Whole Foods GMO labeling countdown just two years away ... Retailer promised all products would be labeled with GMO content by 2018

Thursday, January 21, 2016 by: Jennifer Lea Reynolds
Tags: Whole Foods, GMO labeling, transparency

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(NaturalNews) Time has a funny way of creeping up on us. We know that all too well when birthdays and various anniversaries come up, sometimes surprising us with "where has the time gone?" thoughts. Well, we imagine it's going to be about the same for Whole Foods Market. After all, 2018, the year in which they declared that all of their GMO products would be labeled accordingly, is coming up fast. Sure, it's two years away, but blink, and it'll be here before you know it.

Will they deliver on their promise, which they announced to Max Goldberg of Living Maxwell in this 2013 video, during Natural Products Expo West?⁽¹⁾

One can only hope that they do.

After all, it's no secret that GMOs are part of the horrible food and chemical violence saga that creates an unstable environment, and ultimately wreaks havoc on the health of the planet and its inhabitants. Ongoing clashes have ensued – and continue to rage – primarily involving health-conscious consumers, the biotech industry and the government. It's safe. It's not. Natural News readers and those in the know about their health are well-aware that it's the latter. There's nothing natural, healthy and safe about Franken-foods, period.

'The time is now,' Whole Foods announced in 2013

Of course, one can't mention GMOs without also thinking of the various consumer efforts to push for GMO labeling standards, as part of our right to know what we're ingesting. Enter the likes of California's Proposition 37 and Washington State's Initiative 522, also known as "The People's Right to Know Genetically Engineered Food Act," which strongly influenced labeling decisions through the years.

Indeed, in the announcement covering the 2013 Whole Foods announcement to Goldberg, Whole Foods president A.C. Gallo said that Proposition 37, as well as their concerns over alfalfa GMO technology discussions that were surfacing at the time, spurred their labeling decision. At the same time, Gallo also explained that customers had played a significant role in their decision. They had made it very clear that GMO labeling was important to them, and weren't shy in making their disappointments known either. "The time is now," Gallo said in the 2013 interview with Goldberg.⁽¹⁾

And so it came to be that Whole Foods made their "commitment to full GMO transparency" known. Co-CEO Walter Robb also told Goldberg in that same interview that "within five years, all the products in our stores – U.S. and Canada – that may contain GMOs or do contain GMOs will be labeled as such." He went on to add that "... it'll take a lot of work and thought ... to achieve this goal."⁽¹⁾

Yes. Yes, it will. But it's a necessary move that will make all of that hard work and planning worthwhile. And it's one we truly hope does come to fruition.

Consumer hesitations mount as 2018 draws near ... Let's remain hopeful

Unfortunately, it's easy to feel somewhat hesitant about their 2018 promise. When you look back at some of their questionable actions – including news that surfaced about how the company actually trained their workers to lie when customers asked about GMOs in their stores – it's understandable that health-conscious people are standing by, wondering if Whole Foods will really have all of their products properly labeled. Will it happen?⁽²⁾

Then there have been other debacles, including their involvement in false advertising, and instances in which they've treated elderly people like violent criminals. You may recall that a New Jersey Whole Foods Market interrogated a 70-year-old woman who simply forgot to have her cheese rung up. Convinced that she was a kind of evil cheese thief, the woman was swiftly questioned, had her picture taken, and was even banned from the store. The person in charge of their actions towards her has since been let go, and of course, the store issued a statement about the "unfortunate incident," which occurred in October 2015.^(3,4)

Still, it all doesn't paint a great picture of the popular chain.

But, as the saying goes, onward and upward. Let's try to look past these events with a positive mind set, and eagerly await what 2018 has in store for Whole Foods.

Sources for this article include:

(1) LivingMaxWell.com

(2) NaturalNews.com

(3) NaturalNews.com

(4) NaturalNews.com