Whole Foods Introduces Produce Ranking System Based On Suppliers’ Farming Tactics

By Mary Beth Quirk October 15, 2014

(Glyn Lowe Photoworks)

How do the fruits and vegetables you buy stack up against other produce? Are those flowers really the best you can get? Whole Foods is trying to answer some of those questions for customers with its new “responsibly grown” labeling system that ranks produce and plants at its stores, based on how suppliers farm those products.

The rankings will go from “Good” to “Better” to “Best,” for products that are pesticide-free only, and will take into account things like water and energy use involved in growing the produce, reports theAssociated Press, with more information about what the rankings mean will be available online and in brochures in stores.

These are just standards developed by Whole Foods, and not approved by any official government agency. The new program is set to roll out to almost 400 Whole Foods locations in the U.S. and Canada starting today, with stores displaying signs with the rankings near the products’ prices.

Not all fruits, veggies and flowers will be under the system, however. A similar program already exists based on animal welfare conditions for meat and sustainability standards for seafood.