Wal-Mart plans huge move into organic food

[T_i_B]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,,1773941,00.html

Organic Rice Krispies, organic Frosted Mini Wheats and even organic Pepsi may define the future of American eating habits after Wal-Mart, the world's largest retailer, revealed plans for a huge expansion into pesticide-free foods.

The all-powerful supermarket chain argued that its shift would democratise organic food in the US, bringing it within reach of shoppers who could not afford to pay a 20% or 30% premium. But critics say the effect will be to force down organic standards, squeeze farmers' incomes, and undermine health benefits.

"Environmental sustainability ... will have huge impacts on the way things are made, farmed, packaged, transported, displayed and sold worldwide," the company's chief executive, Lee Scott, wrote recently. The chain has been stung by criticism of its record in social responsibility - notably in the documentary Wal-Mart: the High Cost of Low Price - and recently opened two stores partly powered by wind turbines and solar panels.

Its current move is more likely to have been motivated, however, by a recognition that organic food is now big business in the US. Though it accounts for only 2.4% of overall food sales, it has been growing at 15% a year or more, and is worth $14bn (£7.4bn).

[lvx35]

1. Well, well have to come up with a new name for it.

since all the organic walmart food will be GMOs. God I hate that. I bought an orange the other day and it was like spliced with grapefruit or something, the inside was pink. People buy organic because the other stuff tastes like ass.

[truthisfreedom]

2. wal-ganic.

'scuse me, i feel ill.

[tjwmason]

4. Really?

:puke:

Thank goodness all G.M.O. products over here (the U.K.) have to be labelled, and because of their massive unpopularity are rejected by the supermarkets.

It would just seem so contrary to have G.M.O. organic food.

[Maraya1969]

6. G.M.O. organic food is an oxymoron

[LeftyMom]

25. GMO stuff isn't labeled here

but it's so prevalent that non-organic soy, canola and corn can be safely assumed to be GMO.

[tjwmason]

5. Delete dupe.

.

[Bill McBlueState]

14. it was probably a different variety of orange

Citrus hybridizes readily. Read the wikipedia article; it's interesting. Apparently there were only three or four varieties of citrus fruit before human cultivation, none of which was the large, spherical orange that people in the US usually buy.

So my question is, at what point in human history did cross-breeding of different citrus species become "genetic modification" instead of plain old "farming"? Should good people everywhere reject hybrids created after that point?

[donsu]

17. cross-breeding is not genetic modification

they are two different things

[Bill McBlueState]

20. it sounds like

the scenario in the post I was responding to is an example of the former rather than the latter.

[kineneb]

18. on citrus

I was at the UC citrus research station several years ago. Man, there are some strange varieties out there, many of which are not sold in normal US markets. There are a number of specialty citrus fruits that are extremely popular in eastern Asia, including the bizarre Buddha's Hand, and others. Our modern oranges are hybrids, developed for sweetness and juice content. Wild oranges are really bitter.

They had an ancient rootstock tree there...it had more thorns than a many a cactus...really nasty, spikey-looking tree, almost spooky.

[SoCalDem]

27. The oranges I grew up with were green, even when ripe.

they were lumpy, and not a bit symmetrical, but the juice dripped from your elbows when you ate one.. (and it was impossible to just eat ONE).. They were a pain to get, because it meant climbing the tree..not the little dwarfy ones here in the US....The limes were gotten only after climbing out onto flimsy branches...loaded with thorns..:scared:

[ariesgem]

43. We had a 8 fruit trees in our backyard

(most people in So. Cal that I know have at least one) and one of our lemon trees cross-bred with our neighbors tangerine tree which he let grow over our fence. The lemons had an orangy center. YUK!

Another one of our trees (a grapefruit) bred with another lemon tree that we had on the side of our house and the lemons grew to be the size of grapefruits. Those weren't too bad.

[lvx35]

33. I think when the scorpions get involved :)

I mean I hear yah, but some of the gene crossovers just seem freaky. I remember hearing something about scorpion poison producing genes being combined with bacteria and sprayed on fruit to kill insects, and other crossovers involving animal gene strands with fruit and vegetables...Now if you can get that baboon and that watermelon to mate naturally, I might consider eating that baboomelon, but until then...
;)

[politicat]

54. Citrus can cross or be grafted without genetic modification

We used to get some cultivar mixes of grapefruit, orange, lemon and tangerine at the farmer's market in Arizona. All navels come from a single group of grafts from a 19th century mutation. The pink oranges are a cultivar of navels and blood oranges, IIRC.

