Wednesday, January 05, 2000

Retailers to yank GM foods from shelves
Farmers 'nervous'

John Greenwood
Financial Post

The growing public resistance to genetically
modified foods that has rocked farmers
and retailers in Europe has now spread to North
America.

Two leading natural foodstore chains in the
United States announced plans on Monday
that they will start pulling GM products from
their shelves.

Wild Oats Markets Inc., a Boulder, Colo.-based
chain of 111 specialty stores across
the United States and British Columbia, said it
will stop selling foods derived from
bio-engineered ingredients, such as canola, soy
and corn.

"We are working with our suppliers on this and
they are co-operating," said Harry Day,
vice-president of the company, which last year
had sales of $800-million (US).

Whole Foods Market of Austin, Tex., announced
the same day that it would eliminate
GM ingredients from its store brand products,
which it sells in 103 stores, all in the
United States. The company had sales of
$1.6-billion (US) in 1998.

Mr. Day said his company decided to take the
step in response to concerns raised by
customers.

"We have people coming in every day, asking
about GM food, looking for information," he 
said. "It's a very complex issue that a lot 
of consumers don't understand."

Although both companies' sales come mostly from
the United States, their decisions
may have a significant impact on Canadian
suppliers, already buffeted by the European
backlash over so-called Frankenfoods.

Late last year New Brunswick-based McCain Foods
Ltd., quietly began telling farmers
that it did not want GM potatoes.

Dale Adolphe, president of the Canola Council of
Canada, said that so far the debate
has not hit the pocket books of members of the
canola industry, though many are
getting anxious.

"It's affecting us from perspective that it's
making people nervous. Farmers are asking
what they should be planting," he said. "But our
key markets are not saying let's
segregate [GM products from the non-modified
ones].

So far only a handful of GM crops have been
approved for sale, including corn, soy,
canola, potatoes and tomatoes.

Last year about 55% of Canada's canola crop was
modified while about 40% of corn
and soy was modified.

Mr. Adolphe said most canola is sold to
countries such as the United States, Mexico
and Japan, where the GM backlash has not caught
on.