Click Banner For More Info See All Sponsors

So Long and Thanks for All the Fish!

This site is now closed permanently to new posts.
We recommend you use the new Townsy Cafe!

Click anywhere but the link to dismiss overlay!

Results 1 to 9 of 9

  • Share this thread on:
  • Follow: No Email   
  • Thread Tools
  1. TopTop #1
    sharingwisdom's Avatar
    sharingwisdom
     

    The Organic Elite Surrenders to Monsanto: What Now?

    https://www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_22449.cfm



    "The policy set for GE alfalfa will most likely guide policies for other GE crops as well. True coexistence is a must." - Whole Foods Market, Jan. 21, 2011

    In the wake of a 12-year battle to keep Monsanto's Genetically Engineered (GE) crops from contaminating the nation's 25,000 organic farms and ranches, America's organic consumers and producers are facing betrayal. A self-appointed cabal of the Organic Elite, spearheaded by Whole Foods Market, Organic Valley, and Stonyfield Farm, has decided it's time to surrender to Monsanto. Top executives from these companies have publicly admitted that they no longer oppose the mass commercialization of GE crops, such as Monsanto's controversial Roundup Ready alfalfa, and are prepared to sit down and cut a deal for "coexistence" with Monsanto and USDA biotech cheerleader Tom Vilsack.

    In a cleverly worded, but profoundly misleading email sent to its customers last week, Whole Foods Market, while proclaiming their support for organics and "seed purity," gave the green light to USDA bureaucrats to approve the "conditional deregulation" of Monsanto's genetically engineered, herbicide-resistant alfalfa. Beyond the regulatory euphemism of "conditional deregulation," this means that WFM and their colleagues are willing to go along with the massive planting of a chemical and energy-intensive GE perennial crop, alfalfa; guaranteed to spread its mutant genes and seeds across the nation; guaranteed to contaminate the alfalfa fed to organic animals; guaranteed to lead to massive poisoning of farm workers and destruction of the essential soil food web by the toxic herbicide, Roundup; and guaranteed to produce Roundup-resistant superweeds that will require even more deadly herbicides such as 2,4 D to be sprayed on millions of acres of alfalfa across the U.S.

    In exchange for allowing Monsanto's premeditated pollution of the alfalfa gene pool, WFM wants "compensation." In exchange for a new assault on farmworkers and rural communities (a recent large-scale Swedish study found that spraying Roundup doubles farm workers' and rural residents' risk of getting cancer), WFM expects the pro-biotech USDA to begin to regulate rather than cheerlead for Monsanto. In payment for a new broad spectrum attack on the soil's crucial ability to provide nutrition for food crops and to sequester dangerous greenhouse gases (recent studies show that Roundup devastates essential soil microorganisms that provide plant nutrition and sequester climate-destabilizing greenhouse gases), WFM wants the Biotech Bully of St. Louis to agree to pay "compensation" (i.e. hush money) to farmers "for any losses related to the contamination of his crop."

    In its email of Jan. 21, 2011 WFM calls for "public oversight by the USDA rather than reliance on the biotechnology industry," even though WFM knows full well that federal regulations on Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) do not require pre-market safety testing, nor labeling; and that even federal judges have repeatedly ruled that so-called government "oversight" of Frankencrops such as Monsanto's sugar beets and alfalfa is basically a farce. At the end of its email, WFM admits that its surrender to Monsanto is permanent: "The policy set for GE alfalfa will most likely guide policies for other GE crops as well True coexistence is a must."

    Why Is Organic Inc. Surrendering?
    According to informed sources, the CEOs of WFM and Stonyfield are personal friends of former Iowa governor, now USDA Secretary, Tom Vilsack, and in fact made financial contributions to Vilsack's previous electoral campaigns. Vilsack was hailed as "Governor of the Year" in 2001 by the Biotechnology Industry Organization, and traveled in a Monsanto corporate jet on the campaign trail. ...The consolation prize they seek is a so-called "coexistence" between the biotech Behemoth and the organic community that will lull the public to sleep and greenwash the unpleasant fact that Monsanto's unlabeled and unregulated genetically engineered crops are now spreading their toxic genes on 1/3 of U.S. (and 1/10 of global) crop land.

