Whole Foods Announces Produce Ranking System

17/10/2014
The natural food chain introduces a cutting-edge ranking system for fruit, veggies, and flowers.
Whole Foods announced a produce rating system this week, a move that will allow shoppers to choose from fruits, veggies, and even flowers with "good," "better," and "best" labels.
The new Responsibly Grown program's ranking system assesses growing practices that impact human health and the environment. For instance, it prohibits some of the worst neurotoxic farming chemicals still allowed in farming. The program has been launched with ratings for hundreds of produce items, more than 50 percent of the chain's produce nationwide. The company said the goal is to reach 100 percent of the fruits, vegetables, and flowers in its stores, so that, over time, all have a "good," "better," or "best" rating.
"Once again, Whole Foods is setting the standard—and the pace—among major American food retailers for environmentally responsible food production," Ken Cook, Environmental Working Group's president and cofounder, said in a statement. "This is very good news for produce lovers—especially moms and dads concerned about pesticides on fruit and vegetables."

He said of special significance are the new standards for pesticides. "The long-standing line among most American produce retailers amounts to 'our produce meets government pesticide standards,'" he said. "Instead, Whole Foods is saying, in essence, 'government pesticide standards are not good enough for our customers—not good enough for their health and not good enough for the environment that they want to protect through responsible shopping.'"
In fact, Joe Dobrow, author of Natural Prophets, argues that pioneering natural food companies like Whole Foods have been largely behind the huge shift we're seeing in the food system today. "If indeed we are now living in a changed world—one in which mission-driven values, corporate social responsibility, transparency, and authenticity have gone from being marketing gimmicks to requirements—then, in my view, we have natural foods companies like Whole Foods, Stonyfield Farm, Organic Valley, Earthbound Farm, and Honest Tea to thank," he wrote.
Some of the pesticides banned in the program include several organophosphate insecticides shown to cause brain damage in children. While choosing organic is the easiest way to avoid these types of chemicals, this program will help shoppers of nonorganic produce to make smarter choices. (Although it should still be noted that these produce items could still harbor harmful pesticide residues; this program doesn't ban all chemical pesticides the way organic certification does.)
"After three years of research and planning, Responsibly Grown is the result of our collaboration with suppliers, scientists, and issue experts to continue our strong commitment to organic while embracing additional important topics and growing practices in agriculture today," says Matt Rogers, global produce coordinator at Whole Foods Market. "We are excited to broaden the conversation to recognize additional growing practices and drive more transparency in the industry."
Here's what the new labels mean:
Good
A farm must take 16 steps to protect air, water, soil, and human health to earn this rating. This requirement helps clean up imports, too, since growers in other countries selling foods to Whole Foods cannot use pesticides that are banned for use in the U.S.
To receive a "good" label, growers cannot use human sewage sludge to grow food or irradiate foods during processing, and they must commit to GMO transparency. "I applaud the courage and conviction of Whole Foods Market, and its growers and suppliers, for taking decisive action on more than a dozen high-risk pesticides. The next generation of Americans will be the primary beneficiaries of this bold step," says Charles Benbrook, PhD, research professor and program leader for the Center for Sustainable Agriculture at Washington State University.
Better
A grower must show advanced performance in the rating system (categories shown below).

Best
A grower must show exceptional, industry-leading performance in the scoring system that includes the following categories:

• Pest management, including using beneficial insects to control pests

• Farmworker welfare, including providing protective equipment for workers

• Water conservation and protection, including use more efficient irrigation practices

• Enhancing soil health, including using compost and planting cover crops

• Ecosystems and biodiversity, including planting wildflowers to restore natural bee habitat for pollinator protection

• Waste reduction, including recycling plastics used in the field

• Air, energy, and climate, including things like using solar panels for energy.

"Being truly sustainable means more than just not using harmful chemicals. Energy conservation is a big focus for us, so we installed solar panels on the packing house at our Pennsylvania farm, which accounts for 20 percent of energy consumption on the farm," says Tom Beddard, founder and grower at Lady Moon Farms, which has a "best" rating for its vegetables. "We incorporate many different practices with a promise to put more into the soil than we take out, ensuring more fertile farms and making the earth a safer place for all of us. We're proud to share these practices with Whole Foods Market shoppers through Responsibly Grown."
Bee Considerations
Whole Foods is also taking steps to protect pollinators from destructive neonicotinoid insecticides, commonly used as seed coatings. Scientists from Harvard and other institutions have shown these directly contribute to massive bee die offs known as colony collapse disorder. To garner the "best" produce ranking, growers are barred from using four of the most common neonicotinoids used in the U.S.
"As a result of this program, we are already hearing from fruit and vegetable farmers who are creating wildflower-rich habitat for bees and working to reduce or eliminate pesticides on farms from New Jersey to Iowa to California," says Eric Mader, assistant pollinator program director for The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation. "This type of action is the first and most important step in reversing the ongoing decline of bees, butterflies, and other pollinators."
Nonprofit Friends of the Earth commends the move, but urges the natural foods chain to go a step further: "Friends of the Earth applauds Whole Foods for taking steps in the right direction to protect our environment, farmers and food supply by restricting highly toxic pesticides," Tiffany Finck-Haynes, food futures campaigner at Friends of the Earth, said in a statement. "But in order to help solve the bee crisis, we urge Whole Foods and retailers across the country to prohibit all systemic bee-harming pesticides for agricultural use—including seed treatments—and cosmetic use to protect pollinators and the planet."

Fonte:http://www.rodalenews.com/whole-foods-produce-ranking

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