After criticism, Whole Foods defends food rating system
Organic farmers say produce criteria favor conventional growers.
Austin-based Whole Foods Market on Friday defended itself against criticism from a group of organic farmers who say the company’s new food-rating system is misleading and lessens the importance of the “organic” label.
In a statement and a blog posted Friday, the organic food giant said the compa- ny’s “Responsibly Grown” program was developed after three years of working with farmers of various sizes and was a move towards greater transparency.
“Recently, a small group of organic growers have raised some questions about our Responsibly Grown program,” Matt Rogers, associate global produce coordinator for Whole Foods Market, said in a written statement. “Using well-regarded scientific input, our Responsibly Grown rating system for produce was designed to address the most critical agricultural issues im- pacting human health and the environment today,”
“That said, we respect and acknowledge the concerns expressed by certain organic producers regarding Responsibly Grown. We are committed to dialogue to help provide clarity, ensure the facts are easily available, and evolve the program over time to make it the best it can be,” Rogers said.
His comments came after five organic food farmers wrote to Whole Foods co-CEO and co-founder John Mackey
over concerns the rating system could give unfair advantage to conventional growers, among other concerns, according to a New York Times story.
“Whole Foods has done so much to help educate consumers about the advantages of eating an organic diet. This new rating program undermines, to a great degree, that effort,” the five farmers wrote in a letter sent Thursday to Mackey, according to the Times.
Carol Ann Sayle, co-owner at Boggy Creek Farm in East Austin, said she wonders if the disconnect between some of the farmers and Whole Foods could come down to communication. Sayle’s farm sold to Whole Foods for more than 20 years until her farm lost several crops during the drought of 2011, she said.
The dispute could be related to “an interpretation in how you answer a question” for the rating system, Sayle said. “We had a great experience with (Whole Foods) for 21 years.”
Whole Foods is one of Austin’s highest-profile companies, with more than 2,500 employees in Central Texas who are part of an overall 90,000-member workforce for 421 stores worldwide. The company has been battling stronger competition and slowing sales growth in recent years, and has launched several recent efforts to fight back.
For example, Whole Foods on Thursday unveiled 365 by Whole Foods Market as the name of its new chain of smaller, value-driven stores that will launch next year.
The produce rating system, Responsibly Grown, was launched last October in the midst of several new initiatives for the grocer.
The rating system, which followed the retailer’s existing quality guides for seafood and other products, ranks produce on a “good,” “better” and “best” scale.
“We rate our seafood for sustainability, we rate our meat for animal welfare, and now we will be rating our produce for sustainability,” Mackey told the American-Statesman at the time. “We will be measuring ... quality (of the) soil, water, farmworkers, how they’re treated, pesticides usage and whether it’s any of the dirty dozen. We just believe in greater transparency, we think trans- parency is a virtue. We think customers have a right to know. We’ve been working on it for almost three years.”
Rogers on Friday said the program was created to be accessible to growers of all sizes, and he said it has had a positive impact.
“We’re very proud of the impact we’ve already seen across the industry, including eliminating use of our prohibited pesticides, halting the practice of burning trash and installing pollinator habitats,” Rogers said. “That said, we welcome feedback and questions as we continue to work to improve and evolve the program in collaboration with our suppliers, as well as celebrate the accomplishments that are already making a difference across the industry.”