video

 http://www.organicconsumers.org/bytes/ob349.htm

YouTube Censors 'Organic Spies' Video Exposing GMOs at Whole Foods - Watch It At NaturalNews.com

The recent "Organic Spies" video that exposed Whole Foods selling GMOs was starting to go mega viral on YouTube, so guess what happened?

YouTube censored the video! It got yanked under some bogus "terms of service" excuse.

Why doesn't YouTube want you to see this video? Because it tells the truth!

Natural News got the video and posted it on TV.naturalnews.com, their own private video network. Please read about what happened, watch the censored video and tell Whole Foods what you think.

WATCH AND TAKE ACTION

Ask Whole Foods to do the right thing

From the Organic Consumers Association:

Whole Foods Market Plays Dumb on Activists' Arrests, Unlabeled Frankenfoods

Ask WFM to Respect Consumers' Right to Know About GMOs...

... and Anti-GMO Activists' Freedom of Speech!

As OCA activists Alexis Baden-Mayer and Mike Durschmid await a June 7 court appearance resulting from their arrests at a Whole Foods GMO Food Dump in Chicago, the debate over whether food retailers should label genetically modified foods is heating up.

On May 24, the Chicago Tribune and the Los Angeles Times published Monica Eng's report, "Consumer Activists Seek Labeling of Genetically Modified Foods: They Have Become So Common That Even Organic Retailer Whole Foods Says It Can't Avoid Stocking Some."

Eng writes:

"Used in an estimated 70 percent of all American processed food, genetically modified crops make up 93 percent of all soy, 86 percent of all corn and 93 percent of all canola seeds planted in the U.S., which makes stocking only non-GMO products difficult, said Joe Dickson, quality standards coordinator for Whole Foods Market.

"'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.'"

The idea that Whole Foods has no control over the unlabeled genetically modified foods sold in their stores is as credible as their initial claim that no anti-GMO activists had been arrested at their Chicago store. (Once they gave up pretending there was no arrest, they insisted they had nothing to do with it, even though police were on site before the GMO Food Dump began and could only have been alerted by Whole Foods employees or executives.)

We can't let the "world's leading natural and organic foods supermarket" continue to play dumb. It's time Whole Foods' took responsibility for the Frankenfoods in their stores and for trying to stifle anti-GMO activists!

Tell Whole Foods to respect consumers' right to know about GMOs and stand up for activists' right to free speech.

Take Action

Arrests at Whole Foods protest

Whole Foods Calls in Police to Arrest OCA Protestors in Chicago

Although Whole Foods and the Chicago police tried to stop our Millions Against Monsanto demonstration and GMO Food Dump in Chicago on Tuesday by arresting OCA Political Director Alexis Baden-Mayer and Chicago OCA activist Mike Durschmid, we will not be deterred.

Read More

Seattle, Boulder, New York & Your Town!

To gear up for the Millions Against Monsanto actions on World Food Day, October 16, 2011, we're hosting regional anti-GMO summits at each of the Green Festivals around the country. This weekend, we'll be in Seattle. Here are the details:

The Green Festival is Saturday and Sunday May 21-22 @ Qwest Event Center, 800 Occidental Ave., Seattle, WA.

Admission is $10-$25

We'll have a limited number of free passes to distribute to volunteers. If you've already volunteered, we'll leave your name on a list at the exhibitor check-in desk. If you'd like to volunteer and need a pass, please contact us here.

The Green Festival goes from 10-7 Saturday and 11-6 on Sunday. We'd love to have your help for a couple hours in the Millions Against Monsanto booth (# 1014)!

At 3:30 pm Alexis Baden-Meyer (Organic Consumers Association) & Bill Aal (AGRA-Watch) will present in the Community Action Pavilion. Their presentation will be called Taking on the Giants: Millions Against Monsanto and Watching the Gates Foundation. Learn more here.

In addition to the festival, we're organizing an action at the University Trader Joes in on Tuesday May 24:

On Friday, we'll be going to Trader Joes to buy the GMO food they sell to display at our booth at the Green Festival. On Tuesday, May 24, at 12:30, we'll be returning the GMO food in a theatrical "GMO Food Dump" action. If you're curious about what a "GMO Food Dump" is, check out this video.

Tell it to Whole Foods

Tell Whole Foods to Stop Selling Monsanto's Unlabeled Genetically Modified Organisms

ORGANIC CONSUMERS ASSOCIATION

Whole Foods Market supports mandatory labels for foods produced with genetically modified organisms:

"We have advocated for mandatory labeling of GE foods since 1992, even before they were made commercially available."

