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The Official Whole Foods Market® Blog
Weekend Sale: Non-GMO Project Verified Products
| Meet the Blogger | More Posts by Paige Brady
As American consumers, we have a right to know what we are eating. One of the important choices anyone can make is whether or not to eat foods containing GMOs (Genetically Modified Organisms, also called genetically engineered ingredients). Because GMOs are pervasive in our food supply, many familiar foods we sell may contain them. And because food manufacturers are not required to label them, many Americans are not even aware that GMOs are in many of their favorite foods.
As America’s leading retailer of natural and organic foods, Whole Foods Market® is proud to support GMO choice and transparency, such as supporting labeling efforts like Proposition 37 in California and also by providing our customers with the most Non-GMO and organic products available anywhere. And we are really excited to announce that all Whole Foods Market® stores in the US and Canada will have hundreds of Non-GMO Project Verified products on sale this weekend, from Friday, October 19 through Sunday, October 21.
We’ve supported mandatory product labeling measures over the years, most recently California’s Proposition 37 and Washington State’s Initiative Measure 522, with the hope that these state efforts will lead to one federal standard. We also work one-on-one with hundreds of our supplier partners to encourage them to get their ingredients from Non-GMO sources.
Here are some ways you can avoid GMOs while supporting ingredient choice and transparency:
- Go organic! The USDA National Organic Standards do not allow genetically engineered seed and ingredients in the growth and production of organic foods.
- Look for the Non-GMO Project Verified seal, which indicates the product has passed a third-party verification program indicating that a product has been produced according to best practices and procedures to avoid the intentional use of GMO ingredients.
- Buy 365 Everyday Value® organic food products and plant-based non-organic 365 Everyday Value® food products -- both sourced to avoid genetically engineered ingredients.
- Shop our Non-GMO Project Verified sale this weekend!
Please celebrate Non-GMO month with us by taking advantage of our sale this weekend. Beyond this weekend and this month, if having non-GMO options are important to you, purchase from companies whose products are non-GMO verified and show your support for organics.
146 Comments
Comments
interesting.
10/24/2012 9:24:06 AM CDT
I have been a Whole Foods shopper for years. I buy all organic food and try to avoid processed foods altogether because of never knowing what GMOs lie within. Winning Prop 37 is extremely important and Whole Foods Market's silence on the issue has been deafening. I applaud your effort to finally stand up and support Prop 37. I just hope it will not be too late. Monsanto and the other chemical companies are spending more than a million dollars a day to defeat it. Please put your weight behind the issue on our side. If we win, you will be a winner in the end too. Thank you!
10/24/2012 2:53:47 PM CDT
Glad to see you have finally decided to publicly support non-GMO foods and our right to know what we are eating by supporting labeling laws. Whole Foods is doing the right thing for it's consumers and the world by supporting non-gmo food.
10/24/2012 6:19:34 PM CDT
Though I am VERY excited to see the support and effort in your store, I feel like you are trying to just " get by" with the limited signs around in your store. They are hardly noticeable. I wish you would make a true effort in informing your costumers about GMO's. If you would actually do this, and do it right, I know that you will greatly benefit from the support!
10/24/2012 8:45:14 PM CDT
I've been a 12 year Whole Foods shopper, and I love your passion for locally grown foods and organics... So glad to hear that you are now supporting the GMO labeling initiative!
With so much riding on this issue, human lives really when we get down to it, why not put your money where your mouth is and support Prop 37 financially? A hefty donation to ensure people's safety?
Monsanto is NOT too big to fail... I do hope that you (WholeFoods collectively) are effectively thwarting the influence of this insidious company.
Remember, you feed the healthy, the free-thinkers, the movers and the shakers, the revolutionaries if you will... and we are watching. (and hoping.)
10/25/2012 12:24:44 PM CDT
WF, I have been offended by your silence. Your action or inaction on Prop 37 will set the tone of my shopping from you. I have boycotted other businesses even when very inconvenient to myself. I DO put my money where my mouth is. Do you?
"Our marriage is on the rocks" and there isn't much time left.
On the good side I am glad to note that you have carried a lot of good products and a lot of organics. But organic or not, I value knowing what is GMO or non-GMO far more!!
"Will we be seeing each other much longer?"
10/25/2012 11:05:49 PM CDT
This is nothing but lip service. Step up to the plate and label the food that is GMO. How much money did WF contribute to get the word out to California voters about the need for GMO labeling? From my understanding a big fat ZERO!! People outside of California, vote with your wallet. Stop shopping at WF until they label their food GMO or Non-GMO.
10/27/2012 7:48:56 PM CDT
Thank you for your verbal support for Prop 37. I see that your Co-CEO Walter Robb has made a personal contribution of $25,000 to support this cause. That is much appreciated. What does John Mackey feel about this proposition? I understand Whole Foods itself does not make monetary contributions for legislative measures but as a concerned consumer and mother of three children, your clear stand on Prop 37 is most important to me. Will you be promoting Prop 37 on your ads or commercials? I would love to see it. Aloha.