    Whole Food's Dirty Little Secret: Most of the So-Called "Natural" Processed Foods and Animal Products They Sell Are Contaminated with GMOs....The main reason, however, why Whole Foods is pleading for coexistence with Monsanto, Dow, Bayer, Syngenta, BASF and the rest of the biotech bullies, is that they desperately want the controversy surrounding genetically engineered foods and crops to go away. Why? Because they know, just as we do, that 2/3 of WFM's $9 billion annual sales is derived from so-called "natural" processed foods and animal products that are contaminated with GMOs. We and our allies have tested their so-called "natural" products (no doubt WFM's lab has too) containing non-organic corn and soy, and guess what: they're all contaminated with GMOs, in contrast to their certified organic products, which are basically free of GMOs, or else contain barely detectable trace amounts.

    [I personally called the White House Message line and left a message for President Obama to support the health of the citizens and stop supporting Big corporations and their profits]
    | Login or Register (free) to reply publicly or privately   Email

  2. Gratitude expressed by 6 members:

  3. TopTop #2
    pnicholson's Avatar
    pnicholson
     

    Re: The Organic Elite Surrenders to Monsanto: What Now?

    sharingw - this is such a bummer. in marin we will be getting a group together to hang out at whole foods with signs that advise people to sell their whole foods stock. a tremendous boycott might work quickly. what more egregious betrayal could wfm make than going over to the dark side of gmo foods? people are going to be way pissed. i have already sent three emails telling them that whole foods market just died. lots of communication is needed. we have good earth in fairfax and i love it but it is small and really expensive. but it is an option - that and just buying locally until we turn wfm back to the light.
    | Login or Register (free) to reply publicly or privately   Email

  4. Gratitude expressed by 2 members:

  5. TopTop #3
    Roland Jacopetti's Avatar
    Roland Jacopetti
     

    Re: The Organic Elite Surrenders to Monsanto: What Now?

    Anna and I are very disturbed about this, too. We're in North Santa Rosa, and will no longer buy anything at Whole Foods in Coddingtown. We plan to do as much as possible of our food shopping at Community Market, maybe a little, very selective, at Oliver's and an item or two at Trader Joe's. This certainly isn't a perfect solution but, so far, Whole Foods is the only retailer that I know of to have avowedly gotten on board with Monsanto and Mr. Vilsak. Let's keep the stream of ideas going. What would be a good way to boycott Whole Foods? Advising people to sell their Whole Foods stock has merit, but very few of us own that stock and everyone needs to purchase food. We should remember that Whole Foods had to wait a lot longer to open the new Coddingtown store than they'd planned - I don't think it's a guaranteed cash cow, though there are always lots of shoppers there. Ideas? Let's get the word out.
    Roland
    | Login or Register (free) to reply publicly or privately   Email

  6. TopTop #4
    Roland Jacopetti's Avatar
    Roland Jacopetti
     

    Re: The Organic Elite Surrenders to Monsanto: What Now?

    Hi, again. Here's a P.S. - a letter we sent to the corporate headquarters of Whole Foods:

    We have greatly enjoyed the beautiful new Coddingtown Whole Foods market and do most of our shopping there. Imagine our disappointment when we learned that Whole Foods had caved in (?), struck a deal (?) with Vilsack on the issue of GMO alfalfa. There is no way to put a good face on this action. Henceforth, we will not shop at Whole Foods and we will urge our friends and family to follow suit. We beg Whole Foods management and the employees who share our outrage to weigh in on this issue as well. The bottom line must be our shared values, the promotion of organic non-GMO agriculture for the sake of the health of our planet and our families, not cynical corporate deals clothed in double-speak.

    Roland
    | Login or Register (free) to reply publicly or privately   Email

  7. TopTop #5
    Roland Jacopetti's Avatar
    Roland Jacopetti
     

    Re: The Organic Elite Surrenders to Monsanto: What Now?

    Hi, again. I've received a long email from Whole Foods, vigorously defending itself from the claims made by the Organic Consumers Association. Additionally, there's a piece in the current Huffington Post by Stonyfield, which does the same thing. Who's being hornswoggled?

    Roland
    | Login or Register (free) to reply publicly or privately   Email

  8. TopTop #6
    Roland Jacopetti's Avatar
    Roland Jacopetti
     

    Re: The Organic Elite Surrenders to Monsanto: What Now?

