Skip to Content.
Sympa Menu

livingontheland - [Livingontheland] Whole Foods Supports...GE Alfalfa?

livingontheland@lists.ibiblio.org

Subject: Healthy soil and sustainable growing

List archive

Chronological Thread  
  • From: "Tradingpost" <tradingpost@lobo.net>
  • To: livingontheland@lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: [Livingontheland] Whole Foods Supports...GE Alfalfa?
  • Date: Mon, 24 Jan 2011 17:13:50 -0700


Whole Foods Supports...GE Alfalfa?
January 24, 2011 10:23 AM (PT)
http://food.change.org/blog/view/whole_foods_supportsge_alfalfa

Whole Foods boasts one of the most extensive selections of certified organic
products, and the store earns many (many) of my hard-earned dollars by
claiming to care about personal and environmental health. So you can imagine
my surprise when I received an action alert e-mail from the grocer that
actually supported the coexistence of genetically engineered (GE) alfalfa and
organic crops. Baffled and a bit irritated, I investigated.

Like many sustainable food publications, Whole Foods' blog, "Whole Story,"
has been covering the GE alfalfa saga. As we've reported here on Change.org.
the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is poised to approve Monsanto's
Roundup Ready, GE alfalfa for spring planting. "Whole Story" reports that
there are two possible options for GE alfalfa: One, the USDA can fully
approve the planting of GE alfalfa with no stipulations. Or two, the agency
can authorize "partial deregulation," otherwise known as "coexistence." This
plan would limit the planting of GE alfalfa to certain regions in certain
states. Whole Foods says it supports the second option and even goes so far
as to encourage readers to contact the USDA, White House, and their
Congressperson to express support for the coexistence plan.

But "Whole Story" failed to provide, well, the whole story. There's a third
option that would be even better for the environment — not approving GE
alfalfa at all, in any scenario. This third option may be the underdog, but
it's not yet off the table.

The problem with coexistence is that it still leaves the door open for
contamination of the organic food sector and puts some farmers in an unfair
situation. As we've seen with Monsanto's Roundup Ready corn, cotton, and
soybean plants, GE crops seldom stay in their designated regions. Through
pollen transfer, these Frankenfoods escape and mingle with organic and
conventional crop varieties. Once an organic crop contains altered genes, it
can no longer be considered organic. Rogue GE alfalfa genes would obviously
threaten the livelihoods of organic alfalfa farmers, but the situation
becomes far more serious when you consider the fact that most organic beef
and dairy cattle also dine on organic alfalfa.




  • [Livingontheland] Whole Foods Supports...GE Alfalfa?, Tradingpost, 01/24/2011

Archive powered by MHonArc 2.6.24.

Top of Page