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Grocery Briefs: June 2013

May 17, 2013

Natural Food Certifiers, Spring Valley, NY, said its “Apple K” Kosher certification program will not accept GMOs in the products it certifies. Rudi’s Organic Bakery, Boulder, CO, expanded its Boulder bakery. The expansion will allow the company to increase production by moving its baking to an exclusive gluten-free production...

Supreme Court Sides with Monsanto in GMO Seed Case

May 17, 2013

Tim Person

Washington, D.C.—In the case of Bowman v. Monsanto, the Supreme Court has ruled that farmers cannot legally save patented genetically modified seeds for replanting. Monsanto had sued Indiana farmer Vernon Bowman for replanting pesticide-resistant Roundup Ready soybeans, and he now owes $84,456 in damages. The ruling came down to the...

Washington to Consider Federal GMO Labeling Bill

April 26, 2013

WholeFoods Magazine Staff

On April 24, the “Genetically Engineered Food Right-to-Know Act” was introduced in congress with bipartisan support. If passed, it would require all food products containing genetically engineered ingredients to be labeled as such in the United States. The bill’s main sponsors are Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and Congressman Peter DeFazio...

Local Food Support Bill Reintroduced in Congress

April 24, 2013

WholeFoods Magazine Staff

Washington, D.C.—Rep. Chellie Pingree (D-Maine) has brought back the Local Farms, Food, and Jobs Act, a bill which would help support farmers, increase access to healthy foods for consumers, and provide funding to programs that support local agriculture. Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) has introduced in the Senate companion legislation to...

“Biotech Rider” Has Early Impact

April 23, 2013

WholeFoods Magazine Staff

Washington, D.C.—When President Obama signed the latest budget appropriations bill at the end of March, ensuring that the government would be funded through the end of fiscal year 2013, section 735 of that bill became law. Many sought to stop this 22-line provision, dubbed the “biotech rider” by opponents, on...

Grocery Briefs: May 2013

April 22, 2013

WholeFoods Magazine Staff

Oakland, CA-based Numi Organic Tea introduced a new version of its Fair Labor Practices (FLP) program. It is a proprietary product and supply chain verification program that uses a continuous improvement model to improve labor and work-place conditions. The FLP program can be applied to any agricultural supply chain,...

Grocery Briefs: April 2013

March 26, 2013

WholeFoods Magazine Staff

Private equity firm 3G Capital and Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway will buy ketchup and baby food maker H.J. Heinz Co. for $23.2 billion in cash. Heinz stock, in addition to those of other food giants like General Mills and Campbell Soup, rose on the news. Chobani Greek Yogurt launched...

Industrial Hemp on the Docket Nationally, at State Level

March 1, 2013

WholeFoods Magazine Staff

Washington, D.C.—A bill was introduced to legalize the production of industrial hemp in the United States by a group of Senators in February. The Industrial Hemp Farming Act of 2013 would remove the federal restriction on the domestication of industrial hemp; meanwhile, Kentucky lawmakers sought to set up a licensing...

Mediterranean Diet Reduces Heart Disease Risk in Study

March 1, 2013

WholeFoods Magazine Staff

Spain—It’s time to emphasize all of the olive oil and nut products you have on your shelves. The heart health benefits of these foods, staples of the Mediterranean diet, were on display in a major study published in the New England Journal of Medicine. The Mediterranean diet supplemented with extra-virgin...

GMO Update: State of Washington Weighs Labeling Initiative

March 1, 2013

WholeFoods Magazine Staff

A public hearing, held in February in Olympia, WA, saw a debate over the merits of Initiative 522, which would label all food containing genetically modified organisms (GMOs) sold in that state. Legislators were reportedly treated to spirited back and forth: Proponents of the initiative argue that labeling GMOs allows...