    Here's the Whole Foods Letter.
    Hello Anna and Roland,

    Thank you for being passionate about genetically engineered (GE or GMO) crops and for expressing your concern about the availability of non-GMO foods. We are very passionate about this too and are extremely upset that our position has been distorted out there.

    Don’t be fooled by the OCA (Organic Consumers Association) as it often twists the truth which confuses consumers. This time, OCA is misleading you by implying that we have “surrendered” to Monsanto and “cut a deal” for co-existence and that we’ll receive “compensation.” *Nothing could be further from the truth.* Whole Foods Market, along with the National Cooperative Grocers Association, the National Organic Coalition, the Organic Trade Association, Organic Valley, Stonyfield Farms, United Natural Foods and many others in the organic community, were trying to secure protections for organic farmers so biotechnology companies for the first time would be held accountable if GE crops polluted non-GE crops and would be forced to pay for the damages. (No money would ever go to us!) We were also pushing for measures to protect seed purity so that non-GE alfalfa supplies could be maintaine! d.

    Unfortunately, none of those protections were approved as, to our utter disappointment, the USDA decided to completely deregulate GE alfalfa without restrictions. This means farmers will now be able to plant Roundup Ready GE alfalfa beginning as soon as this spring without having to take into consideration its potential to contaminate neighboring organic and other non-GE alfalfa fields intended to be sold in markets demanding non-genetically engineered products. This is a huge loss for organic and non-GE farmers and consumers who want to have access to non-GE foods. For the OCA to widely spread misinformation and lies about Whole Foods Market and other organic companies by saying that we are joining forces with the biotechnology industry (Monsanto) is beyond ludicrous--especially at a time when we all need to come together to support our goal of ensuring the availability of non-GE foods in the marketplace. To help clarify our overall position! , we think it is helpful to see how Megan Westgate, Executive Director of the NON-GMO Project, describes the coalition efforts: /Leading up to the ruling, a broad coalition of organic organizations and companies were working around the clock in an attempt to influence the USDA’s decision. *The USDA had already made it clear that alfalfa would be deregulated, but hope remained that there might be some way to soften the blow.* //Organic Valley/ /, //Whole Foods/ / and //Stonyfield Farm/ /, along with many others in the organic community, were doing everything in their power to secure protections for organic farmers so that if their fields were contaminated once the GMO alfalfa was released, biotechnology companies for the first time would be held accountable for their pollution and would be forced to pay for the damages. These groups were also pushing for measures to protect seed purity so that non-GMO alfalfa supplies could be maintained. Unfathomably, these tireless organic organizations are now being criticized for their efforts. In total denial of the incontrovertible fact that the USDA was never even remotely considering a full ban on GMO alfalfa, some are suggesting that these group’s efforts to make the most of a bad situation *somehow* (though no one is very specific on how, exactly) signals corruption, and are even calling for //boycotts/ /. HOW ON EARTH is taking this out on 1200 organic family farmers going to help anything?! This is divisiveness we cannot afford./ You can read the full article here: https://www.nongmoproject.org/2011/0...ight-together/

    Additionally, you may have seen strange accusations saying that Whole Foods Market has agreed to sell genetically engineered foods.* *We haven’t agreed to anything! This is another attempt to twist the facts. The reality is that *no grocery store in the United States, no matter what size or type of business, can claim they are GMO-free. *While we have been and will continue to be staunch supporters of non-GMO foods, we are not going to mislead our customers with an inaccurate claim (and you should question anyone who does). Here’s why: the pervasive planting of GMO crops in the U.S. and their subsequent use in our national food supply. 93% of soy, 86% of corn, 93% of cotton, and 93% of canola seed planted in the U.S. in 2010 were genetically engineered. Since these crops are commonly present in a wide variety of foods, a GMO-free store is currently not possible in the U.S. (unless the store sells /only/ organic foods.)