But Whole Foods Market sells unlabeled foods produced with genetically modified organisms:

"The reality is that no grocery store in the United States, no matter what size or type of business, can claim they are GE-free...we are not going to mislead our customers with an inaccurate claim."

(Source: Internal memo sent to store managers January 30, 2011.)

As Millions Against Monsanto activists were told by store employees when they protested Whole Foods last weekend, any food in Whole Foods that isn't Certified Organic or Non-GMO Project Verified might be genetically modified, but store employees were unable to answer questions about whether specific products contained genetically modified ingredients.

This is unacceptable. Why is Whole Foods Market letting Monsanto take up shelf space? Why isn't it training store employees to help consumers identify GMO foods so we can avoid them?

Please ask Whole Foods Market to stop selling unlabeled GMOs.

Take Action

Big sellout on GM alfalfa

The Organic Elite Surrenders to Monsanto: What Now?

• By Ronnie Cummins
  Organic Consumers Association, Jan 27, 2011
  Straight to the Source
  
  

"The policy set for GE alfalfa will most likely guide policies for other GE crops as well. True coexistence is a must." - Whole Foods Market, Jan. 21, 2011

In the wake of a 12-year battle to keep Monsanto's Genetically Engineered (GE) crops from contaminating the nation's 25,000 organic farms and ranches, America's organic consumers and producers are facing betrayal. A self-appointed cabal of the Organic Elite, spearheaded by Whole Foods Market, Organic Valley, and Stonyfield Farm, has decided it's time to surrender to Monsanto. Top executives from these companies have publicly admitted that they no longer oppose the mass commercialization of GE crops, such as Monsanto's controversial Roundup Ready alfalfa, and are prepared to sit down and cut a deal for "coexistence" with Monsanto and USDA biotech cheerleader Tom Vilsack.

In a cleverly worded, but profoundly misleading email sent to its customers last week, Whole Foods Market, while proclaiming their support for organics and "seed purity," gave the green light to USDA bureaucrats to approve the "conditional deregulation" of Monsanto's genetically engineered, herbicide-resistant alfalfa. Beyond the regulatory euphemism of "conditional deregulation," this means that WFM and their colleagues are willing to go along with the massive planting of a chemical and energy-intensive GE perennial crop, alfalfa; guaranteed to spread its mutant genes and seeds across the nation; guaranteed to contaminate the alfalfa fed to organic animals; guaranteed to lead to massive poisoning of farm workers and destruction of the essential soil food web by the toxic herbicide, Roundup; and guaranteed to produce Roundup-resistant superweeds that will require even more deadly herbicides such as 2,4 D to be sprayed on millions of acres of alfalfa across the U.S.

In exchange for allowing Monsanto's premeditated pollution of the alfalfa gene pool, WFM wants "compensation." In exchange for a new assault on farmworkers and rural communities (a recent large-scale Swedish study found that spraying Roundup doubles farm workers' and rural residents' risk of getting cancer), WFM expects the pro-biotech USDA to begin to regulate rather than cheerlead for Monsanto. In payment for a new broad spectrum attack on the soil's crucial ability to provide nutrition for food crops and to sequester dangerous greenhouse gases (recent studies show that Roundup devastates essential soil microorganisms that provide plant nutrition and sequester climate-destabilizing greenhouse gases), WFM wants the Biotech Bully of St. Louis to agree to pay "compensation" (i.e. hush money) to farmers "for any losses related to the contamination of his crop."

In its email of Jan. 21, 2011 WFM calls for "public oversight by the USDA rather than reliance on the biotechnology industry," even though WFM knows full well that federal regulations on Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) do not require pre-market safety testing, nor labeling; and that even federal judges have repeatedly ruled that so-called government "oversight" of Frankencrops such as Monsanto's sugar beets and alfalfa is basically a farce. At the end of its email, WFM admits that its surrender to Monsanto is permanent: "The policy set for GE alfalfa will most likely guide policies for other GE crops as well True coexistence is a must."

Why Is Organic Inc. Surrendering?

