Whole Foods Market (WFM) has set 2018 as its target date for being able to tell every shopper in its aisles whether they're buying a food product that contains genetically modified organisms. The company announced Friday that all Whole Foods stores in the U.S. and Canada will require that all packages sold in its store include "GMO" information in their labeling. It says it is the first supermarket chain in the U.S. to set such a date certain.
The company said it's working with its suppliers to ensure this information is available on everything it sells, and is giving them five years to work out the details on how to make it happen. Already, Whole Foods says it boasts a lineup of 3,300 "verified" non-GMO products on its shelves.
Explaining the move, co-CEO Walter Robb said the company is supporting "the consumer's right to know" what they're eating, and fighting back against "the prevalence of GMOs in the U.S. paired with nonexistent mandatory labeling."