    Since the U. S. national organic standards do not allow the use of GMO ingredients and practices in the growing or production of organic foods, choosing organic is one way consumers can avoid GMO foods. The other is through labeling, of which we are strong supporters. Here is a look at some of the other things we have done on the non-GE front over the past couple of decades:

    * We have advocated for mandatory labeling of GMO foods since 1992,
    even before they were made commercially available.
    * We were founding members of the Non-GMO Project, which works to
    ensure the sustained availability of non-GMO choices through an
    industry-wide product standard to create a non-GMO labeling
    program that can be fully substantiated.
    * Our 365 Everyday Value® and Whole Foods Market™ brand products are
    sourced to avoid GMOS, and our partnership with the Non-GMO
    Project
    will
    enable us to verify and label both natural and organic products.
    In fact, we have enrolled our store brand food products in this
    pioneering product verification program, which ensures the
    sustained availability of non-GMO choices through an industry-wide
    product standard. These include products that natural as well as
    those that are organic.
    * Beyond our stores, we have publicly advocated for clear labeling
    of GE food and shared our concerns that the USDA and FDA’s
    policies on GE foods are not consistent with our consumers’
    expectations.

    We will continue to work aggressively on this issue because we believe that GMO food ingredients should be clearly labeled, and that consumers who want to avoid them should have an actionable way to do so. While the USDA’s decision will make our work more difficult, we are as committed as ever to ensuring that non-GMO food remains available and we will continue to advocate for our farmers and for our shoppers on this issue.

    Thank you for the opportunity for us to present the more complete picture on Whole Foods Market and our position on non-GMO foods. If you’d like to take action, we encourage you to write to Washington to express the importance of preserving organic and non-GE farming. Simply click this link and follow the directions:

    https://ota.capwiz.com/ota/issues/al...ertid=24747501

    If you have any further questions please use our on-line response form .

    Best regards,

    Rachael

    Rachael Gruver | Global Customer Information Specialist | Whole Foods Market | 550 Bowie Street | Austin, Texas 78703
    | Login or Register (free) to reply publicly or privately   Email

  9. TopTop #7
    sharingwisdom's Avatar
    sharingwisdom
     

    Re: The Organic Elite Surrenders to Monsanto: What Now?

    I also wrote to Whole foods today and received the exact same letter except it was addressed to me. Did you notice that at the very bottom of the letter it says "This email contains Whole Foods Market Inc., proprietary information and materials. Any use, distribution, modification or disclosure of this email by you without the permission of Whole Foods Market, Inc., is strictly prohibited. This email is the copyright of Whole Food Market IP, LP."? Why would they want us to hide it under threat of copyright since it was taken from a public blog?

    Anyways, I responded back after reading the original blog which had some good comments by other folks.
    "I appreciate the time you took to answer my letter, though I sense that others have written and received the same or similar response in clarifying your position with Organic Consumers. There are a few questions that still remain hanging in the air, and I'd appreciate your response.

    1. What do you think that Cummins (head of Organic Consumers) hopes to gain by lying/distorting what your intentions or actions are when there needs a united front and everyone could really use your support?

    2. Are the CEOs of WFM personal friends of USDA Secretary, Tom Vilsack, and did they make financial contributions to Vilsack’s previous electoral campaigns as claimed by Cummins?

    3. Did WFM deliberately separate themselves from anti-GMO efforts and cut off all funding to campaigns working to label or ban GMOs? If not, please explain where this information would have been misinterpreted or distorted from?

    4. Have you really educated your consumers about the difference between "natural" and organic because to many, there is confusion, and it seems the same?

    5. In WF's being so big, in putting ingredients on their products, wouldn't it be possible, as a trend setter, to label foods that are actually GMO-free since the USDA won't? You would be making a big statement and show your commitment and integrity to protect the consumers.

    Thank you"

    So if I get a response that goes beyond their form letter, I'll let you know.





    Quote Posted in reply to the post by Roland: View Post
    Here's the Whole Foods Letter.
    Hello Anna and Roland,

    Thank you for being passionate about genetically engineered (GE or GMO) crops .....
    Last edited by Alex; 02-01-2011 at 05:21 PM. Reason: Shortened quoted text
    | Login or Register (free) to reply publicly or privately   Email

  10. TopTop #8
    sharingwisdom's Avatar
    sharingwisdom
     

    Re: The Organic Elite Surrenders to Monsanto: What Now?

    I just received another letter from Whole foods in response to my letter below and I responded back to them again (below their letter.)

