https://toxinfreeusa.org/whole-foods-market-sneaking-gmo-sweet-corn-onto-your-plate
Gone are the days when Whole Foods Market took a leadership role in the clean and healthy food arena.The company’s acquisition by Amazon ushered in a new era.
We’ve seen the disappearance of our favorite biodynamic brands and many organic foods.
The Whole Foods of old would have sold only organic or Non-GMO Project Verified fresh sweet corn. But this summer, if you head to Whole Foods’ produce department, that’s not what you’ll find.
Shockingly, the only choice in many Whole Foods stores is Bayer-Monsanto or Syngenta’s toxic GMO sweet corn. The White and Bi-Color Corn are stacked in bins, with husks still on, ready for your summer BBQ. But look more closely at the signs and you’ll see the fine print – “Bioengineered Food”, the USDA’s new term for GMOs.
“Whole Foods has led us to believe that the food they sell is healthy and clean. We let down our guard and shop in confidence without reading the fine print, willing to buy food priced at a premium. We’ve been duped,” said Pamm Larry, Director of Butte County Local Food Network and Board Member of Toxin Free USA.
An eagle-eyed supporter first spotted the GMO corn in Virginia. So far, we’ve confirmed it’s also being sold in Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, New Jersey, Virginia, Texas, Washington state and Washington DC. We also know it’s being grown in Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Virginia and Washington.
We’re talking corn that is genetically engineered (GE) to produce up to 3 insecticides. THE INSECTICIDES ARE IN EVERY CELL OF THE CORN AND CAN’T BE WASHED OFF. The corn is also genetically engineered to tolerate glyphosate or glufosinate-based herbicides, or both.
Let’s talk a little more about the built-in insecticide. The GMO pushers will jump up and down and tell you that the insecticides in the corn are a perfectly safe, naturally occurring soil bacteria – the same as an insecticidal soil bacteria used in organic farming called Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis).
But that’s far from the truth.
The insecticides are genetically engineered versions of Bt – not at all the same as the soil bacteria used in organic agriculture. And in organic agriculture, Bt is only used topically as needed. When it is used, it breaks down quickly in sunlight and washes off.
In a 2017 peer reviewed analysis, published in the journal Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering Reviews, the researchers concluded that references to any GE Bt toxins being “natural” are incorrect and scientifically unsupportable.
The amount of GE Bt ingested in a bite of GMO corn as compared to any natural Bt residue that might remain on organic corn is many thousands of times higher.
This insecticidal corn is designed to kill insects that bite into it. The insects’ stomachs rupture and they die. It has been linked to cell membrane death of digestive cells, causing leaky gut in laboratory animals, according to 2018 peer reviewed research published in the journal Food and Nutrition Sciences. Another 2018 peer reviewed study, published in the journal International Immunopharmacology, found that GE Bt is immunogenic, allergenic, and causes pre-cancerous intestinal changes. Even a Monsanto patent described the GE Bt as “super toxins.”
Multiple peer-reviewed studies have also linked GE Bt to harm to beneficial insects such as ladybirds, lacewings and parasitic wasps.
If the GE Bt insecticides weren’t enough to make you gag, there’s more.
GMO corn is sold as a “system”, at premium prices. Farmers purchase the seeds and the corresponding herbicide(s). Corn that has been genetically engineered to tolerate glyphosate and/or glufosinate is doused with those toxic chemicals during the growing season, killing all other plants except for the GMO corn. The herbicides are both absorbed into the crops and pollute the environment.
Let’s look at the potential health and environmental harms of the weedkillers.
Glyphosate is a well known herbicide that the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) classified as a probable human carcinogen in 2015. As of May, 2023, Monsanto has settled over 100,000 Roundup cancer lawsuits, paying out about $11 billion as of May 2022. There are still 45,000 lawsuits pending. Glyphosate is also linked to a lengthy list of other chronic health problems including kidney disease, liver damage, infertility, depression and more.
Glufosinate has been found to be both teratogenic (linked to DNA damage and birth defects) and neurotoxic (linked to autism) in peer reviewed studies.
Both chemicals are toxic to bystander or beneficial insects… butterflies, bees and other pollinators are detrimentally affected by the herbicides.
Studies show that industrial, GMO agricultural practices drive increased use of synthetic pesticides and other fossil fuel-based chemicals. These toxic chemicals are harmful to people, wildlife, the environment and contribute to climate change, biodiversity loss and water pollution. Synthetic pesticides also harm the organisms that live in the soil, disrupting soil ecosystems. Dead soil can’t sequester carbon and it doesn’t produce healthy food.
So clearly, there is nothing healthy or environmentally sustainable about GMO sweet corn!
Knowing all the facts, no one in their right mind should eat this toxic stuff. Not even Walmart is selling this GMO corn. The company should change its name to Whole GMO Foods.
And boycotting GMO sweet corn isn’t enough. Farmers are growing this junk across the U.S. East and South to supply Whole Foods, setting up a situation where non-GMO and organic sweet corn will undoubtedly become contaminated. We can’t allow this to happen.
Speak up and let Whole Foods know you aren’t having any of this.
Send an email to Whole Foods. No more GMO sweet corn!
Tell Whole Foods to pledge to never sell GMO sweet corn again.
We’ve made it quick and easy.
Edit the text to make it your own. TAKE ACTION HERE.
Then call Whole Foods corporate office customer service
and give them an earful: 1-844-936-8255.