Whole Foods........... Made In China

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[Post New]05/23/2008 10:25
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:Your question about why organice is more expensive makes me ask... why is whole milk more expensive than 2% or skim? You don't remove anything with whole milk, right, so I would think it would be easier to package.


volume.
[Post New]05/23/2008 10:25
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:Your question about why organice is more expensive makes me ask... why is whole milk more expensive than 2% or skim? You don't remove anything with whole milk, right, so I would think it would be easier to package.


When milk is processed, the cream (which is the more valuable part, ounce-for-ounce) can be sold separately for more money, or made into butter and cheese, and then sold at a higher price. If you're selling milk whole, you need to compensate for the price you could sell the cream/ fat for.
[Post New]05/23/2008 10:39
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:Don't buy the frozen spinach under the 365 brand - made in China. We noticed when they were selling it at the same time that a child died after eating spinach that was grown in China.



Weren't there some deaths from ecoli last year in the states with spinach grown in the US? There was a major recall of ALL spinach.
[Post New]05/23/2008 10:46
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:Stay tuned....I am going to put together in the next few months a comprehensive one-stop website to tap into the local farms for all kinds of local food resources from meat, to veggies, to honey, to local grain. There is a lot that this region has to offer, it's just difficult to find unless you travel in circles of "locavists". I would love to take away some market share from these large corporations and put it into known honest responsible local farmers


I would love to have a resource like this. Do you have an email list of people to be notified when the site goes live?
[Post New]05/23/2008 11:41
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Don't buy the frozen spinach under the 365 brand - made in China. We noticed when they were selling it at the same time that a child died after eating spinach that was grown in China.



Weren't there some deaths from ecoli last year in the states with spinach grown in the US? There was a major recall of ALL spinach.


Yes it was grown out in Cali, next to a cattle ranch. The irrigation lines were contaminated with animal waste from the ranch next door.
[Post New]05/23/2008 14:22
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Don't buy the frozen spinach under the 365 brand - made in China. We noticed when they were selling it at the same time that a child died after eating spinach that was grown in China.



Weren't there some deaths from ecoli last year in the states with spinach grown in the US? There was a major recall of ALL spinach.


Yes it was grown out in Cali, next to a cattle ranch. The irrigation lines were contaminated with animal waste from the ranch next door.


But they recalled ALL spinach, even the ones grown on farms in Maryland. It was such a waste and loss for the farmers.
[Post New]05/23/2008 14:24
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Don't buy the frozen spinach under the 365 brand - made in China. We noticed when they were selling it at the same time that a child died after eating spinach that was grown in China.



Weren't there some deaths from ecoli last year in the states with spinach grown in the US? There was a major recall of ALL spinach.


Yes it was grown out in Cali, next to a cattle ranch. The irrigation lines were contaminated with animal waste from the ranch next door.


But they recalled ALL spinach, even the ones grown on farms in Maryland. It was such a waste and loss for the farmers.


They recalled it all, because they didn't know the source.
[Post New]05/23/2008 15:13
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Follow up to the previous post: the organic foods movement could actually have a negative long-term impact on the environment. As we require more and more land to grow foods without the fertilizers that increase yield, and the pesticides that protect the crop, we'll be cutting down more forests and "reclaiming" more wetland for farming purposes. Of course, less agricultural runoff is a good thing for the planet's water supplies, but everything comes at a price.



The real threat to the environment is corn and soy. Both are in eveything processed and fake. Corn being used in cars can really end up with tragic concequences.

I am a HUGE fan of eating local. I have only stepped foot in a whole foods a handful of times and it was to get some hard to find cheese. Eating local and keeping money in the local economy is the way to go!!!

