Check out the
new Facebook Application that Whole Foods has introduced in order to raise awareness and bid for your vote on your favorite sustainable foods nonprofit. There are three nonprofits to choose from:
Non-GMO Project,
Mission Organic 2010, and
Growing Power. The organization with the most votes by January 31st, 2010 will receive a $20,000 donation from Whole Foods. The other two will receive $10,000. So basically: download the application and vote and everybody wins. Here is a little information about each organization from
Treehugger:
The Non-GMO Project: In Europe, all products containing more than .9 percent GMO are labeled as such. But in the US, there is no such standard. The Non-GMO Project scientifically tests all of the individual ingredients that make up a product using a third party testing facility. Products that have been certified are labeled with a Non-GMO Project Verified label. This is a good thing because today nearly 70 percent of our processed foods have been genetically modified. Many companies have already signed on to have their products tested and certified.
Mission Organic 2010: Mission Organic 2010 bids you to pledge to eat at least 10 percent organic in 2010. If you join the "mission" you can receive a free organic starter kit. Mission Organic 2010 has set an ambitious goal of increasing organic market share from 3 percent to 10 percent by 2010. "When we, as consumers, demand the organic supply, farmers and food companies will supply the organic demand," the Web site claims.
Growing Power: Growing Power is a Milwaukee based organization that has been training individuals from all walks of life to grow their own food. The organization takes the farm-to-fork mentality very seriously. Growing Power teaches replicable farming methods, runs youth education programs on the subject, and distributes sustainable produce, meats, and retail products from 300 local farms through the Rainbow Farmers Cooperative.
