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According to the FDA, as much as 75 percent of processed food in the United States may contain components from genetically modified crops. In 30 other countries around the world, including Australia, Japan and all of the nations in the European Union, there are significant restrictions or outright bans on the production of GMOs (genetically modified organisms), due to environmental impact and concerns about GMO safety.
At Whole Foods Market we support the National Organic Standards, which prohibit GMOs in organics, and we champion informed consumer choice with regard to GMOs. Since 1992—before the commercialization of GMO foods in the United States—we’ve been informing our customers about the issues and advocating labeling of genetically modified foods.
We are proud to be a founding leader of The Non-GMO Project, working to ensure the sustained availability of non-GMO choices through an industry-wide standard, which will allow verification that products are non-GMO. Our 365 Everyday Value® and Whole Foods Market™ brand products are sourced to avoid ingredients grown from genetically engineered seed, and our partnership with the Non-GMO Project will enable us to verify and label these products. Your options for choosing non-GMO are growing!
Remember: Every bite has a story. Your conscious food choices make a world of difference. Learn more at Let’s Retake Our Plates.
April 19th, 2010 at 3:53 am
I don’t think it’s exaggerating to say that if you only do one thing to ensure future generations inherit a planet as bountiful as the one we have – that one thing is to avoid buying GMO.
There’s not much evidence to prove that GMO isn’t good for you because the GMO producers spent a lot of money to ensure there isn’t; for those interested in reading more on this topic – http://www.actionbioscience.org/biotech/pusztai.html
April 19th, 2010 at 10:22 am
Vote with your dollars folks! Buy organic and non-GMO!
April 20th, 2010 at 3:44 am
This is exactly why I feel that I can trust Wholefoods!
April 22nd, 2010 at 10:46 am
OMG, clever title!
April 24th, 2010 at 7:32 am
I am pleased that your company’s dedication of promoting organic foods in the US. My concern is the troubling question. Can you really prevent GMO from infiltrate the US crop. The pesticide used around the country would adversely affect farmers and how can you tell if your foods are not affected by these organism? I am not a biologist, but seeds trvl and pollen in the air. Are your products a 100% organic? Please advise
April 28th, 2010 at 7:39 am
It would certainly be a lot easier to NOT eat GMO foods if there was a labeling standard to identify which foods are the spawn of scientific genetic rape vs. naturally produced plants.
April 28th, 2010 at 5:26 pm
Unless GMO foods are required to be labeled as such the public has no way of knowing what they are buying.
One only needs to check the size of the companies involved in producing GMO foods to know that it’s clearly a “To big to fail” deal.
April 28th, 2010 at 8:21 pm
Thank you for supplying such a nice variety of non-GMO foods.
Not only are they healthier but taste better. I thought I was loosing my sense of taste somewhat. Foods had lost flavor until I went to non-GMO.
April 28th, 2010 at 9:04 pm
Whole Foods 365 Brand of Omega 3 Fish Oil states on the label it has SOY – but the label does not state if it is certified organic soy. I contacted the WF corporate office and got the “run around”. Corporate WF told me it is “soy lecithin” but would not give any information other than that. Conventionally grown soy and soy lecithin is GMO. The lack of transparency, the evasive language in the emails Corporate WF office sent me – makes me think they have something to hide?
What makes this even worse is that you do not even NEED soy lecithin in the packaging of Omega 3 Fish Oil tablets. If it is nitrogen flushed it will be fine.
BTW – Omega 3 Fish Oil loses it’s potency at ROOM TEMPERATURE and every single natural food store I’ve ever shopped at insists on keeping it on the shelf at room temperature. It needs to be kept REFRIGERATED. This is the reason why there are lots of people with clinical depression issues who try Omega 3 Fish Oil and state “it doesn’t work” – it is because the store they bought it at kept it at ROOM TEMPERATURE and did not bother to refrigerate it.
Why won’t Whole Foods take a leadership stance and start REFRIGERATING Omega 3 Fish Oil?
ALSO – I don’t want “greenwashing” obsfucation from WF Corporate Office about if the soy lecithin put in their 365 Brand of Omega 3 Fish Oil is GMO genetically engineered conventionally grown soy. If it is not certified organic, it is GMO soy. 100% of conventionally grown corn, canola, soy, rice, wheat and many other crops grown in America are GMO.
