This is What Your Salad Bar Looks Like without Pollinators
April 15 2015 - 8:30AM
Business Wire
Whole Foods Market® Partners with The Xerces
Society to Protect Pollinator Populations
Hosts National Event on Saturday, April 18
Pollinators play a vital role in producing one-third of the
world’s food crops, but they are disappearing at alarming rates.
Whole Foods Market (NASDAQ:WFM) and The Xerces Society are joining
forces to “share the buzz” about the plight of pollinators and
empower shoppers to “bee” part of the solution.
Whole Foods Market Gilman's salad bar
choices without pollinators (Photo: Whole Foods Market/Phil Bond
Photography)
To kick off the two-week campaign, Whole Foods Market’s Gilman
store in Berkeley, California, demonstrated what shoppers’ salad
bar choices would look like if pollinators vanished. The
before-and-after photos (above) are startling – as are the
findings:
- Avocados, tomatoes and berries are just
a few of the favorite offerings that would become scarce or
disappear from the salad bar without the help of pollinators, which
play an integral role in more than 100 types of crops in the
U.S.
- Only about 40 percent (26 of 63) of the
store’s original salad bar offerings remained. In addition to
produce options, shoppers would have to give up salad toppers like
almonds, macadamia nuts and sunflower seeds, too.
- Beef and dairy options would be scarce.
Pollinators are vital to crops that feed cattle, which means no
more yogurt, cheeses or other dairy options on the salad bar.
Whole Foods Market will be hosting a “Party for the Pollinators”
event in stores nationwide on Saturday, April 18, with fun,
family-focused activities that highlight ways shoppers can help
protect pollinators, like planting organic wildflowers, choosing
“Responsibly Grown” produce or buying organic.
“With nearly one-fourth of America’s bumble bee species now at
risk for extinction, it’s time to get serious about saving our
pollinators,” said Eric Mader, pollinator program co-director for
The Xerces Society. “But it’s not too late. With the support from
Whole Foods Market and its shoppers, our organization is working to
turn this situation around. We’re creating and improving thousands
of acres of pollinator habitat in the U.S., reducing the use of
agricultural pesticides and training people in pollinator
conservation techniques that can save these unsung heroes of our
food chain.”
In addition to attending in-store events, shoppers can purchase
pollinator-friendly products that support The Xerces Society’s goal
of planting 100,000 acres of pollinator habitat within the next 12
to 18 months. Featured products include:
- High Mowing Organic Sunflower Seeds –
$1 per packet sold (from April 15 to 28)
- Cascadian Farm Organic Buzz Crunch
Almond Honey Cereal and Organic Buzz Crunch Honey Apple Granola –
$1 per item purchased on April 18
- Blue Diamond Almond Breeze shelf-stable
almond milk (on April 18)
- Whole Foods Market’s new, limited
edition 365 Everyday Value® Pollinator-Friendly Almond Butters
(April 15 to 28)
Whole Foods Market launched its pollinator-friendly almond
butters to directly support a pilot program developed by The Xerces
Society and Nevada Ranch in La Grange, Calif., which is working to
integrate native wildflower habitat and improved pesticide
protection into large-scale production of almonds.
“Whole Foods Market sells a lot of almonds, but most people
don’t realize that almond trees can’t produce nuts without
pollinators, or that there aren’t enough bees to sustain the demand
on their own,” said Errol Schweizer, global grocery coordinator for
Whole Foods Market. “When we heard about the important research and
work happening at Nevada Ranch, we put our money where our mouth is
and bought last year’s entire harvest for this special batch of
pollinator-friendly almonds and almond butters.”
To further showcase the vital link between pollinators and food,
Whole Foods Market created a series of short cooking videos
illustrating how classic recipes like apple pie, marinara sauce and
guacamole would turn out without pollinators. The grocer also
created a series of short animated videos (narrated by Jaden Smith)
spotlighting how lesser-known pollinators like moths, butterflies,
fireflies and hummingbirds play their part. Find these videos,
kid-friendly, educational activities and more information on how to
help pollinators at wfm.com/pollinators.
Note: Hi-resolution photos of Whole Foods Market’s salad
bar with and without pollinators are available on the company’s
newsroom at media.wholefoodsmarket.com.
Photos/Multimedia Gallery Available:
http://www.businesswire.com/multimedia/home/20150415005341/en/
Whole Foods MarketLiz Burkhart,
512-284-1836liz.burkhart@wholefoods.com
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