10/28/2012 5:47:08 AM CDT
GMOs provide hope of disease and insect resistant, larger and nutritious protein rich alternative crops in many third-world nations. Maybe we should go slow in opposing them.
10/29/2012 3:03:31 PM CDT
Put your money where your mouth is Whole Foods! Give financial support to Prop 37 in CA. It's not enough to tell people you support labeling; show them you're serious by making a financial contribution. It's the least you can do..
10/29/2012 6:52:43 PM CDT
I found this question telling (and close to my compromised heart):
"I have been researching and hearing all sides, and I would like 100% definitive answers. -Is your brand 365 100% organic non gmo? -if so, why isnt USDA certified, and what 3rd party certifies the product. -You need to make an inventory list by brand name and content of all your products divided by labels or categories -100% Organic Non GMO -95% organic NON GMO -70% or less Organic Non GMO - GMO containing products any % Then we can trust and make your company thrive..."
The more I learn (because WF and others did not pass the prop, now we're ALL researching), I have the same question. If I buy the "Organic" 365 brown rice cereal, it has a warning "may contain wheat and soy" AND a nut allergy warning. The wording of the former seems very casual for a line that claims to be GMO-free. So what is the wiggle room here? WF is stating that they are playing within the current legal range of contamination, yes? So your "Organic" 365 brown rice cereal above could have .9% GMO content? Would love to know this!!!
11/11/2012 12:50:40 PM CST
@FRED - Thanks for your question and hopefully I can help clarify a bit. The 3rd party we use for verification is the Non-GMO Project. You can find a list of their guidelines on their website at http://www.nongmoproject.org/learn-more/understanding-our-seal/ that will explain what their seal/approval means. In response to the other labelings on certain products, i.e. "may contain wheat and soy", this is put on our 365 brand items in cases where cross-contamination is
happening that cannot be prevented. While we we require all of our vendors to use Good Manufacturing Practices to segregate allergens, cross-contamination may occur which is why we want our customers to know.
11/12/2012 3:35:40 PM CST
You're so interesting! I don't think I've truly read through a single thing like that before. So wonderful to find somebody with some genuine thoughts on this topic. Really.. many thanks for starting this up. This site is one thing that's needed
on the internet, someone with some originality!
11/21/2012 7:08:02 PM CST
I have heard that not all organic foods are gmo free and the NON GMO site lists the companies that are not using GMO's. What is the truth. I eat foods labeled NON-GMO. Can I eat anything labeled Organic?
11/25/2012 11:01:30 AM CST
@SHARYN - Yes, USDA organic standards prohibit the use of GE ingredients in products labeled as organic. We encourage our customers who are trying to avoid GMOs to look for organic products, our store brand products, 365 Everyday Value and 365 Organic, which we source to avoid GE ingredients and have enrolled in the Non-GMO Project verification program and products labeled with the Non-GMO Project Verified label. I hope this helps!
11/26/2012 1:28:10 PM CST
We were very excited when wholefoods opened up its first store here in Charlotte, NC. Now we buy all our groceries at Wholefoods for personal consumption as well as for our business events.
I just assumed that whole foods does not carry and genetically modified products until i read a report about it. As a former executive in the Health Care company i strongly believe that GMO products are damaging to the long tern health of people. I strongly encourage you to be on the offensive and either ban these kind of products from your store or to clearly label them. It would give us and many of our friends who shop in your store, believing in the high quality standards of whole foods, a piece of mind and comfort to continue coming back to your store.
Thanks,
Ivan
12/04/2012 9:29:54 AM CST
I already receive messages from you guys which is great. I just finished watching the latest video put on Coast to Coast radio. Well what I would like is an e-mail of the latest up to date info on the foods that are actual food, NON-GMO food that I don't have to be concerned about it being poison. I got that tomatoes and potatoes are not GMO. What about spinach, broccoli, carrots, mushrooms, pasta flour? Organic doesn't mean squat anymore. I used to think organic food was food that was non gmo as well as non chemical use for farming practices but it turns out organic just means they didn't spray the crops with toxic chemicals. Instead the chemicals are produced in our bodies? I need a list of non gmo vegetables and fruits. Thanks
12/13/2012 7:31:36 PM CST
Are you sure all WF's 365 products do not contain any GMO? I heard rumors that there are some GMO's in WF products...
01/12/2013 1:49:08 PM CST
Please stop being a paper tiger in the fight against GMOs. Why do you say you support labeling but put zero dollars towards it? Why do you not lead the fight by simply labeling your products on the shelf? I'm switching to a CSA and buying my staples online now that I know I can't trust your words or products.
02/01/2013 12:14:58 PM CST
thank you for being responsible. You set a standard for others to follow............
05/02/2013 8:15:11 PM CDT
Thank you for taking such a huge and dangerous step. You did the right thing for the people and the planet, and for American business.
05/03/2013 4:53:40 PM CDT