Trader Joe’s is a popular chain of specialty grocery stores, privately-owned and with headquarters in Monrovia, California. It is a prosperous and growing company, currently operating around 355 stores, approximately half of which are in California and the rest are in 24 other states and in Washington D.C. The company has promised that any product bearing the Trader Joe’s label is free from artificial colors, flavors, monosodium glutamate (MSG) and transfats (1), and is not genetically modified (1,2).
The crops most likely to be genetically modified in the U.S.A. are soybeans, corn, cottonseed and canola (3,4) and it is estimated that over 90 % of the U.S. soybean crop is now of the Roundup Ready genetically modified variety (5). On a recent visit to Trader Joe’s, I looked at their soybean products and noted that they are being sourced from Southeast Asia. The frozen soybeans (Edamame) in pods were from Thailand and the shelled frozen soybeans were from Thailand, Taiwan, Vietnam and Indonesia. The frozen Soycutash containing corn, soybeans and red bell pepper was from the U.S.A. and Thailand, so the soybean content is probably from the latter.
None of these products was certified organic at the time of my visit and, coming from tropical Southeast Asian countries, they may have been sprayed with pesticides and possibly also with fungicides and herbicides. Also, Trader Joe’s sells products other than its own brands, including meatless foods from Morningstar Farms, many of which contain genetically-modified ingredients (6). However, Trader Joe’s is to be commended for taking a stand against sourcing genetically modified foods for its own brand and for extending its range of organic products. Let’s hope other grocery chains in the U.S.A. will soon follow suit.
© Christopher J. Jones M.Sc., Ph.D.
References
1) http://www.traderjoes.com/products.asp
2) http://www.traderjoes.com/about/customer-updates.asp#4
3) Jones, C. J. (2010) The Dangers of Genetically Modified Foods. https://www.healthyaddress.com/?p=699
4) Jones, C. J. (2010) The Food the Rats Rejected…….. https://www.healthyaddress.com/?p=750
5) http://dsc.discovery.com/news/2008/04/29/gm-crops-runoff
6) http://morningstarfarms.com/faq.aspx
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