According to informed sources, the CEOs of WFM and Stonyfield are personal friends of former Iowa governor, now USDA Secretary, Tom Vilsack, and in fact made financial contributions to Vilsack's previous electoral campaigns. Vilsack was hailed as "Governor of the Year" in 2001 by the Biotechnology Industry Organization, and traveled in a Monsanto corporate jet on the campaign trail. Perhaps even more fundamental to Organic Inc.'s abject surrender is the fact that the organic elite has become more and more isolated from the concerns and passions of organic consumers and locavores. The Organic Inc. CEOs are tired of activist pressure, boycotts, and petitions. Several of them have told me this to my face. They apparently believe that the battle against GMOs has been lost, and that it's time to reach for the consolation prize. The consolation prize they seek is a so-called "coexistence" between the biotech Behemoth and the organic community that will lull the public to sleep and greenwash the unpleasant fact that Monsanto's unlabeled and unregulated genetically engineered crops are now spreading their toxic genes on 1/3 of U.S. (and 1/10 of global) crop land.

WFM and most of the largest organic companies have deliberately separated themselves from anti-GMO efforts and cut off all funding to campaigns working to label or ban GMOs. The so-called Non-GMO Project, funded by Whole Foods and giant wholesaler United Natural Foods (UNFI) is basically a greenwashing effort (although the 100% organic companies involved in this project seem to be operating in good faith) to show that certified organic foods are basically free from GMOs (we already know this since GMOs are banned in organic production), while failing to focus on so-called "natural" foods, which constitute most of WFM and UNFI's sales and are routinely contaminated with GMOs.

From their "business as usual" perspective, successful lawsuits against GMOs filed by public interest groups such as the Center for Food Safety; or noisy attacks on Monsanto by groups like the Organic Consumers Association, create bad publicity, rattle their big customers such as Wal-Mart, Target, Kroger, Costco, Supervalu, Publix and Safeway; and remind consumers that organic crops and foods such as corn, soybeans, and canola are slowly but surely becoming contaminated by Monsanto's GMOs.

Whole Food's Dirty Little Secret: Most of the So-Called "Natural" Processed Foods and Animal Products They Sell Are Contaminated with GMOs

The main reason, however, why Whole Foods is pleading for coexistence with Monsanto, Dow, Bayer, Syngenta, BASF and the rest of the biotech bullies, is that they desperately want the controversy surrounding genetically engineered foods and crops to go away. Why? Because they know, just as we do, that 2/3 of WFM's $9 billion annual sales is derived from so-called "natural" processed foods and animal products that are contaminated with GMOs. We and our allies have tested their so-called "natural" products (no doubt WFM's lab has too) containing non-organic corn and soy, and guess what: they're all contaminated with GMOs, in contrast to their certified organic products, which are basically free of GMOs, or else contain barely detectable trace amounts.

Approximately 2/3 of the products sold by Whole Foods Market and their main distributor, United Natural Foods (UNFI) are not certified organic, but rather are conventional (chemical-intensive and GMO-tainted) foods and products disguised as "natural."

Unprecedented wholesale and retail control of the organic marketplace by UNFI and Whole Foods, employing a business model of selling twice as much so-called "natural" food as certified organic food, coupled with the takeover of many organic companies by multinational food corporations such as Dean Foods, threatens the growth of the organic movement.

Covering Up GMO Contamination: Perpetrating "Natural" Fraud

Many well-meaning consumers are confused about the difference between conventional products marketed as "natural," and those nutritionally/environmentally superior and climate-friendly products that are "certified organic."

Retail stores like WFM and wholesale distributors like UNFI have failed to educate their customers about the qualitative difference between natural and certified organic, conveniently glossing over the fact that nearly all of the processed "natural" foods and products they sell contain GMOs, or else come from a "natural" supply chain where animals are force-fed GMO grains in factory farms or Confined Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs).

A troubling trend in organics today is the calculated shift on the part of certain large formerly organic brands from certified organic ingredients and products to so-called "natural" ingredients. With the exception of the "grass-fed and grass-finished" meat sector, most "natural" meat, dairy, and eggs are coming from animals reared on GMO grains and drugs, and confined, entirely, or for a good portion of their lives, in CAFOs.

Whole Foods and UNFI are maximizing their profits by selling quasi-natural products at premium organic prices. Organic consumers are increasingly left without certified organic choices while genuine organic farmers and ranchers continue to lose market share to "natural" imposters. It's no wonder that less than 1% of American farmland is certified organic, while well-intentioned but misled consumers have boosted organic and "natural" purchases to $80 billion annually-approximately 12% of all grocery store sales.

