. |
Seeds for Change Wellness
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
Wal-Mart Charged with Selling Nonorganic Food as Organic
Wal-Mart Charged with Selling Nonorganic Food as Organic
Source: The Cornucopia Institute
Group Asks USDA to Fully Investigate Organic Product Misrepresentation
For more information, contact: Mark Kastel, 608-625-2042
Cornucopia, WI: The Cornucopia Institute, the nation’s most aggressive organic farming watchdog,
has filed a formal legal complaint with the USDA asking them to investigate allegations of illegal
“organic” food distribution by Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. Cornucopia has documented cases of
nonorganic food products being sold as organic in Wal-Mart’s grocery departments.
“We first noticed that Wal-Mart was using in-store signage to misidentify conventional, nonorganic
food as organic in their upscale-market test store in Plano, Texas,” said Mark Kastel of The
Cornucopia Institute. Subsequently, Cornucopia staff visited a number of other Wal-Mart stores in
the Midwest and documented similar improprieties in both produce and dairy sections.
Cornucopia notified Wal-Mart’s CEO Lee Scott in a letter on September 13, 2006 alerting the
company to the problem and asking that it address and correct the situation on an immediate
basis. But the same product misrepresentations were again observed weeks later, throughout
October, at separate Wal-Mart stores in other states.
“This is disturbing and a serious problem,” Kastel said. “Organic farmers adopt and follow a
rigorous range of management practices, with audit trails, to ensure that the food they sell to
processors and retailers is organic and produced in accordance with federal organic regulations.
Consumers, who are paying premium prices in the marketplace for organic food, deserve to get
what they are paying for.”
Earlier this year, Wal-Mart announced a sweeping organic foods initiative and declared that they
would greatly increase the number of organic offerings for sale in their stores—at dramatically
lower prices than the competition. The move by the giant retailer has been under close scrutiny
from members of the organic community seeking to assess what impact Wal-Mart’s decision will
have on organic food and farming concerns.
A number of other organic food retailers throughout the country, including Whole Foods Markets
and many of the nations member-owned grocery cooperatives, have gone to the effort to become
certified organic in terms of the handling of their products and have invested heavily in staff
training to help them understand organic food production and sale concerns.
“Our management and our employees know what organic means,” said Lindy Bannister, General
Manager at The Wedge Cooperative in Minneapolis, Minnesota. “If Wal-Mart intends to get into
organics, they can’t be allowed to misidentify ‘natural’ foods as organic to unsuspecting
consumers.” The Wedge, the largest single store member-owned food cooperative in the nation,
was one of the first retailers to go through the USDA organic certification process.
“One can question whether Wal-Mart has the management and staff expertise necessary to fully
understand organics and the marketing requirements essential to selling organic food,” observed
Kastel. “At this point, it seems they are attracted by the profits generated from the booming organic
food sector but are not fully invested in organic integrity. Given their size, market power, and
market clout, this is very troubling.”
Cornucopia’s complaint asks the USDA to fully investigate the allegations of organic food
misrepresentation. The farm policy organization has indicated that they will share their evidence,
including photographs and notes, with the agency’s investigators. Fines of up to $10,000 per
violation for proven incidents of organic food misrepresentation are provided for in federal organic
regulations.
This past September, The Cornucopia Institute also accused Wal-Mart of cheapening the value of
the organic label by sourcing products from industrial-scale factory-farms and Third World
countries, such as China.
The Institute released a white paper, Wal-Mart Rolls Out Organic Products—Market Expansion or
Market Delusion?, that made the argument that Wal-Mart is poised to drive down the price of
organic food in the marketplace by inventing a “new” organic—food from corporate agribusiness,
factory-farms, and cheap imports of questionable quality.
Press Release: 11/14/06 The Cornucopia Institute
Source: The Cornucopia Institute
Group Asks USDA to Fully Investigate Organic Product Misrepresentation
For more information, contact: Mark Kastel, 608-625-2042
Cornucopia, WI: The Cornucopia Institute, the nation’s most aggressive organic farming watchdog,
has filed a formal legal complaint with the USDA asking them to investigate allegations of illegal
“organic” food distribution by Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. Cornucopia has documented cases of
nonorganic food products being sold as organic in Wal-Mart’s grocery departments.
“We first noticed that Wal-Mart was using in-store signage to misidentify conventional, nonorganic
food as organic in their upscale-market test store in Plano, Texas,” said Mark Kastel of The
Cornucopia Institute. Subsequently, Cornucopia staff visited a number of other Wal-Mart stores in
the Midwest and documented similar improprieties in both produce and dairy sections.
Cornucopia notified Wal-Mart’s CEO Lee Scott in a letter on September 13, 2006 alerting the
company to the problem and asking that it address and correct the situation on an immediate
basis. But the same product misrepresentations were again observed weeks later, throughout
October, at separate Wal-Mart stores in other states.
“This is disturbing and a serious problem,” Kastel said. “Organic farmers adopt and follow a
rigorous range of management practices, with audit trails, to ensure that the food they sell to
processors and retailers is organic and produced in accordance with federal organic regulations.
Consumers, who are paying premium prices in the marketplace for organic food, deserve to get
what they are paying for.”
Earlier this year, Wal-Mart announced a sweeping organic foods initiative and declared that they
would greatly increase the number of organic offerings for sale in their stores—at dramatically
lower prices than the competition. The move by the giant retailer has been under close scrutiny
from members of the organic community seeking to assess what impact Wal-Mart’s decision will
have on organic food and farming concerns.
A number of other organic food retailers throughout the country, including Whole Foods Markets
and many of the nations member-owned grocery cooperatives, have gone to the effort to become
certified organic in terms of the handling of their products and have invested heavily in staff
training to help them understand organic food production and sale concerns.
“Our management and our employees know what organic means,” said Lindy Bannister, General
Manager at The Wedge Cooperative in Minneapolis, Minnesota. “If Wal-Mart intends to get into
organics, they can’t be allowed to misidentify ‘natural’ foods as organic to unsuspecting
consumers.” The Wedge, the largest single store member-owned food cooperative in the nation,
was one of the first retailers to go through the USDA organic certification process.
“One can question whether Wal-Mart has the management and staff expertise necessary to fully
understand organics and the marketing requirements essential to selling organic food,” observed
Kastel. “At this point, it seems they are attracted by the profits generated from the booming organic
food sector but are not fully invested in organic integrity. Given their size, market power, and
market clout, this is very troubling.”
Cornucopia’s complaint asks the USDA to fully investigate the allegations of organic food
misrepresentation. The farm policy organization has indicated that they will share their evidence,
including photographs and notes, with the agency’s investigators. Fines of up to $10,000 per
violation for proven incidents of organic food misrepresentation are provided for in federal organic
regulations.
This past September, The Cornucopia Institute also accused Wal-Mart of cheapening the value of
the organic label by sourcing products from industrial-scale factory-farms and Third World
countries, such as China.
The Institute released a white paper, Wal-Mart Rolls Out Organic Products—Market Expansion or
Market Delusion?, that made the argument that Wal-Mart is poised to drive down the price of
organic food in the marketplace by inventing a “new” organic—food from corporate agribusiness,
factory-farms, and cheap imports of questionable quality.
Press Release: 11/14/06 The Cornucopia Institute