Whole Foods and organics

[Guest guest]

I have always liked and enjoyed Whole Foods Markets, but I can see

Whole Foods making the push to be the organic version of Walmart. All

Walmart does is destroy the mom and pop economies of entire

communities so that the folks that were your friendly butcher,

grocer and hardware owners are now clerks or greeters at the

mega-Walmart. In many instances prices decline, but in most instances

so does quality.

 

I hope we do not see such a decline in quality and standards in the

organic marketplace - and I hope that there is a continued place for

the smaller operations. It is good for the health of our economy and

of our citizens. One reason that many old world countries have

healthier citizens is the simple fact that much of the shopping is

done by walking from the butchers to the bakers to the candlestick

makers to the produce market, etc., instead of pulling up in a giant

parking lot and parking our obese butts in a motorized cart to go load

up on inferior products.

 

There is a lot of pressure for relaxation of standards as demand is

outstripping capacity and growing by 20% per year as a welcome result

of people becoming more aware of the dangers of depleted soils,

pesticides, chemical fertilizers and genetically manufactured (GM)

crops that are just now being linked to cancer and other health risks.

 

As it now stands, " 100% organic " is just that - 100% organic, free of

GM foods, and grown with no pesticides or chemical fertilizers. And

that is a return from a relaxed standard that allowed 5% synthetic or

non-organic components. The compromise was to allow a label of merely

" organic " which can contain 5% synthetics. A third label, " made with

organic " must have at least 70% organic ingredients.

 

As consumers we must demand continued high standards and vote with the

most powerful ballot box we have - our wallets. To fail to do so

would eventually reduce or organics to just another form of the

processed junk that crowds our grocers shelves. As an example, look

at what has been proposed for California almonds - that they must be

irradiated, essentially becoming cooked almonds, yet would still be

labeled as raw almonds.

 

Live long, live healthy, live happy!

 

 

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whole foods is trying to close down all mom and pop little herb

stores. how do i know? I was a sales rep for a product. sales reps

talk. So keep SMALLER herb shops in business.

GNC- general nutritional crap. FDA- Faulty drug advise.

Orus