It seems Whole Foods‘ efforts to get ratings on the eco-friendliness of products it carries will end up hurting farmers.
Last year, the company rolled out its new system that measures soil health, waste reduction, farmworker welfare and other factors, to attain a rating from “Good,” “Better,” “Best.” However, as Mark Kastel, a policy analyst with The Cornucopia Institute in the U.S. pointed out to Huffington Post reporter, this process isn’t free.
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Kastel said that for farmers to become a part of the system at Whole Foods, they need to fill out a long-winded form and pay a whopping fee. Farmers who have been polled for the estimates costs of participating in the program report annual costs of $5,000 to $20,000, according to Kastel.
In response to this analysis, The Cornucopia Institute has written a letter expressing its deep disappointment and displeasure at the results of the ‘Responsibly Grown’ system. The letter outlines that the process is onerous and expensive and items that are certified organic by the USDA shouldn’t need to be evaluated further.
As an example, the letter included photos of conventionally grown asparagus from Mexico labelled as “Best” and costing $4.99, whereas an organically produced asparagus was rated only as “Good” and cost $7.99.
The Institute, in its letter, points out that consumers go by whatever ranking their trusted store, Whole Foods, provides them with and that is unfair to the farmers who actually grow their products responsibly.
