Whole Foods’ announcement that it will mandate GMO labeling on all products sold in its stores by 2018 has been lauded by many GMO labeling activists. Others, including Ronnie Cummins of the Organic Consumers Association, say that 2018 is not soon enough. Mike Adams from Natural News takes a more reasonable look at the timeline:
Large corporate machines like Whole Foods are very, very difficult to change quickly. As someone who sources raw materials, manufactures and retails health products for our own store, I also know there are huge challenges in the supply lines of non-GMO materials.
For example, we can’t keep our organic, non-GMO freeze-dried organic foods in stock because the demand far outstrips supply. When a giant retailer like Whole Foods asks its 5,000+ suppliers to label the GMO content of their products by 2018, it’s essentially asking thousands of food manufacturers to find new sources for their raw materials. In reality, the non-GMO agricultural output needed to meet that demand simply does not exist in 2013.
Read the full post here: Whole Foods’ mandatory GMO labeling initiative and why it will take five years to solve the GMO problem
Further Reading:
- Whole Foods didn’t have a choice in GM labeling
- Twenty-year review: GM crops are safe
- You wanted GMO food labels? The marketplace is listening
