Are Health Food brands revealing the actual ingredients and companies who own them? Is there truth in labeling in the health food industry? Recently, several ‘natural’ brands have been changing the content, label and container for some products while others are altering flavor, color or texture. Cascadian Farms ‘Only O’s’ (originally meaning nothing else but oats) recently listed ‘sugar’ as an ingredient. The Whole Foods 365 brand organic large eggs are the same size as the extra large. The romaine lettuce from Earthbound Farms never rots after weeks in the refrigerator. Brown Cow yogurt was packaged in an 8-ounce container and is now 6 ounces at the same price. The Rice Dream milk makes the roof of my mouth burn. A three-month investigative journey was undertaken into these changes with appalling results. The health food industry has slowly but surely been taken over (becoming subsidiaries) of large conventional corporations who are neither health conscious nor ethical, organic or sustainable while maintaining the status of ‘healthy and organic’ earned prior to acquisition. While preparing this article, these corporations were playing chess exchanging one company with another, buying and selling each other with abandon while the health food companies are secretive and elusive about the acquisitions and reluctant to convey specific ingredients.
Sadly in the modern world, informed decision-making is imperative when it comes to food purchase and consumption. Many conventional corporations in the industry are notorious for using GMO’s (genetically modified organisms), PCB’s (Polychlorinated biphenyl ), MSG (monosodium glutamate), toxic plastics, additives and other chemicals; inhumane working conditions and hiring practices; infusing unregulated foreign products into local production (using banned pesticides and toxic materials); bottling fluoride laden tap water. Lastly, and most infuriating is that consumers choose to pay higher prices for groceries at ‘health food stores’ assuming labeling is accurate and products are ethical, sustainable, organic and healthy. But if Heinz, Kellogg, Coke, Phillip Morris Tobacco and Pepsi products were freely labeled on the shelves of the local health food store, would consumers pay the extra cost? If Odwalla drinks had the Coke insignia, if Knudsen’s apple juice said Smuckers or Westsoy displayed Heinz Ketchup, would anyone purchase it?
OVERSIGHT
An international advocacy organization based in Canada, the ETC Group has been monitoring corporate power in the industrial life sciences for the past 30 years. Their latest report warns of corporate concentration and commodification of nature and highlights the “Food Sovereignty” by major corporations. “Corporate-controlled food systems, suffering from decades of deregulation, have resulted in a cornucopia of calamities making us sicker, fatter and more vulnerable,” says ETC’s Research Director Hope Shand. Ongoing food contamination scandals, the global obesity burden and ocean “dead zones” caused by fertilizer pollution are among the food chain disasters cited in Who Owns Nature? “Unhealthy and hazardous food products are constant reminders of a corporate food chain broken to bits,” adds Shand. “Despite the implications for democracy and human rights, no international body exists to monitor global corporate activity and no UN body has the capacity to monitor and evaluate emerging technologies,” says ETC Group’s Kathy Jo Wetter. “The ongoing food emergency and imploding global economy testify to the need for monitoring and oversight of corporations, as well as social control of powerful new technologies.” Who Owns Nature? reports on the daunting trends in corporate concentration and technology convergence.
Oversight for quality, ethics and labeling practices is wanting. Over the past few years, the FDA and USDA have been scrutinized for the outbreaks of virus and bacteria in contaminated processed conglomerate farm foods. Most of the products sold by Whole Foods Market and their main distributor, United Natural Foods (UNFI) are not certified organic, but rather conventional (mostly chemical and GMO-tainted) foods and products labeled ‘natural’. The Whole Foods 365 label is a cover for products from ‘private’, unregulated companies. Whole Foods might inspect a few companies but outsourcing to CCOF, California Organic Federation is a more prudent business practice. The USDA is also hiring third parties to inspect. Unfortunately, none of this is working in the realm of public health and safety.
