Whole Foods Calls for Coexistence with Monsanto Then Backtracks

Farmers of organic products have been in an uproar since the Monsanto Corporation has been attempting to get genetically modified foods on the market with approval from the USDA and FDA. Many of these farmers had allies like Whole Foods Market, The Organic Consumers Association, Stonyfield Farm, and over 400 other groups working together to fight against Monsanto getting approval for their seeds which could contaminate the seeds of organic farmers.

A few of these allies fell away in January when Whole Foods Market sent an email to its customers proclaiming, "The policy set for GE alfalfa will most likely guide policies for other GE crops as well. True coexistence is a must." The company that once seemed to fight so hard against the Roundup Ready alfalfa has betrayed the farmers it was once fighting for by claiming that "coexistence is a must."

When The Organic Consumers Association, a grassroots non-profit organization, called out Whole Foods Market, Stonyfield Farm and Organic Valley for their betrayal, Whole Foods Market used their blog platform Whole Story in an attempt to backtrack while saying they are still in the fight against genetically modified foods (commonly referred to as GMO's). The problem for farmers is that the talk of coexistence with Monsanto is a betrayal to all organic farmers, to them there can be no coexistence with a corporation like Monsanto.

Whole Foods Market's initial betrayal was the call for "coexistence" with the company Monsanto, a company which manufactured Agent Orange during the Vietnam war. It should be noted that Agent Orange was a code name for an herbicide and defoilant primarily produced by Monsanto Corporation for the U.S. Department of Defense in their herbicidal warfare program. This is the corporation which wants to change the food market by planting genetically engineered seeds which will contaminate the food soil web with mutant genes.

When Whole Foods Market betrayed organic farmers by calling for a "coexistence" they also called for regulation and compensation. WFM wanted the USDA to regulate the GE-alfalfa crops and compensate any farmers, "for any losses related to the contamination of his crop."

Genetically engineered alfalfa crops will not be regulated. Agricultural Secretary Tom Vilsack announced on January 27th that the USDA will fully deregulate genetically engineered alfalfa which means farmers can start planting the RoundUp ready seeds right away and you can expect to see GE-alfalfa on the market in the spring with no labels to tell you of its genetically modified nature. When the announcement by Vilsack was made, Whole Foods Market changed their tune from calling for "coexistence" to being "strong advocates for non-GE foods, their clear labeling and offering them in the marketplace."