Whole Foods begins rating program - HT Health

Whole Foods begins rating program - HT Health: "Whole Foods Market on Wednesday began a ratings program for fruits, vegetables and flowers aimed at giving consumers more information about pesticide and water use, the treatment of farm workers and waste management, and other issues surrounding the food they eat.

The upscale grocery chain will rate the produce of suppliers electing to participate in the program, Responsibly Grown, as "€œgood,"€ "€œbetter,"€ or "€œbest,"€ depending on, for example, how they handle plastic waste in their operations and whether they provide conservation areas to foster bees, butterflies and other pollinators.


This September 2014 photo provided by Whole Foods shows an example of the company's "responsibly grown" labeling system on Washington organic gala apples. Whole Foods on Wednesday, Oct. 15, 2014 plans to start rolling out the system that ranks fruits and vegetables as "good," ''better" or "best" based on the supplier's farming practices. (AP Photo/Whole Foods, Ha Lam)

"€œThis is the latest example of our commitment to transparency and sustainable agriculture," said Matt Rogers, who handles standards and sourcing at Whole Foods. He said the company hoped the scoring system would encourage farmers to address the impact of agriculture on human health and the environment."



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