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Walt Robb Whole Foods on Co-Existence with GE Alfalfa?
Walt Robb Whole Foods on Co-Existence with GE Alfalfa?
Whole Foods Market —
along with the National Cooperative Grocers Association,
the National Organic Coalition,
the Organic Trade Association, a
nd other companies and groups —
endorsed the path of deregulation with restrictions,
or coexistence, not because it was a perfect path,
but because it was a path to create meaningful change
right now in the regulating of genetically engineered foods
and the protection of non-GE foods.
Date: 2/4/2011 11:57:34 PM ( 13 y ) ... viewed 30339 times
THIS IS NO TIME FOR DIVISIVENESS
I say that.
Gary Hirshberg comments
http://redgreenandblue.org/2011/01/30/stonyfield-farm-takes-a-swing-at-monsan...
9:40 pm
February 3, 2011
http://www.treehugger.com/files/2011/02/did_the_organic_elite_sell_out_to_mon...
The USDA was calling out for Co-existence between conventional,
organic, and GE agriculture when I attended the CA Small Farm Conference
in the beginning of 2010.
I wanted to know how and I asked the speaker from the USDA.
She said she would get back to me.
Co-existence had been happening covertly.
80 % of foods have already been infiltrated by GE biotechnology.
More needs to be said before we condemn Walt Robb of Whole Foods
for addressing co-existence and his willingness to go along with it.
His words are easy to misinterpret.
I want to talk to him personally because I say attempt to second
guess the Whole Foods Market position.
They were one of the first stores in our area to put up placards
on the street against GMO.
The Whole story is yet to be revealed.
9:47 pm
February 3, 2011
FROM THE WHOLE FOODS WEBSITE
http://blog.wholefoodsmarket.com/2011/01/no-regulations-ge-alfalfa/
Many people have asked us why we endorsed the coexistence option rather than an outright ban on GE alfalfa. That was never an option in Washington! The USDA presented the industry with only two options that they were considering– deregulation and deregulation with restrictions. Given the pervasive planting of GE crops in the U.S. – 93% of soy, 86% of corn, 93% of cotton and 93% of canola seed planted were genetically engineered in the U.S. in 2010 – the option of an outright ban was not on the table. Whole Foods Market — along with the National Cooperative Grocers Association, the National Organic Coalition, the Organic Trade Association, and other companies and groups — endorsed the path of deregulation with restrictions, or coexistence, not because it was a perfect path, but because it was a path to create meaningful change right now in the regulating of genetically engineered foods and the protection of non-GE foods. Because we supported the USDA’s approach of coexistence, certain consumer groups misunderstood our efforts and accused us of supporting big biotech, endorsing the proliferation of GE crops, and turning our backs on our shoppers’ and their desire to avoid GE food. Nothing could be further from the truth!
Whole Foods Market has been a staunch supporter of non-GE foods in the marketplace. We have taken a strong and visible stance on biotechnology in agriculture, and will continue to do so.
We believe that GE food should be clearly labeled, and that the USDA and FDA’s policies on GE foods are not consistent with our consumers’ expectations.
Since 1992, before GE crops were even commercialized, we have been educating and advocating on this issue, and we will continue to pursue our right to sell non-GE food.
We are proud to be a founding leader of The Non-GMO Project, which works to ensure the sustained availability of non-GMO choices through an industry-wide product standard. (Genetically engineered and Genetically Modified Organism — GMOs — are used interchangeably.)
We are committed to sourcing our store brand products to avoid GE ingredients, and we will continue to fight for strong organic standards that do not allow the use of GE crops.
We support the National Organic Standards, which prohibit GMOs in organics, and we champion informed consumer choice with regard to GMOs.
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.
We will continue to work aggressively on this issue because we believe that GE food ingredients should be clearly labeled, and that consumers who want to avoid them should have an actionable way to do so. While yesterday’s decision will make our work more difficult, we are as committed as ever to ensuring that non-GE food remains available and we will continue to advocate for our farmers and for our shoppers on this issue.
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