[Pollinator] Pollinator protection is major focus of Whole Foods Market's "Responsibly Grown" rating system

Matthew Shepherd mdshepherd at xerces.org
Wed Oct 15 14:12:46 PDT 2014


From: Market Watch

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/whole-foods-market-takes-stand-on-key-agricultural-issues-with-responsibly-grown-produce-rating-system-2014-10-15

*Whole Foods Market® Takes Stand on Key Agricultural Issues with
Responsibly Grown Produce Rating System*

AUSTIN, Texas, Oct 15, 2014 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Today Whole Foods Market WFM,
-0.39% <http://www.marketwatch.com/investing/stock/wfm?mod=MW_story_quote>
launches Responsibly Grown, an industry leading tiered produce rating
system that assesses growing practices that impact human health and the
environment. The new rating system labels fresh fruits, vegetables and
flowers as “good,” “better” or “best” to help shoppers make more informed
choices in the produce and floral departments, and it prohibits some of the
most hazardous neurotoxins still allowed in agriculture.

Prohibited pesticides include several organophosphate insecticides, which
recent studies indicate can impair neurological development in children
born to mothers exposed in diet or by working in agriculture and living in
nearby communities. A full list of prohibited and restricted pesticides may
be found on the Responsibly Grown web page
<http://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wholefoodsmarket.com%2Fresponsibly-grown&esheet=50961647&newsitemid=20141015005057&lan=en-US&anchor=Responsibly+Grown+web+page&index=1&md5=d63d6f616628fb9a524ac364e6a168e3>.


“After three years of research and planning, Responsibly Grown is the
result of our collaboration with suppliers, scientists and issue experts to
continue our strong commitment to organic, while embracing additional
important topics and growing practices in agriculture today,” said Matt
Rogers, global produce coordinator at Whole Foods Market. “We are excited
to broaden the conversation to recognize additional growing practices and
drive more transparency in the industry.”

To earn a “good” rating, a farm must take 16 major steps to protect air,
soil, water, and human health. Growers must also comply with the
Responsibly Grown pesticide policy, which restricts growers to using only
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency registered pesticides, regardless of
the country of origin. In other words, farms outside the U.S. cannot supply
Whole Foods Market with fresh fruits, vegetables, and flowers grown using
pesticides not allowed in the U.S., with very limited exceptions including
for crops not grown in the U.S. Growers also cannot use biosolids or
irradiation and must commit to GMO transparency.

“I applaud the courage and conviction of Whole Foods Market, and its
growers and suppliers, for taking decisive action on more than a dozen
high-risk pesticides. The next generation of Americans will be the primary
beneficiaries of this bold step,” according to Dr. Charles Benbrook,
research professor and program leader for the Center for Sustainable
Agriculture at Washington State University.

A “better” rating indicates advanced performance and a “best” rating
indicates exceptional, industry-leading performance in a scoring system
covering multiple topics in each of these key categories:

   - Pest management (e.g. using beneficial insects to control pests)
   - Farmworker welfare (e.g. providing protective equipment for workers)
   - Water conservation and protection (e.g. using efficient irrigation
   techniques)
   - Enhancing soil health (e.g. adding compost to soil; planting cover
   crops)
   - Ecosystems and biodiversity (e.g. planting wildflowers to restore
   natural bee habitat for pollinator protection)
   - Waste reduction (e.g. recycling plastics used in the field)
   - Air, energy and climate (e.g. solar panels for renewable energy)

The first-of-its-kind program seeks to reward growers for existing
accomplishments and raise the bar to encourage continuous improvement while
minimizing additional burdens for growers.

"Being truly sustainable means more than just not using harmful chemicals.
Energy conservation is a big focus for us so we installed solar panels on
the packing house at our Pennsylvania farm which accounts for 20 percent of
energy consumption on the farm," said Tom Beddard, founder and grower at
Lady Moon Farms that has a "best" rating for their vegetables. "We
incorporate many different practices with a promise to put more into the
soil than we take out, ensuring more fertile farms and making the earth a
safer place for all of us. We're proud to share these practices with Whole
Foods Market shoppers through Responsibly Grown."

Pollinator protection is another major focus of the program that is likely
to resonate with Whole Foods Market shoppers. Responsibly Grown addresses
the primary threats facing pollinators including high risk pesticide use,
loss of habitat, and disease spread from managed bees to wild pollinators.
Four of the most common neonicotinoids currently allowed in the U.S. will
be prohibited for growers to reach the Responsibly Grown “best” level. Many
growers, scientists, environmentalists, and beekeepers are concerned about
the impact of these pesticides on bees and other pollinators.

"As a result of this program, we are already hearing from fruit and
vegetable farmers who are creating wildflower-rich habitat for bees, and
working to reduce or eliminate pesticides on farms from New Jersey to Iowa
to California," said Eric Mader, assistant pollinator program director for
The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation. "This type of action is
the first and most important step in reversing the ongoing decline of bees,
butterflies, and other pollinators."

Whole Foods Market is launching Responsibly Grown by rating hundreds of
products with key suppliers, more than 50 percent of produce nationwide.
The goal of reaching 100 percent ratings of all fruits, vegetables and
flowers will be achieved over time.

Shoppers interested in learning more about Responsibly Grown can visit
wholefoodsmarket.com/responsiblygrown
<http://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wholefoodsmarket.com%2Fresponsibly-grown&esheet=50961647&newsitemid=20141015005057&lan=en-US&anchor=wholefoodsmarket.com%2Fresponsiblygrown&index=2&md5=65fb048e08dfc47634f6817690f254bd>.


Photos/Multimedia Gallery Available:
http://www.businesswire.com/multimedia/home/20141015005057/en/

SOURCE: Whole Foods Market
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