Remember the GMO food dump idea from the Organic Consumers Association? The basic idea is to call out natural food stores like Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s for having one opinion about GMOs on their blogs and in their marketing while stocking “natural” products that are chock full of GMO corn, soy, canola, and sugar.
After publishing the article, I got into a very interesting email exchange with a reader and Whole Foods team member, who we will just call Rebecca. She was emphatic that she is not a spokesperson for Whole Foods Market, just a team member who feels strongly about the food dump concept. I hope you’ll take some time to read her viewpoint and share your thoughts on the subject in our poll or in the comments!
While I’m not sure I 100% agree with what she had to say, I really appreciated her taking the time to share her viewpoint and feel like she brought up some interesting things that were worth sharing with you guys. Here are some excerpts from our email exchange:
Just wanted to know, why are people trying to do food dumps at Whole Foods, a company that at least tries to get GMO’s off their shelves? Why aren’t you attacking the people who have made no effort at all and are silent on the issue, to the point of denying it exists? I’m by no means a spokesperson for the company (I’m just a bakery team member), but I can say this much: yes, some of our products contain GMO’s. But the vast majority don’t, and if we were to try to stock only non-GMO products, we’d lose any kind of bargain that we offer the customers on the products that were left.
I think the point about keeping prices down is interesting, as is the idea of reaching out to companies like Wal-Mart and Target about GMOs in their products. Here’s a bit of my reply:
The idea behind the GMO dump is that Whole Foods isn’t walking the talk. They speak out against GMOs but stock conventional products that contain GMO ingredients. However, I do agree that stores like the ones you mention have a much longer way to go and that we need to let these companies know how we feel as well. I’m not sure if a GMO dump would be as effective (would as many Wal-Mart shoppers be concerned about GMOs on the shelves?), but I’d definitely be open to doing a follow up with some ideas on how to get heard in stores like these!
And Rachel’s reply:
You’re absolutely right that Wal-Mart shoppers aren’t that worried about GMO’s, but don’t you think it’s redundant to make the point to Whole Foods customers then? Wouldn’t you rather educate the Wal-Mart shoppers? Personally, I see more benefit in getting the message out to the general public than to repeating information to a niche that already has some knowledge of the issue. Find new people to care about it, gain strength in numbers. I understand that it’s very difficult and very expensive for grassroots organizations to get a message out to the public, which is why I think that it would be better for Millions Against Monsanto to partner with Whole Foods than to protest against them – WFM has money that it does share with NPO’s, and Millions Against Monsanto has a cause that is completely within the framework of the Whole Foods mission.
I’m still not sure I agree that the food dump idea isn’t worthwhile, but I see what she’s saying here. She also explained that team members are educated about GMOs and questioned my idea that Whole Foods wasn’t walking the talk:
I disagree that Whole Foods isn’t walking the talk. I’ve been pounded with information about GMO’s since about an hour into my employment, and I think I already mentioned all the other ways that the corporation is vocal on the issue. It seems like, by your standards, for Whole Foods to be “walking the talk,” they’d have to stock only organic. But that isn’t a viable business model – the prices would be too high for the company to survive. And remember, as much as Whole Foods has a message, it’s also a business, not an NPO – the basic purpose of the store is to make money. It’s profit first, message second, like all businesses (well, businesses that have a message, anyway – the majority don’t, another credit to Whole Foods). Stocking organic-only would close down several of their departments (including mine – probably the bakery first and foremost!), and would turn away customers. So the very, very best that a corporation can do is to educate their customers and let the customers choose whether or not they care enough about GMO’s to choose organic, vegan, soy-free, corn-free, sugar-free, or generally non-GMO products. Whole Foods excels at doing that.
I totally understand running a business, since I run one myself. Sometimes you do have to make tough choices in order to still make a profit, but I think it’s an overstatement to say that cutting GMOs would shut down whole departments, like the bakery. Since not all non-organic foods are genetically modified, the store wouldn’t have to be all organic. The bakery, for example, wouldn’t have to use organic wheat (yet), and they could make sure to stick to cane sugar to avoid sugar from GMO sugar beets. They’d need to choose oils like sunflower and olive, since conventional canola oil is often genetically modified, and they could either skip the corn and soy or choose organic there. Would those changes really shut down the bakery department? I might be missing some key ingredients, since I don’t bake commercially.
While I don’t 100% agree with Rebecca, I do think she makes some good points. At least Whole Foods is making an effort, and stores like it make organic products and food education accessible to a lot more people, which is more than you can say for a Kroger or a Publix.
I’d love to hear what other folks think about the food dump concept, as well! Is it a misguided protest? Are you a fan of the concept and planning to organize one? Share your views in the comments and in our poll!
