With its voluntary GMO-labeling program that will be introduced in full by 2018, Whole Foods “will no doubt bolster its customer base by appealing to those opposed” to the biotech industry.
The labeling effort will be no small feat. Whole Foods must work with its suppliers of vegetables, meats, cheese, beer and wine, seafood and personal care products to “ensure their individual supply chains are void of GMOs.”
Whole Foods currently offers 4800 Non-GMO Project Verified products, but any other product that cannot be non-GMO verified will be labeled. “Whole Foods’s plan for labeling could unintentionally weed out loyal suppliers that do not offer non-GM products.” There will inevitably be some suppliers who cannot make the change to non-GM due to market conditions, which could lead to plummeting sales if “consumers shun the products in favor” of organically grown or non-GM products.
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Because the majority of food sold by Whole Foods is non-GM, there is “no reason why GMO-labeling will fail at its stores.” However, there is a “potential for a few strained relationships once labeling proliferates in 2018.”
Read the full, original story: 1 Unintended Consequence of GMO Labeling at Whole Foods Market
