National GMO Regulation OK with Whole Foods Market

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif.A top executive with Whole Foods Market has expressed support for a national requirement to label genetically-modified foods.

"We think ultimately it would be great if there was a federal standard," Whole Foods co-CEO Walter Robb said, as reported by Daily Ticker, a Yahoo! Finance blog.

That is not surprising since Whole Foods revealed in March it will require that all products in its Canadian and U.S. stores include labels by 2018 specifying whether the food contains GMOs (genetically modified organisms).

Last month, two federal lawmakers with the Democratic Party from the West Coast, Sen. Barbara Boxer of California and Rep. Peter DeFazio of Oregon, introduced legislation that would require labels for genetically-engineered whole and processed foods. If the legislation was passed by Congress, America would join 64 other countries that require the labeling of GMOs.

Some financial analysts have speculated that growing support for GMO labeling could benefit retailers like Whole Foods Market, whose thousands of organic products contribute to its annual sales ($11.7 billion) and appeal to a nation that is growing increasingly more health conscious.

Although several states also have introduced legislation to require GMO labeling, there is not unanimous consensus that such requirements are necessary. For instance, the editorial board of The New York Times recently noted FDA's position: namely that genetically-engineered foods present no greater safety concerns than foods that are grown through traditional methods.

"For now, there seems little reason to make labeling compulsory," the Times wrote in the March 14 editorial. "Consumers can already find products free of genetically engineered ingredients, with labels voluntarily placed by the manufacturers."

"For those who want to avoid such ingredients," the newspaper added, "the surest way is to buy products certified as 'organic' under federal standards. They contain no genetically engineered ingredients, or at most inadvertent trace amounts."