The OrganicGate Scandal
Frankencrop? Monsanto's alfalfa is genetically engineered.
Whole Foods has been nicknamed “Whole Paycheck” for years, given its perceived high prices on organic products. But it’s in danger of earning a new nickname, “Whole Traitor,” by the Organic Consumers Association (OCA) and others.
Whole Food Markets (WFM), Stonyfield Farms, and Organic Valley, three of the largest brands in the the natural foods sector, have joined forces to cut a deal with Monsanto, according to OCA. The rest of the organic industry is up in arms about it. That’s no surprise, given those folks view Monsanto on a par with the worst of the worst corporate citizens for behavior and ethics. Is Big Organic defecting from the organic movement to join forces with Big Ag?
At the source of the conflict is Medicago Sativa, known to you and me as common alfalfa. Monsanto’s version is no common crop. This is a genetically engineered (GE) wonder that works in concert with its favored pesticide, RoundUp. What’s the fuss about? Farmers and scientists alike are concerned about a GE perennial crop, particularly one tied to a pesticide that the Swedes have recently shown to double the cancer rate in both farm workers and nearby town folks.
OCA is leading a public cry of outrage, suggesting collusion at the CEO level among Stonyfield, WFM, and USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack, and the acceptance of “hush money.” The target? The largest clients of Big Organic, who are giants themselves and have valuable green halos from their own CSR efforts to protect. Brands like Wal-Mart, Kroger, Publix and Safeway.
Move over Wiki Leaks, the OrganicGate scandal is about to break.
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Is Forbes got so little to report on it has to resort to reporting n pending scandals with no supporting information. Where is the news here? First minor point :the GM alfalfa is sold not sold by Monsanto. I doubt that GM alfalfa will be sold for direct consumption by people -it will probably 99.9% by sold for animal feed. Is Scott james just a front for the organic industry that has been running an agenda of misinformation for decades getting more money from consumers for no health value.
To clarify some things I thought were obvious:
1. Monsanto does not sell alfalfa to the major brands you see in the grocery store. They sell the seed and pesticide to the farmers who supply those brands you see at the grocery store.
2. People don’t (usually) eat alfalfa. Livestock does. And then we eat the livestock themselves, as well as their milk products.
3. You will be a healthier person by eating an organic apple instead of a conventional/chemical apple. Organic products are more healthy for you.
In response to another comment. See in context »James, back up your claim that the organic companies you mentioned cut a deal with Monsanto.
Also, present evidence that OCA says anyone accepted “hush money.”
Either you didn’t read Ronnie Cummins article, or you read it verrry carefully in order to skew it.
Too bad. There *is* a juicy story just sitting here. But you missed it.
Thanks for the note, Barth. Here’s the companies’ public statements on Monsanto’s GE alfalfa creation:
1. Whole Foods
2. Stonyfield
3. Organic Valley
Granted, their level of influence is no where near Monsanto’s, but I was disappointed that their stances were to accept the USDA decision rather than change tactics in the fight against it. I was hoping to see them use their not-insignificant resources to move the market in the direction of a more pure organic standard.
The hush money reference is specifically about the OCA claim that WFM is contractually asking Monsanto to pay farmers for damages.
In response to another comment. See in context »[...] piece originally appeared on Forbes by Scott [...]
Mr. James,
The Organic Consumers Association article you refer to is nearly completely devoid of truth. No deal was cut between Organic Valley, Stonyfield, WFM and Monsanto. The leadership of Organic Valley, Stonyfield and Whole Foods continue to be 100% in favor of a complete ban on GMO alfalfa and have each taken significant steps – including funding legal challenges to the USDA – to force the USDA to prevent GMO alfalfa from entering the environment.
However, when in December the USDA indicated that a complete ban on GMO alfalfa was no longer a possible outcome, Organic Valley and the others went to work advocating for a set of strict rules that would serve to protect organic farmers and organic consumers from the threat of GMO contamination. Ronnie Cummins of the OCA apparently considers advocating for such restrictions a capitulation, but considering the ban was declared off the table by the USDA, we considered the move to be the most responsible thing to do on behalf of organic agriculture.
You say in your comment to Mr. Anderson above that you are disappointed we didn’t change tactics in order to achieve the 100% ban. Perhaps where our legal challenges, scientific evidence, hundreds of thousands of consumer voices, and the demonstrable threat GMO poses to organic agriculture wasn’t enough, if we would have only said the magic word, Sec. Vilsack would have seen the error of his ways? Poppycock. The USDA’s subsequent action to completely deregulate GMO alfalfa with no restrictions whatsoever proves such views to be little more than wishful thinking.
When we understood that the only options the USDA was open to embracing both included the planting of GMO alfalfa, we knew we had a responsibility to advocate for the most restrictive sets of regulations possible, and to have taken any other route at that juncture would have been a clear abdication of our responsibility to the our organic farmers and consumers.
But we’ll agree with you on one point, there is an OrganicGate scandal out there: by irresponsibly leveling false and misleading allegations at Organic Valley, Stonyfield and Whole Foods Market, Ronnie Cummins and the OCA have needlessly injured the organic movement in what appears to be a shameless attempt at self-promotion. We expect an apology from Mr. Cummins and the OCA, and we hope they will begin immediately mending the harm they have caused to the movement we’ve worked so hard to build.
Greg Brickl
Interactive Marketing Manager
Organic Valley
Good insight, Greg. Thank you.
May I ask if the pursuit of a “beyond organic” certification – ditching the USDA (and Monsanto) completely – is on your list of tactics? You have the farmer base and the needed capital to do so. I believe the marketplace would certainly reward you for it.
Otherwise will this not simply drive folks away from mass market brands like yours, towards local options like CSAs, and their own backyard?
In response to another comment. See in context »Thank you SCOTT JAMES for
your continued support to the organic
food protection for a better future for our kids.
from a concerned citizen of the USA and of the world, unfortunately it seems that these people Monsanto and their allies do not themselves have kids or family they care about and have no moral responsibility to the well being of humankind.
In response to another comment. See in context »Thanks for explaining the “hush money” reference.
To walk your readers through that one, OCA’s director Ronnie Cummins referred in his hit-piece to damages that might be paid to a GE-polluted organic farm as “hush money” (why he sees monetary damages as hush money, I have no freaking clue). Mr. James then reported in *this* article that OCA was claiming “hush money” was being accepted, presumably by Vilsack and these companies’ CEOs, by the way the sentence was written. The clarification is crucial, don’t y’all think?
One last thing: These companies did not “cut a deal with Monsanto” as you say in your article. You still need to provide proof of that claim.
Mr. James,
In point of fact, Round-Up contains an herbicide called glyphosate, it is not and does contain ant pesticides. The GE alfalfa is resistant to glyphosate which means that those growing the alfalfa can spray Round-Up and kill the weeds but not harm the alfalfa. Actually the most current human health concern are associated with polyethoxylated tallowamine (POEA) which is not an active ingredient but an adjuvant.