I admit I was one of the biggest Whole Foods Market groupies. Visiting to one of their stores was like going to church. But the delusion is over, at least for me. I still shop there, but my eyes are open and I diligently read labels.
I think what really set me over the edge was California’s Prop 37 for Genetically Modified (GMO) food labeling and the fact that Whole Foods Market was virtually silent. They pretended to care at the last minute, but Really! Whole Foods doesn’t want GMO labeling any more than other Big Food companies like General Mills, Kelloggs, and Pepsi. If a law like that passed, they would be forced to share with all of us (including their millions of blind-trusting shoppers) that a good chunk of their products do indeed include GMO ingredients.
Case in point, their 365 house-brand ketchup.
A few days ago, I noticed their organic ketchup had the “Non GMO Verified” paper tag under it. Well duh! It’s organic! GMO ingredients are not allowed in any organic foods, so it’s really irrelevant, but that verification label sure does look good, doesn’t it?
Then I glanced to the left, and noticed the non-organic Ketchup did not have the certified GMO free tag. Hmm, why? What’s in ketchup that could be GMO? And there it was: Distilled White Vinegar, made from cheap GMO corn.
(click for larger view)
Notice that only the organic version has the little blurb about how their “private label products are formulated to avoid genetically engineered ingredients” – those words are missing from the label on their regular ketchup.
What I’d like to know are are there any non-organic 365 branded foods that are GMO Free? And I don’t mean single-ingredient foods like rice or beans.
I’d like to see a 365 product that specifically includes some form of corn or soy that is on their Non-GMO verified list. Perhaps there is one, perhaps there isn’t. I’ll be sure to keep looking!