I am tired of the glib and superficial treatment WF is giving the GMO issue. Is it merely a public relations campaign to boost sales – or will WF really DO something about being clearer and less evasive about their WF 365 Brand Omega 3 Fish
Oil?
I did a Google Search on this topic and discoverd a San Francisco Law Firm is currently suing WF in a class action lawsuit for false labelling on their 365 Brand. I am FED UP with “greenwashing”. I have been eating a 100% organic plant based diet for 40 years and I am tired of being treated like a patsy and a sap by what allegedly passes for the so-called organic/natural foods industry.
April 28th, 2010 at 9:14 pm
I want labels to be clear with the GMO issue. I dont want to eat GMO products. I dont even want them in my cosmetics.
April 28th, 2010 at 11:04 pm
You don’t actually say that Whole Foods does not carry products that have GMOs, which leads me to believe that WF DOES carry products that have GMOs. So, do you?
April 29th, 2010 at 5:46 am
I support no GMO, but how do we know which is GMO and which is not? Sometime I even wonder, are the products with USDA Organic sticker really are organic products. But I can’t find a way to check it, so have to trust it.
I would like to see a response from WF about colleen whalen’s comment.
April 29th, 2010 at 6:49 am
Thanks WF for watching out for us…very informative article…keep them coming…love your stores…and your employees are the most helpful, cheerful people.
April 29th, 2010 at 8:27 am
I am in favor of restricting the use/distribution of Genetically Modified foods due to the fact that I consider them contaminated – they’ve been artificially tampered with and I am completely opposed to eatting foods grown or produced in such a manner.
April 29th, 2010 at 11:09 am
“U.S. to Prevent GMO Labeling Worldwide” Can you believe it? Please read up and take action. I don’t know about you, but I want to know what’s in my food.
April 29th, 2010 at 11:27 am
It hasn’t been possible to this date to get across the board labeling of GMO foods because the industry fights that tooth and nail. Their reasoning? “We don’t want to propogate fear in the consumers’ minds about what they’re eating, fear based on uneducated consumer choices.” Do you get that? We’re too stupid to be able to discern what we want to eat. And the politicians bend to the industry whims.
April 29th, 2010 at 2:17 pm
YF – Products that are certified organic by the USDA cannot be derived from GMO crops.
April 29th, 2010 at 2:28 pm
Unfortunately, GMOs are so common in our food system that they can be very difficult to avoid. As a consumer, you can best avoid GMOs by shopping for products that are certified organic and by looking for labeling that indicates the product has been certified non-GMO by a credible third party organization, such as the Non-GMO Project.
April 30th, 2010 at 4:54 pm
The most significant, real health issue is pesticide residues on conventional crops. Buying organic avoids these. However, in many cases, GMOs can be grown with lower pesticide use than conventional crops, and thus can be beneficial at lower costs than organics. To vilify GMOs based solely on the “scare factor” in the absence of any real health risk is misguided. GMOs are likely here to stay, and have real, actual benefits ecologically since toxic chemical use is reduced. Lets continue to study them, and don’t eat them if you don’t want to, but they are not evil, and have beneficial aspects. (BTW, I have no financial interest in GMOs).
May 5th, 2010 at 2:48 pm
[...] both your health and the environment than how many grams of carbohydrate or fat your food contains. OMG, let’s stop eating GMO’s. These are the issues that I am currently most interested in concerning nutrition rather the [...]
August 5th, 2010 at 1:30 pm
hello, just been reading about GMO fish about to be introduced to our food supply. I was wondering if WFM has a position on this and are taking any steps to insure the quality and safety of their seafood. There was something I read about salmon species basically being wipe out within a certain amount of generations, that all salmon would be GMO.
August 9th, 2010 at 10:33 am
@jon Yes, we do have a position on GMO fish: no genetically engineered (modified) or cloned fish can be sold to Whole Foods Market, period. You can learn more about our Aquaculture Standards here: http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/products/aquaculture.php Thanks!