Stay tuned....I am going to put together in the next few months a comprehensive one-stop website to tap into the local farms for all kinds of local food resources from meat, to veggies, to honey, to local grain. There is a lot that this region has to offer, it's just difficult to find unless you travel in circles of "locavists". I would love to take away some market share from these large corporations and put it into known honest responsible local farmers


I'll be interested in your information about local farms. However, I have a couple of questions about the "eat local" movement. Does that mean no fresh fruit and vegetables all winter? Second, the way our population is distributed in this country does not lend itself to many people eating locally. I just don't think the East Coast could be fed by East Coast farms. I'm really not trying to be a nay-sayer and I suppose if some of us eat locally, that's good. Heck it's sure to be yummy. B as far as the bigger picture, what's the end goal?
[Post New]05/23/2008 15:48
Anonymous
I am also on the fence about this, and if you have the time, I suggest reading Barbara Kingsolver's Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, in which she chronicles her family's efforts to eat local (and largely homegrown/raised) food for a year. I could never do what she did, but she's convinced me that even small steps in this direction--having 10% of your intake be local--could make a big difference if implemented by enough people. (Only halfway through the book, so can't say more than that.)
[Post New]05/23/2008 21:09
Anonymous
I would also be interested in learning more about "eat local" resources.

Also, as a former California girl, I miss my fresh & tasty CA fruits and veggies. I do like the ideal of buying local, but then I'd never get to eat the wide variety of fruits I'm used to.
[Post New]05/23/2008 21:37
Anonymous
Hey, I was just inspired to go to the freezer and check the back of my Trader Joe's Organic Frozen Strawberries.

Product of Turkey. Distributed by Quality Assurance Int'l.

Anyway, it's one thing to eat local when you live in Northern California. It's quite another when you live in Northern Minnesota. Lutefisk, and no peaches.
[Post New]05/24/2008 00:10
Anonymous
Whole milk is more expensive because there's nothing removed that can be resold as some other product - like butter or cream.

Whole foods is interested in making money (which is a fine business model). Whole foods couldn't care less about the planet. Thus, they are happy with customers who care that their own children eat organic, but who don't care about anyone else's children or the environment.

And, the CEO is insane!!! Read his blog.
[Post New]05/24/2008 01:16
Organicmania
Member Offline
I've known about the frozen produce being from China as it is marked on the label. What I didn't know is this concern raised by WJLA that the organic inspector (QAI) has subcontracted the inspection job or not actually inspected it themselves. There is a letter on the WJLA website from QAI but it is not opening up so I can't read it.

WF response to these concerns is disappointing. This is very bad public relations. A high ranking official should have appeared on camera to reassure their customers and address concerns directly.

Instead, all I can find from them is a comment from their organics inspector...I've copied it below...
Hi Everyone,

I’m Joe Dickson, Organic Certification Coordinator for Whole Foods Market. I read last night’s news script with disbelief and disappointment as it is totally misleading. To help clarify, I have taken the time to address the various claims made in the news segment to offer clarification and our point of view. Visit http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/wjla.html to see points inserted into the script of the story. A few points we address are:

-Organic products from China are absolutely certified organic to the exact same standard as domestic products.

-Since 2002, the USDA’s National Organic Standards have governed exactly what can be sold as organic in the US – how it’s grown, processed and handled - regardless of where in the world it’s grown, INCLUDING China. Organic integrity is ensured every step of the way.

-We routinely visit farms supplying our products all over the world. Here are some standards we apply to the organic farms and facilities we work with in China:

---Organic certification to the USDA organic standard by USDA-accredited certifiers

---Food safety audits by accredited companies using internationally recognized standards

---Targeted social accountability assessments using world class auditing agencies

---Supplementary verification to validate the aspects above

---Random testing of finished product for safety and organic integrity, including tests for environmental contaminants such as heavy metals and pesticides.

-Whole Foods Market is a pioneer in promoting and selling natural and organic foods and we have done more in our history as a company to promote and build organics than any other retailer.

-Of the thousands of private label products we offer, a very small percentage are from China. And even though it is not currently required, we label the country of origin on each of these products.

Thanks,
Joe Dickson
Organic Certification Coordinator
Whole Foods Market




[Post New]05/24/2008 04:30
Anonymous
Uh, I don't think he GETS IT. Importing food from China completely erases any benefit from having the food be organic! It is ridiculous and very stupid on their part to think there is anything great about organic food that is shipped from the other side of the planet.
[Post New]05/24/2008 07:32
Anonymous
To be fair, while you may care about the environmental benefits of organic food, I'm sure that many of WF customers are primarily interested in its chemical-free status.
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