WFM Wake Up – That's Just Me

Whole Foods Requiring GMO Ingredients Labeling by 2018

Whole Foods Market burst into the news a few weeks ago when it announced that it’s requiring that all products sold in their stores will be labeled as such if they include any GMO (genetically modified) ingredients.

This is great news, but at the same time, I’m disappointed because the mandate doesn’t start until the year 2018! That’s 5 years from now! Why such a long time? I mean who knows what’s going to happen by 2018.

Our outlook on food has been changing so quickly. Consumers are coming back to local farms, and demanding better, safer food choices. Word is getting out about how bad our food system has become, and we are voting with our forks!

It makes me wonder if it’s just a marketing stunt to soften the public’s reaction to their lackluster support of California’s Prop 37 for GMO labeling. Hmm.

But nonetheless, it’s still a good thing.

The word is that no food manufacturer will want to admit that their products contain any GMO’s, so in essence, labeling could possibly wipe out GMO ingredients! Wow, wouldn’t that be something!

But I doubt it’ll be that easy. Monsanto is not going to take this lightly. After all, GMO’s are vital to their existence, and they have deep pockets. Perhaps deeper than Whole Foods Market.

We’ll have to see where this goes.

Whole Foods Wake-up: Salsa GMO vs Non-GMO

While shopping at Whole Foods Market this morning, on the salsa shelves, I noticed that only two of the Whole Foods 365 brand (non-organic) salsa were verified by the Non GMO project. Hmm, why only two? What was up with the 4 or 5 other flavors?

So, I looked at the labels of the 365 Black Bean & Corn and the 365 Tequila Lime, the latter of which was GMO-free verified. (Note: I saw only the paper verification tag under each product; there wasn’t any notification on the actual label)

Click the photo to view each jars’ ingredients

365 Black Bean & Corn Salsa Ingredients

(probable/possible GMO ingredient bolded)
Diced tomatoes, water, tomato paste, black beans, onions, corn, jalapeno peppers, green chiles, distilled vinegar, sugar, salt, dehydrated garlic, cilantro, citric acid, basil, oregano, natural flavor

365 Tequila Lime Salsa Ingredients

(without distilled vinegar and citric acid)
Diced tomatoes, water, jalapeno peppers, tomato concentrate, sugar, salt, dehydrated onions, onions, lime juice, cilantro, dehydrated garlic, coriander, natural flavors

Hmm, no actual tequila in this salsa? Funny, must be in the “natural flavors” sigh.

Why Such a Fuss Over GMO

Anyway, my point is, Whole Foods Market makes such a big fuss over a selected few products being verified for the non-GMO project, but in reality, most of their non-organic products don’t qualify!

Why only 2 flavors of salsa? Why not take the extra step and use non-GMO ingredients for all flavors? It’s not that difficult to do.

Maybe it’s a marketing ploy. (It’s how Kashi/Kelloggs plays.) If WF verifies only 2 flavors out of 6, maybe when the customer sees the little “non-GMO Project Verified” tag, they won’t notice or realize the other flavors don’t meet non-GMO standards.

Or maybe it’s just that they need to keep their prices as low as possible, trying to distance themselves from the “Whole Paycheck” moniker. But while keeping their prices are low, are they any better than General Mills or Kraft? Sadly, no. Whole Foods Market is getting more and more like conventional Big Food every day.

Years ago, Whole Foods Market used to mean trust-worthy, quality, safe ingredients. It’s unfortunate that they are slowly sliding away from those qualities for more profits and sales.

See all posts in my Whole Foods Wake-up series.

Whole Foods Wake-Up: GMO Ketchup

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!

See all posts in my Whole Foods Wake-up series.

When Did Chicken Stock Stop Being a “Whole Food” at Whole Foods Market?

Over the last year or so, I’ve been slowly losing confidence in the integrity of Whole Foods Market. Their product ingredients are gradually becoming more and more similar to the Big Food ingredients that a lot of us are trying to avoid.

Today I noticed the ingredients in their low sodium chicken stock. When did chicken stock become such a complicated recipe?

whole foods market 365 brand low sodium chicken stock ingredients

Organic chicken stock (filtered water, concentrated organic chicken stock)
Contains less than 2% of the following:
Organic cane sugar
Organic chicken flavor (organic chicken, sea salt, organic gum arabic)
Organic vegetable stock (organic carrot, organic onion, organic celery, sea salt)
Yeast extract
Salt
Organic turmeric

whole foods market 365 brand low sodium chicken stock ingredients

Were these always the ingredients in their chicken stock? A few months ago, I might not have noticed or thought twice about any of them, but I guess I’ve become more fussy about what I consider a “whole food” — I don’t believe sugar, gums and yeast extract (hidden MSG) belong in my chicken soup. sigh.

It’s become more important than ever to scrutinize ALL labels and ingredients, especially when shopping at Whole Foods Market. Gone are the idealistic days of blind trust, assuming they have our backs when it comes to natural wholesome foods.

Thankfully I try to make my own stocks, but it’s nice to keep a carton in the pantry; this time, I left it on the shelf!