It's not the worrisome type of GM to selectively breed fruit for certain traits. We've done it for centuries. It's when we start mixing up genes from totally unrelated species (like fish and tomatoes) that I get concerned.

My concern with Wal-ganic is that it will be industrial processed "organic", which is just as energy intensive, monocultural and land-damaging as industrial farming, but is effectively a marketing label. The only truly safe, sustainable food is locally grown, unprocessed food. Organic high fructose corn syrup is still going to be bad for people, because it's the fructose, not the pesticide residues, that cause blood sugar spikes. I don't know how anyone can get away with an organic TV dinner, but there are a lot of them out there.

[laylah]

3. I am sure their

"organic" foods will be as organic as the goods made in Taiwan, Pakistan, other places, are made in "America"...well, at least the labels were/are.

Jenn

[tsuki]

37. Any organic food from Taiwan, Pakistan and other place must

bear a fairtradecertified.org and organic (like QAI) notation on the package. But the best organics come from my garden.

[formercia]

50. Grow your own

I do and it tastes and keeps better than store bought produce. Just think how much fuel is used trucking veggies from the West Coast to the East.

[formercia]

52. Where 'organic' means using night soil instead of fertilizer. n/t

[laheina]

45. Right! You couldn't pay me to buy from Walmart,

but *organic* from Walmart?! Hell no! There's no way that I could trust them to keep their word on something like that.

[formercia]

51. New government regulations regarding 'organic'. n/t

[Maraya1969]

7. organic Pepsi? "We don't use any pesticides in our chemicals'?

[0007]

11. We use real sugar in our Frosted Mini Wheats and even Pepsi

[jmowreader]

49. And you would complain about this why?

The current versions of Frosted Mini Wheats and Pepsi contain High Fructose Corn Syrup, not sugar. (Or, in the case of the cereal, not JUST sugar.)

Pepsi with genuine sugar in it sounds like an improvement to me.

[Divernan]

8. There's push for legislation to dilute the definition of "organic"-

And doubtless Walmart's lobbyists will be throwing big $$$ into that effort.

[Robeson]

23. Good catch. Hope everyone signs this petition...

... to try and stop this corporate inspired legislation... http://www.organicconsumers.org/sos.cfm

[bliss_eternal]

9. They are completely and utterly full of shit...

...and they obviously have no understanding of what "organic" means. The day I buy anything "organic" at Walmart will be the day the monkies fly out of my ass. :eyes: Labelling something "organic" doesn't make it so...

[marmar]

10. Agreed...

Because monkeys flying out of the ass sounds to painful to bear. :)

[leftchick]

12. Anyone who takes organic food seriously

won't go anywhere near this corporate crap.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

35. Exactly...A large part of the appeal of organic food for me

is the fact that I'm NOT giving my money to those assholes!

[Soloflecks]

13. Corporate ownership of organics

Non-Corporate Shopper's Food Guide
Who Owns Who

http://www.organicconsumers.org/organic/corporate_organic.cfm

http://dominionpaper.ca/environment/2005/11/24/mcorganic.html

http://www.peacecouncil.net/pnl/03/718/718CorporateTakeover.htm

[laheina]

46. Great Links.

Thanks. :hi:

[Bill McBlueState]

15. and there will probably be a huge contingent of suckers

And there will probably be a huge contingent of suckers ready to buy it all up. "Organic" has been and will continue to be a way to get people with disposable income to spend five dollars for a pound of tomatoes.

I understand the value of local produce and less-processed food, but "organic" is just a vague feel-good word.

[PaulaFarrell]

22. Organic certification is regulated

It's not vague. I know in the US the standards have been weakened, but it still has a specific meaning. For example, you get much less chemical residue in your food. You don't get bovine growth hormone in your milk. Animals are not routinely treated with antibiotics. Agricultiural workers do not get poisoned bu chemical exposure.

