whole foods marketoregondairy.org/.../04/tueam3-cathy-strange-whole-foods.pdfwhole foods market 414...
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Whole Foods Market414 stores
US 395, Canada 10 and UK 9 We have stores in all but 8 states: Alaska,
Delaware, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Vermont, West Virginia and Wyoming.
The next few stores we’ll be opening include Morristown, NJ; Olathe, KS; Edgewater/Chicago, IL;
University Park, WA; and Dublin, CA.
Whole Foods Market
Mission driven companyCore values as the foundation
Publically traded: WFMI12 autonomous regions
25 stores will be added by end of 2015Eugene 3‐09‐2016
107 on the books through 2018
Whole Foods Market
Ingredient StandardsMeat Step rating system
Seafood sustainable rankingProduce responsibly farmedCleaning products rankingWhole Body standards
NEXTNon‐GMO initiative
WFM Meat
WFM Seafood
Whole Foods Market Produce
Cleaning Products
Whole Foods Market
CheeserBST free
Traditional productionFamily farms
NEXTQuality Standard on Grass Fed labeling
Non‐GMO initiative
March 08 2013Walter Robb, Co‐CEO announces
WFM’s stance on GMO labeling?At Whole Foods Market, we believe that people
have a right to know what’s in their food. That’s why we have set a deadline that, by 2018,
all products in our U.S. and Canadian stores must be labeled to indicate whether they contain
genetically modified organisms (GMOs).
Whole Foods Market is the first national grocery chain to set a deadline for full GMO transparency. Clearly labeled products help shoppers who want to avoid foods made with GMOs to do so.
What products will be included in your labeling standard?
Our non‐GMO transparency initiative includes all
food products we sell, going far beyond
what any of the state initiatives and legislation has proposed so far. Products based on or
containing ingredients created from government approved GMO crops will need to
provide full transparency. Not only that, but our dairy and egg producers will also need to verify whether or not animals were fed GMO corn, soy or alfalfa.
Why have you just recently announced you will be requiring
label transparency?This is not the first step we’ve taken
toward GMO transparency. Whole Foods Market has been collaborating
with many of its supplier partners for years to source products without GMO ingredients, and, we offer more choices for shoppers who are looking to avoid
GMOs than any other retailer.
Why have you just recently announced you will be requiring
label transparency?In 2009, Whole Foods Market began
putting our 365 Everyday Value™
line through Non‐GMO Project™
verification
and encouraged our grocery supplier partners to do the same. Now, only 5 years
later, we sell more than 8,500 Non‐GMO Project verified products ‐‐
more than any
other retailer in North America.
Why have you just recently announced you will be requiring
label transparency?In addition to looking to our non‐GMO
verified choices, shoppers who are looking to avoid GMOs can also choose
from the more than 25,000 certified organic choices we offer companywide
(organic certification prohibits the intentional use of GMOs).
Why have you just recently announced you will be requiring
label transparency?Our 2018 commitment to full label
transparency is the next step on the journey. Our initiative will require full GMO transparency on products that are
based on or contain GMO risk ingredients
Why have you just recently announced you will be requiring
label transparency?Our customers are becoming
increasingly hungry for information about GMOs and how to avoid products
that contain GMOs, and have looked to us to help provide the transparency
they’re looking for.
How do you determine if products are really non‐GMO?
At Whole Foods Market, we believe non‐GMO verification needs to be robust, science‐based, credible, and based on standards created by multiple
stakeholders. Accordingly, we have designated two methods of Non‐GMO Verification that we will permit
as substantiation that a product can be considered Non‐GMO within Whole Foods Market:
Certified organic – which prohibits the intentional use of GMOs, and
The Non‐GMO Project Verified program
Verification
Only one current in the USPotential announcement of more
certifying programsVery cut and dry for dairy and cheese
Key issues to addressNon‐GMO feed and timing