    Thank you for following up.
    Why is the OCA spreading misinformation? That’s a hard question for us to answer. Perhaps because we don’t share their narrow view of what it means to support organics, or perhaps because we do not support them with donations. Either way, it’s a shame that an organization that claims to “campaign for health, justice and sustainability” can’t simply tell the truth.
    Whole Foods Market does not make political donations. We have not changed our position on non-GE ingredients over the past two decades. To reiterate my previous response, here are some of the things we have done on the non-GE front over the past couple of decades.
    • We have advocated for mandatory labeling of GMO foods since 1992, even before they were made commercially available.
    • We were founding members of the Non-GMO Project, which works to ensure the sustained availability of non-GMO choices through an industry-wide product standard to create a non-GMO labeling program that can be fully substantiated.
    • Our 365 Everyday Value® and Whole Foods Market™ brand products are sourced to avoid GMOS, and our partnership with the Non-GMO Project will enable us to verify and label both natural and organic products. In fact, we have enrolled our store brand food products in this pioneering product verification program, which ensures the sustained availability of non-GMO choices through an industry-wide product standard. These include products that are natural as well as those that are organic.
    • Beyond our stores, we have publicly advocated for clear labeling of GE food and shared our concerns that the USDA and FDA’s policies on GE foods are not consistent with our consumers’ expectations.
    Some of our Private Label products are already verified by The Non-GMO Project and we are thrilled that more of our products will be verified and labeled as the project continues to grow.
    We can’t speak for the other retailers, but we do have a strong standard for what “natural” means in our stores. At Whole Foods Market, “natural” means food that meets our quality standards, which ensure the products we sell are free of artificial ingredients: flavors, color, preservatives, sweeteners, as well as no hydrogenated fats.
    Yes, “natural” is not synonymous with “organic;” many natural foods are not organic. However, “natural” products – as we define the term in our stores – provide a real alternative to the artificially colored, flavored and preserved options available at mainstream supermarkets.
    I hope this helps clear up any additional confusion on this issue. Thanks again for following up.
    If you have any further questions please use our on-line response form.
    Best regards,
    Rachael

    ---
    Thank you for your reply, Rachael. I appreciate the time and energy it takes to communicate with the public in responding to their inquiries and questions especially when it has to do with the reputation of your company.

    There is one question that was not answered clearly. Are the CEOs of WFM personal friends of USDA Secretary, Tom Vilsack, and did they make financial contributions to Vilsack’s previous electoral campaigns? If so, then your statement that you don't make political contributions would be inaccurate and this can easily be traced for accuracy.

    Also your definition of "natural" may not be known to your customers as I mentioned. Where is it posted in easy view for consumers? I'm not sure what you meant by "provide a real alternative to the artificially colored, flavored and preserved options" from mainstream stores particularly around your use of non-organic GMO'd canola and soybean oils in even your hot food bars, MSG in many of your products as well as known toxic chemicals in some of your health products. Consumers pay more for those products that aren't much different. Environmental Working Group has shown that many "natural" products that you stock have toxic chemicals in them. It would be a great favor to consumers to let them know what your company's statement is on natural really is and have it accessible.

    And I also wonder why your letters say at the very bottom "This email contains Whole Foods Market Inc., proprietary information and materials. Any use, distribution, modification or disclosure of this email by you without the permission of Whole Foods Market, Inc., is strictly prohibited. This email is the copyright of Whole Food Market IP, LP." You cannot copyright an email that I've written on...I do not give consent.

    In appreciation.
    Last edited by Barry; 02-06-2012 at 09:02 AM.
    | Login or Register (free) to reply publicly or privately   Email

  11. Gratitude expressed by:

  12. TopTop #9
    sharingwisdom's Avatar
    sharingwisdom
     

    Re: The Organic Elite Surrenders to Monsanto: What Now?

    Whole Foods has not, up to this point, answered my last question. I wonder why. My last question was "Are the CEOs of WFM personal friends of USDA Secretary, Tom Vilsack, and did they make financial contributions to Vilsack’s previous electoral campaigns as claimed by Cummins?"

