Organic Consumers Association

Whole Foods Threatens to Sue OCA - Please Sign Our Petition

Whole Foods sent a letter dated August 26, 2009, signed by one of its attorneys, threatening to sue the Organic Consumers Association (OCA), under the bizarre pretense that a petition we've been circulating violates Whole Foods' "intellectual property rights." Here's OCA's response to CEO John Mackey:

"Given all the bad publicity that you've gotten lately for admitting that Whole Foods Market (WFM) retail stores are purveyors of 'junk food;' that WFM needs to sell a lot more certified organic products (rather than conventional items greenwashed as 'natural'); that WFM's '365' private label products need to be thoroughly tested for GMO contamination; that you don't think all Americans deserve government subsidized access to health care; or need labor unions; perhaps you may want to reconsider suing the largest organic consumer watchdog organization in the United States..."

Read the full text of OCA Director Ronnie Cummins' letter to John Mackey at

An Open Letter to Whole Foods Market from the Organic Consumers Association

Please help put the pressure on Whole Foods and Whole Foods' main distributor, United Natural Foods Incorporated (UNFI), to:

1. Stop prioritizing the sales of conventional foods and products (greenwashed as "natural") and instead double WFM and UNFI's sales of certified organics from 1/3 to 2/3 of their total sales. This would increase US organic sales by approximately $3 billion (15%) annually!

2. Give smaller retailers and coops that seriously promote organics (more than 1/3 of sales organic) the same UNFI discount that Whole Foods receives.

3. Apply Domestic Fair Trade principles to the UNFI and Whole Foods supply chains by guaranteeing workers' rights to freely organize themselves into unions for collective bargaining.

4. Support health care reform to provide universal health care coverage while reducing costs, relieving employers of health care responsibilities, and encouraging wellness and prevention through nutrition and complementary natural medicine.

Take action at Take Action: Whole Foods Promises to Expand Organic Offerings