As far as the environment goes, organic farms support a higher biodiversity, rivers etc don't get eutrophied from the runoff from fertiliser, top soil is retained better. In theory, animals are treated much more humanely, although I guess this depends on the certifying organisation. It is much more than a 'feelgood' word.

[LeftyMom]

28. Orginic certification in animal farming

doesn't indicate better treatment or more humane slaughter, it primarily indicates feedstuffs that meet organic standards and limitations on routine use of medications.

[PaulaFarrell]

29. Dont know the US standards

IN the UK, Soil Association standards ensure that livestock is humanely-raised, i.e. chickens must be free-range, no sow crates etc. It depends on the certifying body I guess, because there is no international standard.

[politicat]

55. ergh... depending on process.

Industrial cultivated organic lettuce is never hit with fertilizers and pesticides, but it's still a monoculture with all of the problems of monoculture. There's still something like 30 calories of oil used for every calorie of lettuce. And they still use questionable labor practices.

Organic strawberries still have the runoff problems that traditional ones have (strawberry hills are prone to erosion) and still require huge amounts of hand labor, meaning they use a lot of undocumented workers.

Organic monoculture corn and soybeans have to have twice as much plowing and cultivation as do industrial monocultures, yields are lower and there are no price supports for organic corn. The bushel price paid is higher, but most of it gets processed into the thousands of fractions anyway, so the farmer never sees 92% of the dollar that the consumer spends on corn products.

Beyond-organic or natural farming is another matter, but Earthbound Organics and Linda McCartney's stuff isn't beyond-organic or natural farmed.

[donsu]

16. guess the rumors are true that organic food has been invaded by

food barons.

can we continue to trust organic foods if the food baron's hands touch it? I'm serious.

[kineneb]

19. know your food, buy from local growers! n/t

[T_i_B]

36. That's the ideal situation yes

I would agree that decent local produce is best, and that Farmer's markets and Farm shops are wonderful things. The trouble is this; it's not always convinent to buy local produce, Wal-Mart might be all some people have nearby, just as Tesco's dominate food retailing in the UK.

It's all very well and good for me at the moment as there are a few good butcher's and greengrocers in the town I've just moved to but before that, I was living in a town where there was very little outside of Tesco's for food shopping! In that situation people are of course going to have to resort to Tesco's (and Tesco's do have an organic range on their shelve to be fair).

Price is a concern here too! The local organic supermarket near where I live has some wonderful produce, but the prices are way to expensive, and that in turn puts a heck of a lot of people off organic food when they can buy perfectly satisfactory food for half the price.

So to tell you the truth, we still have some way to go food-wise.

[LeftyMom]

26. Not a rumor at all.

Check out the ornership chart for big organic food companies at the link:

http://www.certifiedorganic.bc.ca/rcbtoa/services/corporate-ownership.html

[conflictgirl]

31. Definitely not a rumor...

Many people who are really concerned about getting true organic food do not trust it if the food baron's hands touch it. For example when Dean Foods bought out Horizon Organic, one of the first things they did was send out press releases saying organic didn't really matter - and lobbied for weaker organic standards.

There's a lot more information on the issue at http://www.organicconsumers.org

Not affiliated with them in any way, just a concerned consumer and someone who makes their living writing about organic food issues.

[cliss]

21. This is a strange article.

It reveals a certain level of desperation on Wal-Mart's part. I know their revenues have been declining. Their reputation is awful. Richly deserved, by the way.

So they probably have financial analysts who sit and try to come up with new ideas to make even more money.

Organic gardening is about sustainability. Being in harmony with nature, with the soil. Using natural pesticides rather than harmful chemicals.

It's everything Wal-Mart isn't.

[0rganism]

24. Wal-Mart's organic pablum is a lagging indicator

The market for organic food is already strong and big agro knows it will only increase the more they meddle with nature and force their poisons into the ecosystem. Diluting the FDA organic standard and invalidating state-regulated labeling were only two of the predictable responses to demand for nutritious and enviro-friendly foods. If anything, Wal-Mart is addressing the demand only in light of the recent legislative perversions of the word "organic". Their "democratization" of organic food has everything to do with a rapidly-tarnishing corporate image and jack shit to do with any actual urge to behave in an ecologically-responsible manner.

