Tell Whole Foods to Stop Selling Toxic GMO Potatoes!

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Petition

Stop Selling Toxic GMO Potatoes and Unlabeled GMOs

In 2013, Whole Foods Market announced that by 2018, all products in U.S. and Canada stores would be required to be labeled if they contain genetically modified organisms (GMOs). 

“We are putting a stake in the ground on GMO labeling to support the consumer’s right to know,” said Walter Robb, co-CEO of Whole Foods Market, in a 2013 press release. “The prevalence of GMOs in the U.S. paired with nonexistent mandatory labeling makes it very difficult for retailers to source non-GMO options and for consumers to choose non-GMO products. Accordingly, we are stepping up our support of certified organic agriculture, where GMOs are not allowed, and we are working together with our supplier partners to grow our non-GMO supply chain to ensure we can continue to provide these choices in the future.”

Then, when 2018 came around, Whole Foods Market, now owned by Amazon, dropped its commitment to consumers’ right to know about GMOs.

A new wave of toxic GMOs have been commercialized, and Whole Foods Market is doing nothing about it. 

Are the potatoes in Whole Foods’ produce section genetically modified organisms (GMOs)? According to the store’s website, they very well might be. Whole Foods Market is not labeling its GMO potatoes. The only “shopping tip” the store offers is to “Choose organic if concerned.”

As a Whole Foods shopper, this is very disturbing to me. Dr. Caius Rommens, the genetic engineer who worked for Monsanto before creating GMO potatoes for Simplot, just published a new book, Pandora’s Potatoes: The Worst GMOs.

Dr. Rommens says GMO potatoes are the worst GMOs because they are weak varieties and because they are likely to accumulate toxins that are absent in normal potatoes.

In his book, Dr. Rommens reveals that “none of my modifications improved potato’s vigor or yield potential. In contrast, most GMO varieties were stunted, chlorotic, mutated, or sterile, and many of them died quickly, like prematurely-born babies.”

The main selling point of the GMO potato is that is has been engineered to stay white. It doesn’t turn green, brown or black when bruised, cooked or infected with pathogens.

That’s great for anyone who wants to sell white mashed potatoes and unblemished french fries and potato chips. For the consumer, however, this means that these perfect-looking potato products could actually be secretly harboring toxins, pathogens or allergens that have been hidden by the genetic modification.

In fact, the genetically engineered trait that keeps the potato from turning green, brown or black actually increases certain toxins, including: 

Alpha-aminoadipate a known neurotoxin with links to a variety of diet-related diseases, including diabetes, Alzheimer’s, and cancer.
Tyramine, which can accumulate in the blood of sensitive populations and potentially cause high blood pressure, raising the risk of heart attack, stroke, kidney failure, and other problems.
Chaconine-malonyl, a derivative of glycoalkaloid toxins which can cause numerous health issues, including nausea, vomiting and neurological effects.

This is not a product that should be sold at Whole Foods Market. It definitely shouldn’t be sold unlabeled.

All GMOs present dangers. The vast majority of GMOs are harmful because they have been engineered to absorb Monsanto’s carcinogenic glyphosate-based Roundup weedkiller. There are also GMOs that produce their own genetically engineered insecticide.

Whole Foods shouldn’t sell the GMO potato or any other GMO.

brightly colored vegetables and produce at a farmers marketAre the potatoes in Whole Foods’ produce section genetically modified?

According to the store’s website, they very well might be—but you’d never know, because they aren’t labeled.

The only “shopping tip” that Whole Foods has for concerned consumers? “Choose organic if concerned.”

TAKE ACTION: Tell Whole Foods to stop selling toxic GMO potatoes!

After you sign our petition, please call Whole Foods customer service: 1-844-WFM-TALK (1-844-936-8255) and/or fill out this customer service form.

And don’t forget to post your comments on the WFM Facebook page.

In his new book, “Pandora’s Potatoes: The Worst GMOs,” Dr. Caius Rommens exposes the truth behind GMO potatoes. Rommens should know—he's the genetic engineer who worked for Monsanto before creating GMO potatoes for Simplot, the world’s leading multinational potato processor.

In an article for Independent Science News, Rommens reveals that “none of my modifications improved potato’s vigor or yield potential. In contrast, most GMO varieties were stunted, chlorotic, mutated or sterile, and many of them died quickly, like prematurely-born babies.”

The main selling point of the GMO potato? Its flesh stays white. It doesn’t turn green, brown or black when exposed to air or light, or when it’s bruised or diseased. The genetically engineered trait that prevents the potato’s natural discoloration was achieved by silencing its melanin gene.

Unfortunately, Rommens later learned that silencing the melanin gene produced a number of toxic side effects:

GMO Potato Toxin #1 - Alpha-aminoadipate: The first side toxic effect of the trait that prevents discoloration was “a massive increase in the levels of alpha-aminoadipate, also known as aminoadipic acid.” This alarmed Rommens because alpha-aminoadipate is a known neurotoxin with links to “a variety of diet-related diseases, including diabetes, Alzheimer’s, and cancer.”

GMO Potato Toxin #2 - Tyramine: The second toxic side effect of the trait that prevents discoloration is the accumulation of the abnormal amino acid tyramine in damaged potato tissues. According to Rommens, when a potato’s damaged tissues turn black they can be identified and trimmed off by processors. In the case of GMO potatoes, “the bruises don’t discolour and thus are not removed during processing. This means that consumers may eat bruised tissues and be exposed to tyramine.”

Most people can metabolize tyramine, but some people can’t. People who take monoamine-oxidase inhibitor (MAOI) antidepressants like fluoxetine, citalopram and sertraline are unable to metabolize tyramine. In these people, tyramine will accumulate in the blood and potentially cause high blood pressure, raising the risk of heart attack, stroke, kidney failure and other problems.

GMO Potato Toxin #3 - Chaconine-Malonyl: The third toxic side effect of the trait that prevents discoloration is an increase in the levels of chaconine-malonyl. “Little is known about this compound,” Rommens says, “but it is a derivative of glycoalkaloid toxins. These can cause numerous health issues, including nausea, vomiting and neurological effects.”

GMO Potato Toxin #4 - Pathogens: The fourth toxic side effect of the trait that prevents discoloration is “the concealment of various tuber infections. So consumers may eat potatoes that look perfectly healthy but actually contain fungal or bacterial pathogens. These pathogens often produce toxins and allergens.

In 2013, Whole Foods promised consumers that by the end of 2018, the retailer would require labels on all genetically modified foods, including on all foods containing GMO ingredients.

About midway through 2018, Whole Foods (now owned by Amazon) reneged on that promise.

Whole Foods shouldn’t sell any GMO potatoes—much less GMO potatoes that aren’t labeled.

TAKE ACTION: Tell Whole Foods to stop selling toxic GMO potatoes!

 

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