Image Credit: Creative Commons photo by kankan
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I only started learning about GMOs within the past year. I am a regular shopper at WFM because I want to avoid pesticides. I don’t buy organic everything, only the “dirty dozen”. I have learned to read my labels and avoid anything with non-organic corn, cotton, soy or canola. I have signed up with Jeffrey Smith’s Tipping Point Network to EDUCATE CONSUMERS on how to read labels. I also regularly write to manufacturers (Pepsi, M&M Mars, Kelloggs) asking if their product contains GMOs and then after they answer that they probably do (because they cannot guarantee it) I write to them that I will no longer purchase their product. I believe this is where the focus needs to be while we also work on our Legislators to pass GMO Labeling (Denis Kuchinich has introduced the bills into legislation so let’s put the pressure on to get them passed!!) I agree with one of the other commentors that dressing up in hazmat suits and doing a food dump is viewed by most people as “extremeists” and to quote an old saying “you get more flies with honey”.
What comes to my mind is divide and conquer.
I work for PCC Natural Markets as a buyer and I can say first hand that the problem is not the store trying to mislead customers, it is a problem with supply. We are currently in process of switching all of our health and beauty products to meet the Natural Products Association guidelines. The problems we are encountering are in finding companies that produce the products that meet these guidelines, and also the opposition from customers who have used a toxic product for decades and are not ready to switch to something better. It is a huge and tedious effort. If OCA spends their time protesting at natural foods stores customers might get the impression they might as well shop at Wal-Mart. We are shooting ourselves in the foot.
We must remember we are on the same team. Natural food stores do not want to sell GMOs. When products that are GMO free become available we offer them. I think OCA’s donations would be better spent opening small businesses that produce the products that we want on the shelves. I support OCA’s intentions but I think time would be better spent protesting the distributers that sell to the stores or the individual companies making the GMO products.
The WFM worker saying it’s “redundant to keep making the point to WF shoppers” is ignoring the obvious. It is exactly BECAUSE they are educated about this GMO inundation in processed foods that they are expecting AND BELIEVING the scam at Whole Foods. They are being DELIBERATELY MIS-LED by WFM’s careful and glossy marketing messages, which do not outright declare there IS NO GMO IN THE “NATURAL” FOOD, but also don’t declare it MADE WITH GMOS, either. Educating the other shoppers, such as big chain stores and Walmart, is a completely different issue. WFM has rolled over to the bullying of BigAg and they know it. Bottom line, profit comes first. Americans spend less of their paycheck on food than any other nation on Earth, and we still market the very sustanence of life with appeals to “saving money” and “getting a deal” Where are our priorities?
WRONG! WF has their GMO project and clearly states that only those products are guaranteed GMO-free. (USDA Organics, not withstanding…) I am SO tired of the nanny-state mentality that people have about this and a host of other issues. It is absolutely the consumers responsibility to be informed and know what they are purchasing. This is the same mentality that applies to food allergies…CALL the manufacturer to find out what ingredients are used, what the manufacturing processes are, and if there is a possibility of cross-contamination with anything you may find offensive! We shop WF at least once a week. I avoid as many GMO’s as possible, but at times will purchase a product that contains GMO’s as long as they are not corn or soy, which are the worst offenders based on my research. I buy mostly organic, and some non-organics that I have researched extensively. Hardly anyone can afford to strictly buy organic, if they feed more than 2 people. Many companies practice organic farming methods and use organic ingredients, but do not have the costly certification. And as for “organic” products…the FDA allows Horizon (among others) to put non-organic ingredients into their prodicts, and turns a blind eye to their farming methods! Like I said…up to the consumer to be informed.(Use the brain that God gave you.) I don’t take ANYONE’s word for it. And I can’t stand all of the inflamatory hooplah.
Corn and soy ‘the fossil fuels governed with tax dollars’ are in everything. Organic food can still be factory farmed, many field of produce lie in the middle of pesticide ridden fields owned by the same company, organic foods contain lower PPM doses of chemical fertalizer as winds carry seeds, and fertalizer being sprayed in proximity. Intensive factory farmed animals have their place in the ‘organic’ circle as well, they just have a different diet, however their living conditions are the same as a feedlot, the farmers get around it by saying yes these turkeys ‘have access to pasture’ (the only ethical policy) However what most dont divulge is that 6 weeks of say a chickens life is indoor due to them not wanting them to be exposed to illnesses, then the little door opens and those that arent petrified of outdoors can wander outisde for a couple hours for a total of 2 weeks, then off to slaughter at 8 weeks…But they are not fed corn so they are ‘organic’
My advice to everyone would be to practice the 100 mile diet as I do, grow food, eat ‘sustainable’ food from local growers rather than what has become the new trend on ‘organic’. Surprisingly shipping organic food across the country to appease the organic consumer cost 57 fossil fuel calories / calorie of food… disheartening but true. As a matter of fact, every person in North America should go to their library and read the book called ‘the omnivores dilemma’.