The Solution: Truth-in-Labeling Will Enable Consumers to Drive So-Called "Natural" GMO and CAFO-Tainted Foods Off the Market

There can be no such thing as "coexistence" with a reckless industry that undermines public health, destroys biodiversity, damages the environment, tortures and poisons animals, destabilizes the climate, and economically devastates the world's 1.5 billion seed-saving small farmers. There is no such thing as coexistence between GMOs and organics in the European Union. Why? Because in the EU there are almost no GMO crops under cultivation, nor GM consumer food products on supermarket shelves. And why is this? Because under EU law, all foods containing GMOs or GMO ingredients must be labeled. Consumers have the freedom to choose or not to choose GMOs; while farmers, food processors, and retailers have (at least legally) the right to lace foods with GMOs, as long as they are safety-tested and labeled. Of course the EU food industry understands that consumers, for the most part, do not want to purchase or consume GE foods. European farmers and food companies, even junk food purveyors like McDonald's and Wal-Mart, understand quite well the concept expressed by a Monsanto executive when GMOs first came on the market: "If you put a label on genetically engineered food you might as well put a skull and crossbones on it."

The biotech industry and Organic Inc. are supremely conscious of the fact that North American consumers, like their European counterparts, are wary and suspicious of GMO foods. Even without a PhD, consumers understand you don't want your food safety or environmental sustainability decisions to be made by out-of-control chemical companies like Monsanto, Dow, or Dupont - the same people who brought you toxic pesticides, Agent Orange, PCBs, and now global warming. Industry leaders are acutely aware of the fact that every single industry or government poll over the last 16 years has shown that 85-95% of American consumers want mandatory labels on GMO foods. Why? So that we can avoid buying them. GMO foods have absolutely no benefits for consumers or the environment, only hazards. This is why Monsanto and their friends in the Bush, Clinton, and Obama administrations have prevented consumer GMO truth-in-labeling laws from getting a public discussion in Congress.

Although Congressman Dennis Kucinich (Democrat, Ohio) recently introduced a bill in Congress calling for mandatory labeling and safety testing for GMOs, don't hold your breath for Congress to take a stand for truth-in-labeling and consumers' right to know what's in their food. Especially since the 2010 Supreme Court decision in the so-called "Citizens United" case gave big corporations and billionaires the right to spend unlimited amounts of money (and remain anonymous, as they do so) to buy media coverage and elections, our chances of passing federal GMO labeling laws against the wishes of Monsanto and Food Inc. are all but non-existent. Perfectly dramatizing the "Revolving Door" between Monsanto and the Federal Government, Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, formerly chief counsel for Monsanto, delivered one of the decisive votes in the Citizens United case, in effect giving Monsanto and other biotech bullies the right to buy the votes it needs in the U.S. Congress.

With big money controlling Congress and the media, we have little choice but to shift our focus and go local. We've got to concentrate our forces where our leverage and power lie, in the marketplace, at the retail level; pressuring retail food stores to voluntarily label their products; while on the legislative front we must organize a broad coalition to pass mandatory GMO (and CAFO) labeling laws, at the city, county, and state levels.

The Organic Consumers Association, joined by our consumer, farmer, environmental, and labor allies, has just launched a nationwide Truth-in-Labeling campaign to stop Monsanto and the Biotech Bullies from force-feeding unlabeled GMOs to animals and humans.

Utilizing scientific data, legal precedent, and consumer power the OCA and our local coalitions will educate and mobilize at the grassroots level to pressure giant supermarket chains (Wal-Mart, Kroger, Costco, Safeway, Supervalu, and Publix) and natural food retailers such as Whole Foods and Trader Joe's to voluntarily implement "truth-in-labeling" practices for GMOs and CAFO products; while simultaneously organizing a critical mass to pass mandatory local and state truth-in-labeling ordinances - similar to labeling laws already in effect for country of origin, irradiated food, allergens, and carcinogens. If local and state government bodies refuse to take action, wherever possible we must attempt to gather sufficient petition signatures and place these truth-in-labeling initiatives directly on the ballot in 2011 or 2012. If you're interesting in helping organize or coordinate a Millions Against Monsanto and Factory Farms Truth-in-Labeling campaign in your local community, sign up here: http://organicconsumers.org/oca-volunteer/

To pressure Whole Foods Market and the nation's largest supermarket chains to voluntarily adopt truth-in-labeling practices sign here, and circulate this petition widely: http://www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_22309.cfm

And please stay tuned to Organic Bytes for the latest developments in our campaigns.

Power to the People! Not the Corporations!

Ronnie Cummins
Organic Consumers Association