[stepnw1f]

30. the Cancer in our Economy is Metasticizing

could we break-up Walmart?

[eppur_se_muova]

32. Good for them. I still won't shop there. nt

[CornField]

34. What a crock...

Organic Rice Krispies, organic Frosted Mini Wheats and even organic Pepsi ....

Uhmmm... how about some 'real' food? :eyes:

I highly doubt Wal-Mart's average consumer is willing to pay and/or can pay the additional costs of organic merchandise.

(Still can't wrap my mind around an article on organics starting off with rice krispies, frosted mini wheats and pepsi... )

[diamidue]

41. frosted mini wheat

"Uhmmm... how about some 'real' food?"

My thoughts exactly. Processed, nutritionally-worthless, food "products" are NOT real food - organic or otherwise. And no doubt whatever produce they sell will be the cheapest available "organic" produce they can find. WalMart seems to be trying to tap a more upscale market - trying to woo them with the addition of things like wine and sushi in some stores. It's laughable. But unfortunately I can see some parents buying "organic" frosted mini wheat thinking they are doing something healthy for their family.

[gollygee]

38. Pepsi is organic. War is peace.

The Department of Homeland Security keeps us safe.

[JPace]

39. Dr. Mercola has vowed to monitor the quality of their food

http://www.mercola.com/blog
Wal-Mart Will be The Largest Seller of Organic Food, Driving Prices Down: Is This a Good Thing?

"While, at first glance, this sounds like a good, no actually great announcement, many experts like Marion Nestle and the head of the Organic Consumers Industry are concerned Wal-Mart will become a highly negative force for the organic food movement.

Because Wal-Mart has a major history of abusive practices, their entry into the organic food market may activate market forces that could devastate small organic farmers.

This will be especially true if they start outsourcing food from China where organic enforcement standards are close to non-existent. Now, it is not that I am opposed to selling Chinese goods (that's why we're able to have such low prices on many of the products we offer on our site).

But there is a major difference between light bulbs and organic food. With manufactured goods, it is very easy to check the quality. On organic foods, however, this is much more difficult to do.

This really concerns me. So much so, today I am making a commitment to have my private research organization, the Mercola Foundation, purchase a wide variety of organic produce from Wal-Mart, when they are available, to check the level of pesticides and the amount of nutrients in the organic foods they are selling.

So, congratulations Wal-Mart for responding to the pressure that we helped create. I applaud your move. But if you even think of using the evil tactics you have consistently demonstrated in the past that are so brilliantly documented in the movie expose Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price, I will do everything in my power to publicize your fraud."
more.............http://www.mercola.com/blog

[FooFootheSnoo]

40. I don't know much about organic standards

But, I do know that organic produce and meat has got to be kept out of contact with the regular stuff. I used to work at a Publix and the produce manager was very strict about that. However, at WalMart, I notice they are not nearly as strict. The organic stuff is mixed with the regular.
Personally, I think the people that can afford to buy a lot of organic stuff are not going to be shopping for their food at WalMart. The quality of their produce and meat is very low.

[whatelseisnew]

42. Information about organic standards here

It appears that some people don't understand the organic certification process. One of the objectives in establishing the NOP was to establish national organic standards and regulate the labeling processs. It isn't up to the certifier to establish the standards.

Certified organic products must carry the USDA label and cite the agency that certifies it on the label.

USDA Label:



US STANDARDS: The USDA National Organic Program: http://www.ams.usda.gov/nop/indexIE.htm

And there are international standards. A certifying agency can be ISO 65 acredited. International Organization for Standardization: http://www.iso.org/iso/en/aboutiso/introduction/index.html

[T_i_B]

44. Many thanks whatelseisnew!

:yourock:

Mind you, whilst it is true that DUer's could do with learning about what organic food actually is, you could equally argue that ALL consumers need to learn about what organic food is.

[whatelseisnew]

48. Agreed & thanks for the appreciation n/t

[Canuckistanian]

47. Hmm, "Wal-Mart" and "organic food"

Somehow, I don't think these two belong together.

I smell a very big rat.

[formercia]

53. 'Organic' Soylent Green coming to your nearest Wallyworld soon. n/t