POLICY
The secret marriage between the health and conventional food industry has nationwide implications. One way agribusiness is trying to minimize the impact of the organic revolution is by weakening organic standards. Islam Siddiqui (recently tapped by the Obama Administration to leave his post at the pesticide lobby CropLife and return to government) tried to destroy ‘organic’ by opening the standards up to toxic sludge, irradiation and genetic engineering. Subtler tactics are being employed throughout the industry like Mark Retzloff of Aurora Dairy and Alvert Starus of Straus Dairy attempting to weaken the dairy standards or the OTA (Organic Trade Association) redefining national policy and regulations. Who has voting power on the OTA board? Whole Foods, Weetabrix, Stoneyfield and Horizon design and implement the laws that govern the health food industry. Is it any wonder major corporations are in a frenzy to purchase them? Where does the funding for the health food lobby come from? Monies are supplied by Heinz/ Haines, Horizons (Dean), Cascadian (General Mills), Stoneyfield (Danone) and Tysons. Is it any mystery that WalMart is actively incorporating ‘organic’ and ‘natural’ products owned by these conventional companies? All of these tactics fall under the mainstream radar.
LABELING
The term ‘organic’ has become unreliable. Scientists claim that every crop of corn, soy, cotton and canola in the United States (and a large portion of global crops) contains GMO’s since the 1990’s through pollination and cross-pollination. In the US, by 2006 89% of the planted area of soybeans, 83% of cotton, and 61% corn were genetically modified varieties. Therefore, any product containing any of these could never be certified ‘organic’.
From the United Nations to universities, recent studies demonstrate that food packaging and handling are the origins of toxic chemicals and bacteria. Every can (other than those from Eden) contains a plastic lining that uses PCB’s as a binding agent. Plastic bottles themselves emit PCB’s when exposed to extreme temperatures. Plastic containers trap bacteria into the foods at the time of packaging. There are additional concerns from studies on pregnant women and their unborn children. Obviously, PCB’s are influencing the health of the world.
An ingredient most consumers rarely consider in food consumption is water. Unlisted as an ingredient, yet a major part of many products like juices, synthetic milks, soups, canned vegetables, bottled water and fruits, beer and wine, or cooked products like frozen foods, tap water is used by most conventional companies. USA Today, the New York Times and professional publications report that tap water may contain high levels of fluoride, prescription drugs, high concentration of minerals (especially from pipes), pesticide run off and bacteria in 42 states. Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech) scientists reported the shockingly high lead levels in the blood of young Washington, D.C. children tested between 2001 and 2004, when the District of Columbia’s drinking water was being contaminated with lead from aging pipes.
Do you know how to tell if the fruit you are purchasing is conventional, organic or genetically modified? Stores are not obliged to tell you. BUT the sticker number attached to the fruit tells you. Here is the number system the grocery store uses to differentiate them:
Conventional Fruit Labels (grown with herbisides and harmful fetilizers)
The fruit tag has FOUR digits starting with the number 4 like 4234
Organic Fruit Labels (safe)
The fruit tag has FIVE digits and starts with the number 9 like 98567
Genetically Modified Fruits (GMO)
The fruit tag starts with the number 8 like 8673
Avoid purchasing inorganic and GMO fruits by observing the numbers.
After contacting many health food companies, most are elusive about testing water for foreign substances. Some food companies admit to adding fluoride to products. While others use reverse osmosis water processing but cannot guarantee whether there is fluoride. It is a rare few health food companies that have no measurable fluoride because the water used is purposefully purified in some way. There are a few listed.
CONCLUSION
One would conclude that ‘buying local’ is the answer. But when the Piney River local eggs were no longer available at Whole Foods because their ‘organic’ status (after a year of investigation) was lost, there seemed a glimmer of hope for oversight. Then listening to NPR one night, a local Crozet organic apple farmer talked about selling his land as an organic orchard and deliberating concealing soil samples containing high levels of arsenic and lead to prospective buyers, one would conclude that the only ultimate safety mechanism is to GROW YOUR OWN. However, there are a FEW organic companies that still maintain their integrity, stay small and manageable. These are listed as the Independent Companies chart.
“There is vast and growing resistance to the dislocation and devastation caused by the agro-industrial food system,” points out Silvia Ribeiro of ETC Group. “In the global struggle for Food Sovereignty, the playing field isn’t level, but the scope of resistance is massive – peasant farmers, fisher people, pastoralists and allied civil society and social movements are fighting for locally controlled and socially just food and health systems.” Let’s hope it happens for humanity’s sake.
