Whole Foods Market Sells Out to Monsanto

Whole Foods Market, based in Austin, Texas, with an emphasis on natural and organic products, boasts being the world's largest retailer of natural and organic foods, with stores throughout North America and the United Kingdom.

Counterpunch recently reminded readers about an issue concerning Whole Foods significantly changing its position on GMOs in food.

"Whole Foods had previously opposed the USDA’s deregulation of GMO alfalfa, which would allow it to be planted anywhere. But, in January 2011, Whole Foods endorsed conditional deregulation of GMO alfalfa, stating on their blog that they support coexistence though they continue to have reservations about genetically engineered crops."

As Counterpunch points out, Whole Foods' use of the term "coexistence” is an admission that the company accepts the planting of GMO alfalfa and all the associated ramifications. The bottom line is that Whole Foods has forsaken its stand to keep GMOs out of food -- and thus, has made a mockery out of its much touted "natural and organic" mantra.

As Ronnie Cummins, Director of Organic Consumers Association, noted last year, Whole Foods has betrayed America's organic consumers and producers. Whole Foods, Organic Valley, and Stonyfield Farm, have all become a "self-appointed cabal of the Organic Elite who has surrendered to Monsanto." 

Cummins warned that the organic elite has disposed themselves of the spirited concerns and passions of organic consumers and locavores, and added that in exchange for becoming Monsanto shills, Whole Foods Market has settled for compensation to farmers for any crop losses due to contamination. Whole Foods and their distributor, United Natural Foods, are part of what Cummins calls an “organic food mafia”.

John Mackey, CEO of Whole Foods Market, offers his customers 100 percent organic food, but “Whole Food’s Dirty Little Secret,” as Cummins puts it, is that most of the so-called “Natural” processed foods they sell are contaminated with GMOs. Whole Foods makes a killing marketing GMO food as “natural food” by charging premium “organic” prices.

Cummins even suggested that CEOs of Whole Foods Market, and Stonyfield are personal friends of Tom Vilsack, and made financial contributions to Vilsack’s previous electoral campaigns.

Whole Foods' claim that it sells labeled GMO food is an outright lie. Whole Foods labels food which is free of GMOs and leaves GMO food on its shelves unlabeled. Whole Foods has a history of playing silly semantic word games to obfuscate the truth, previously using the word "natural" on products to imply "organic".    

The credibility gap now facing Whole Foods in their role as Monsanto shills will have a significant impact on the company's image as well as their financial bottom line. Tens of thousands of consumers and hundreds of organizations, businesses and associations have united in support of at least labeling GMO food in lieu of straight-out opposition to them.