    So being a member of OCA, I just received another newsletter. Huffington Post censored the article by Cummins, up until now a regular columnist for Huffington, and posted in the place where Cummins' articles are archived, an attack on the OCA by Gary Hirshberg of Stonyfield Farm (a subsidiary of the giant multinational corporation Dannon). The attack included an attempt by Hirshberg to gloss over the fact that Organic industry leaders were prepared to accept "coexistence" or "controlled deregulation" of Monsanto's GE alfalfa until two weeks ago, when their "friend" at the USDA Tom Vilsack and the White House basically slapped them in the face with complete deregulation of GE alfalfa and sugar beets. Perhaps Huffington censored "Monsanto Nation" because Whole Foods and Stonyfield are valued advertisers, or perhaps because Huffington has now been bought out for $315 million by the infamous, profit-at-any-cost media conglomerate AOL. Several dozen other alternative health and political columnists have likewise been recently censored by AOL/Huffington's censors. To read Cummins response and more info:
    https://www.organicconsumers.org/art...icle_22499.cfm

    Excerpt
    Obama's Administration, like the Bush and Clinton Administrations before him, has become a literal "revolving door" for Monsanto operatives. President Obama stated on the campaign trail in 2007-2008 that agribusiness cannot be trusted with the regulatory powers of government.

    But, starting with his choice for USDA Secretary, the pro-biotech former governor of Iowa, Tom Vilsack, President Obama has let Monsanto and the biotech industry know they'll have plenty of friends and supporters within his administration. President Obama has taken his team of food and farming leaders directly from the biotech companies and their lobbying, research, and philanthropic arms:

    Michael Taylor, former Monsanto Vice President, is now the FDA Deputy Commissioner for Foods. Roger Beachy, former director of the Monsanto-funded Danforth Plant Science Center, is now the director of the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture. Islam Siddiqui, Vice President of the Monsanto and Dupont-funded pesticide-promoting lobbying group, CropLife, is now the Agriculture Negotiator for the US Trade Representative. Rajiv Shah former agricultural-development director for the pro-biotech Gates Foundation (a frequent Monsanto partner), served as Obama's USDA Under-Secretary for Research Education and Economics and Chief Scientist and is now head of USAID. Elena Kagan, who, as President Obama's Solicitor General, took Monsanto's side against organic farmers in the Roundup Ready alfalfa case, is now on the Supreme Court. Ramona Romero, corporate counsel to DuPont, has been nominated by President Obama to serve as General Counsel for the USDA.

    Of course, America's indentured Congress is no better than the White House when it comes to promoting sane and sustainable public policy. According to Food and Water Watch, Monsanto and the biotech industry have spent more than half a billion dollars ($547 million) lobbying Congress since 1999. Big Biotech's lobby expenditures have accelerated since Obama's election in 2008. In 2009 alone Monsanto and the biotech lobby spent $71 million. Last year Monsanto's Minions included over a dozen lobbying firms, as well as their own in-house lobbyists.

    To maneuver around Monsanto's Minions in Washington we need to shift our focus and go local. We've got to concentrate our forces where our leverage and power lie, in the marketplace, at the retail level; pressuring retail food stores to voluntarily label their products; while on the legislative front we must organize a broad coalition to pass mandatory GMO (and CAFO) labeling laws, at the city, county, and state levels. And while we're doing this we need to join forces with the growing national movement to get corporate money out of politics and the media and to take away the fictitious "corporate personhood" (i.e. the legal right of corporations to have all the rights of human citizens, without the responsibility, obligations, and liability of real persons) of Monsanto and the corporate elite.
    Last edited by Barry; 02-06-2012 at 09:04 AM.
    | Login or Register (free) to reply publicly or privately   Email

  13. Gratitude expressed by 3 members:

Similar Threads

  1. Monsanto in Gates' Clothing? The Emperor's New GMOs
    By sharingwisdom in forum WaccoReader
    Replies: 0
    Last Post: 10-12-2010, 09:43 AM
  2. CropLife & Monsanto men have no place in Gov't
    By The A Team in forum WaccoTalk
    Replies: 0
    Last Post: 10-28-2009, 04:12 PM
  3. How The Elite Control Politics
    By d-cat in forum WaccoReader
    Replies: 0
    Last Post: 01-12-2009, 07:57 AM
  4. Replies: 0
    Last Post: 10-09-2005, 02:18 PM
  5. Stop Monsanto on PBS!
    By Deb in forum WaccoReader
    Replies: 0
    Last Post: 07-26-2005, 08:50 AM

Bookmarks