WARNING: Over the three-month period researching this article, the companies changed hands numerous times. Although current, there is no guarantee for the accuracy of these lists.
copyright 2.15.2010
Brezinski is an author, entrepreneur and professional advocate in the health, education and environmental arenas. daria@drdariabrezinski.com
APPENDIX
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Health Companies Owned By Conventional Corporations – Page 1
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Health Companies Owned By Conventional Corporations – Page 2
- 2007 Corporate Industry Chart
REFERENCES
COMPANIES
Cienfuegos, Paul. The Organic Foods Movement – Led by Heinz Corporation or We the People? The Time to Choose is Now. Common Dreams, May 31, 2004.
Glover, Paul. What We Need to Know About the Corporate Takeover of the “Organic” Food Market. Also titled The Corporate Corruption of Organics–A New Web Site. Organic Consumers Association, June 2003.
Howard, Philip H. Michigan State University website includes many graphic charts of the organic food industry from 2007.
In New Marketing Tactic, Foodmakers Urge Doctors to Advocate Brands. Wall Street Journal, May 25, 2004.
Ness, Carol. Mega-Producers Tip Scales as Organic Goes Mainstream. San Francisco Chronicle, April 30, 2006.
Sligh, Michael and Caroline Christman. Who Owns Organic? The Global Status, Prospects, and Challenges of a Changing Organic Market. Rural Advancement Foundation International, Pittsboro, NC, 2003.
Pollan, Michael. Behind the Organic-Industrial Complex. New York Times, May 1, 2001.
http://www.etcgroup.org/en/materials/publications.html?pub_id=707
http://nutritionwonderland.com/2009/02/organic-corporate-hierarchy/
GENETIC MODIFICATION
Caldwell, D. 2002. A Cotton Conundrum. Perspectives OnLine: The Magazine of the
College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, North Carolina State University,Winter 2002.
European Commission, 2000. Economic Impacts of Genetically Modified Crops on theAgri-food Sector. http://europa.eu.int/comm/agriculture/publi/gmo/cover.htm
FAO, 2004. The State of World Food and Agriculture 2004. Biotechnology: Meeting the Needs of the Poor? http://www.fao.org/newsroom/en/focus/2004/41655/
Fernandez-Cornejo, J. & Caswell. April 2006. Genetically Engineered Crops in the UnitedStates. USDA/ERS Economic Information Bulletin n. 11.
http://www.ers.usda.gov/publications/eib11/eib11.pdf
FoEI, January 2007. Who Benefits from GM crops? An analysis of the global performance of GM crops (1996-2006)
Hollis, P.L., February 15 2006. Why plant cotton’s new genetics? Southeast Farm Press.
ISAAA, 2006b. GM crops: the first ten years- Global Socio-Economic and Environmental impacts. http://www.isaaa.org/resources/publications/briefs/36/download/isaaa-brief-36-2006.pdf
Meyer, L., S.MacDonald& L. Foreman,March 2007. Cotton Backgrounder. USDA Economic Research Service Outlook Report.
Motavalli, P.P. et al., 2004. Impact of genetically modified crops and their management on soil microbially mediated plant nutrient transformations, J. Environ. Qual. 33:816-824;
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PCB’s
UNEP Chemicals (1999) (PDF). Guidelines for the Identification of PCBs and Materials Containing PCBs. United Nations Environment Programme. pp. 2. http://www.chem.unep.ch/pops/pdf/PCBident/pcbid1.pdf.
Amy Boate, Greg Deleersnyder, Jill Howarth, Anita Mirabelli, and Leanne Peck (2004). Chemistryof PCB’s http://wvlc.uwaterloo.ca/biology447/modules/intro/assignments/Introduction2a.htm.
Rogan, W J; B C Gladen, J D McKinney, N Carreras, P Hardy, J Thullen, J Tingelstad, M Tully (1986-02-01). “Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and dichlorodiphenyl dichloroethene (DDE) in human milk: effects of maternal factors and previous lactation.”. Am J Public Health 76 (2): 172–177.
Williams, Florence (2005-01-09). “Toxic Breast Milk?”. The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/09/magazine/09TOXIC.html.
Contamination of rice bran oil with PCB used as the heating medium by leakage through penetration holes at the heating coil tube in deodorization chamber”. Japan Science and Technology Agency. http://shippai.jst.go.jp/en/Detail?fn=2&id=CB1056031.
Safe S, Bandiera S, Sawyer T, Robertson L, Safe L, Parkinson A, Thomas PE, Ryan DE, Reik LM, Levin W (1985). PCBs: structure-function relationships and mechanism of action. Environ. Health Perspect. 60: 47–56.