Press inquiries contact:Luan Van Le, Toxin Free USA, 347-921-1466, info@gmofreeusa.org<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n<\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Unionville, CT, August 14, 2023 \u2013 Toxin Free USA, a nonprofit dedicated to consumer protection and education, launched a campaign urging Whole Foods Market to stop selling fresh GMO sweet corn.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Whole Foods Market claims to be the \u201cOrganic Capital of the World\u201d and advertises, \u201cWe don\u2019t just put organics on a shelf \u2014 we put them on a pedestal.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But this summer, the only fresh sweet corn displayed and sold at many Whole Foods\u2019 stores across the country is GMO sweet corn produced from patented Bayer-Monsanto or Syngenta seed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Whole Foods\u2019 customers have spotted the GMO sweet corn in the produce section in Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, New Jersey, Virginia, Texas, Washington state and Washington DC. The genetically engineered White and Bi-Color Corn are in bins with signs indicating \u201cBioengineered Food\u201d in fine print. \u201cBioengineered\u201d is the USDA\u2019s new term for GMOs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWhole Foods has led us to believe that the food they sell is healthy and clean. We let down our guard and shop in confidence without reading the fine print, willing to buy food priced at a premium. We\u2019ve been duped,\u201d said Pamm Larry, Director of Butte County Local Food Network and Board Member of Toxin Free USA.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The GMO sweet corn is genetically engineered (GE) to produce up to three insecticides. The GE insecticides are in every cell of the corn and cannot be washed off. Additionally, the corn is genetically engineered to tolerate glyphosate or glufosinate-based herbicides, or both.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>GMO proponents claim that the insecticides in the corn are safe, naturally occurring soil bacteria \u2013 the same as an insecticidal soil bacteria used in organic farming called Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis). But science does not support those claims.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The insecticides are genetically engineered versions of Bt – not the same as the soil bacteria used in organic agriculture. In a 2017 peer reviewed analysis, published in the journal <em>Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering Reviews<\/em>, the researchers concluded that references to any GE Bt toxins being “natural” are incorrect and scientifically unsupportable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The amount of GE Bt ingested in a bite of GMO corn as compared to any natural Bt residue that might remain on organic corn is many thousands of times higher.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This insecticidal corn is designed to kill insects that bite into it. The insects\u2019 stomachs rupture and they die. It has been linked to cell membrane death of digestive cells, causing leaky gut in laboratory animals, according to 2018 peer reviewed research published in the journal <em>Food and Nutrition Sciences<\/em>. Another 2018 peer reviewed study, published in the journal <em>International Immunopharmacology<\/em>, found that GE Bt is immunogenic, allergenic, and causes pre-cancerous intestinal changes. Even a Monsanto patent described the GE Bt as \u201csuper toxins.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>GMO corn is sold as a \u201csystem\u201d, at premium prices. Farmers purchase the seeds and the corresponding herbicide(s). Corn that has been genetically engineered to tolerate glyphosate and\/or glufosinate is doused with those toxic chemicals during the growing season, killing all other plants except for the GMO corn. The herbicides are both absorbed into the crops and pollute the environment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/toxinfreeusa.org\/research\/glyphosate\/glyphosate-overview\/\">Glyphosate<\/a> is a well known herbicide that the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) classified as a probable human carcinogen in 2015. As of May, 2023,\u200b\u200b Monsanto has settled over 100,000 Roundup cancer lawsuits, paying out about $11 billion as of May 2022. There are still 45,000 lawsuits pending.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.gmwatch.org\/en\/main-menu\/news-menu-title\/archive\/41-2002\/2001-ignored-side-effects-of-glufosinate-herbicide-1622002\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Glufosinate<\/a> has been found to be both teratogenic (linked to DNA damage and birth defects) and neurotoxic (linked to autism) in peer reviewed studies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Both chemicals are toxic to beneficial insects such as butterflies, bees and other pollinators.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Studies show that industrial, GMO agricultural practices drive increased use of synthetic pesticides and other fossil fuel-based chemicals. These toxic chemicals are harmful to people, wildlife, the environment and contribute to climate change, biodiversity loss and water pollution. Synthetic pesticides also harm the organisms that live in the soil, disrupting soil ecosystems. Dead soil can\u2019t sequester carbon and it doesn\u2019t produce healthy food.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Whole Foods claims on its website and in its 2023 annual Impact Report that the company\u2019s purpose is \u201cto nourish people and the planet\u201d and it \u201caims to set the standards of excellence for food retailers\u201d. The company claims to \u201csell the highest quality natural and organic foods and to satisfy and delight its customers\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Selling unhealthy and environmentally unsustainable GMO sweet corn is evidence that the company fails to deliver on those claims.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cPutting toxic, environmentally damaging GMO corn on a pedestal is a slap in the face of Whole Foods\u2019 customers. Greenwashing is the only word that can describe the company\u2019s actions. Even being an aware shopper, I originally didn\u2019t notice the corn they were selling is GMO. It isn\u2019t just an option alongside organic, it\u2019s Whole Foods\u2019 only option in many stores. This is a shock to me, having shopped at Whole Foods for many years. We expect better from the company,\u201d said Luan Van Le, Toxin Free USA Communications Director.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Toxin Free USA is calling on Whole Foods to stop selling the GMO sweet corn and to pledge to not sell any in the future. The nonprofit is calling on their supporters and Whole Foods\u2019 customers to email and call the company to ask them to stop selling the GMO corn and bring back organic sweet corn to all of their stores.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Supporters can take action <a href=\"https:\/\/toxinfreeusa.org\/take-action\/stop-selling-toxic-gmo-sweet-corn\/\" data-type=\"page\" data-id=\"5891\">HERE<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>###<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>GMO\/Toxin Free USA is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit advocating for a clean, healthy food system and environment, non-toxic consumer products, and educating consumers about the hazards of GMOs, synthetic pesticides and other toxins. <a href=\"http:\/\/www.toxinfreeusa.org\">www.toxinfreeusa.org<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>For Immediate Release Press inquiries contact:Luan Van Le, Toxin Free USA, 347-921-1466, info@gmofreeusa.org Unionville, CT, August 14, 2023 \u2013 Toxin Free USA, a nonprofit dedicated to consumer protection and education, launched a campaign urging Whole Foods Market to stop selling fresh GMO sweet corn. Whole Foods Market claims to be the \u201cOrganic Capital of the …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[56],"tags":[],"class_list":{"2":"type-post","6":"category-press-releases","7":"entry"},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/toxinfreeusa.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5898","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/toxinfreeusa.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/toxinfreeusa.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/toxinfreeusa.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/toxinfreeusa.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5898"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/toxinfreeusa.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5898\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5913,"href":"https:\/\/toxinfreeusa.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5898\/revisions\/5913"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/toxinfreeusa.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5898"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/toxinfreeusa.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5898"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/toxinfreeusa.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5898"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}