September 9th, 2010 at 11:53 am
What is Whole Foods doing about AcuAdvantage GMO salmon? It’s the same ol’ thing: the “manufacturer” approves it, the FDA accepts it without testing, who is identifying and labeling GMO salmon, and will we ever have a real salmon again? Does the non-GMO Project have a website where it takes comments and forwards them to our senators/reps/president/FDA, pathetic though their response is? I have personally made comments to each of these identities, but it seems to me the population that shops Whole Foods would be especially interested in commenting – likely to “get” the health threat and care about their own and others’ health – and might add a considerable number of commenting bodies eventually swaying even our senators and reps to take another look at this question. Until then, the only safe response I know is to avoid all salmon and every other product known to be contaminated with GMO. Hard on honest food providers and sellers. Could we call out the naturalist troops and just get this done?
September 9th, 2010 at 12:31 pm
@Sue Here’s the info from our seafood quality standards team: Whole Foods Market is committed to organic and natural foods in their purest state. Our industry-leading farmed seafood standards, which require farm to fork traceability and require producers to provide detailed information on farming practices and pass independent third-party audits — prohibit the sale of both genetically modified or cloned seafood and their progeny. Thanks for asking.
September 17th, 2010 at 11:37 am
What’s the difference between buying GM produce from WF vs. your competition? I don’t think much.
September 17th, 2010 at 1:34 pm
@AS We never knowingly sell GMO produce. We work with our national growers to confirm that they do not use GMO or “Round Up Ready” seed. Local supply is more difficult to confirm and drift is an uncontrollable issue. Please know that while we are continually working to assess and improve our processes, choosing organic when possible remains the best way to avoid GMOs.
September 26th, 2010 at 10:06 am
This article http://www.naturalnews.com/029833_non-GMO_foods_FDA.html describes FDA intiatives to not only approve the super fast growing Frankensalmon and not label it, but to ban the “non-GMO” labelling, which would gut (no pun intended) Whole Food’s GMO program and most natural food labelling. This is yet another push to ban labelling of genetically modified food AND non-GMO. I am sure you are on to this and fighting again for all of us. We are behind you in this new battle and wish you the same success as in some of the earlier battles. I hope you tap your customers for a vigorous in-store and online petition, letter, call-congress etc. campaign to defeat them again.
January 27th, 2011 at 3:50 pm
Why is Whole Foods now supporting allowing GMO alfalfa and other GMO foods? Why are you caving in to Monsanto?
April 11th, 2011 at 9:57 pm
I am going to question the validity of some of the assertions here, or at least point out the posters’ myopia. When people go on about genetic engineering and how we are affecting nature, I feel compelled to point out that some of these people drive cars. They also use the internet, may probably own a dog or cat, and probably have eaten meat from poultry and/or beef. These are all products in which we have manipulated nature to our benefit. The purpose of GMOs in agriculture is to feed more people, rely less on pesticides, use less water, and increase resistance to specific bacteria or viruses. The tools regarding our pets and food animals has been selective breeding, which is selecting breeding mates by specific traits. Where some would say this is natural, it is not. Evolution is natural, selective breeding and genetic engineering are not. I have yet to see links to any peer reviewed scientific literature that casts a bad light on less pesticides, pathogen resistance, less water use in crops OR feeding the growing population of this planet. That all being said, I eat almost entirely organic products because it’s the only way to avoid persistent pesticides. Whole Foods offers great prices on these products and I value them for that. So while I use and advocate organic labelled products, this non-GMO movement smacks of under education and an inability to look at the bigger picture regarding world food supply and population.
September 29th, 2011 at 2:28 pm
I’m sorry, but just because GMO increase crop sustainability, and reduces water consumption for irrigation, doesn’t mean that it’s actually healthy to consume. My biggest beef with it is that there hasn’t been sufficient long-term testing to determine how our bodies will react to the protiens in these foods. I also do not think it is fair that we are eating all types of foods that contain GMO’s and are not being told that they are in the food!!! The truth in labeling is not there. Everything else is on the labels, SOY, PEANUTS etc. if it touched those things in the production process. Every other ingredient is listed, then they should have to say “GM Soy” or “GM Corn Byproduct” or whatever. At least give us a choice instead of shoving it down our throats. I think it is rather socialistic to “assume” we’d all be ok with the decisions they have made for us!