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FTC Blocks Whole Foods-Wild Oats Merger

The Federal Trade Commission announced it is filing a lawsuit to block the proposed Whole Foods-Wild Oats merger. It claims there could be anti-trust issues in allowing the two dominant natural food supermarkets to merge. Whole Foods and Wild Oats announced they will vigorously challenge the FTC’s decision. Industry insiders and financial analysts alike expressed surprise and believe the FTC is missing the point. “I’m startled by FTC’s actions,” said John Moore, founder of brandautopsy.com and former director of national marketing for Whole Foods. “With all the major grocery stores stocking more natural and organic offerings, it seems preposterous to think a merged Whole Foods and Wild Oats would be a threat to competitiveness.” Organic food makes up a tiny 3% of the total grocery sales. And even the combined sales of Whole Foods and Wild Oats represent only about 11% of total U.S. natural food sales.

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Venezuela: Most Sweeping GMO Restrictions, Says No to Monsanto

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez Frias announced that the cultivation of genetically modified crops will be prohibited on Venezuelan soil, establishing the most sweeping restrictions on transgenic crops in the western hemisphere. Venezuela cancelled its contract with Monsanto Corporation, which ended the company’s plan to plant 500,000 acres of transgenic soybeans there. “I ordered an end to the project,” said Chavez, when he learned GM crops were involved. “This project is terminated.” Chavez views GM crops as negative for farmers and farmworkers.

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Cellulosic Biofuels Bill Introduced

Nebraska Senator Ben Nelson and South Dakota Senator John Thune are introducing legislation to promote the development and production of celluosic ethanol. The Biofuels Innovation Program Act of 2007, provides business planning and assistance matching grants of up to $30,000 for entities and communities interested in developing a project area for producers to begin producing dedicated energy and biomass crops, as well as for attracting or creating a cellulosic biofuels facility. Grant applicants would have to submit a proposal that identifies eligible cropland and indicates the area has a strong likelihood for producing biomass for energy. The proposals would have to include a letter of commitment from an existing or proposed biofuels production facility to use the feedstock for producing biofuels or other energy. Once the grant is approved, the areas around the plant (within a 75 mile radius) would be classified as Biofuels Innovations Program (BIP) Project Areas, making them eligible for transitional assistance for the production of biomass feedstock. The assistance would be provided in the form of a percentage of the establishment cost incurred by a producer to plant and grow a biomass crop, as well as yearly rental payments on the land that is growing the […]

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Whole Foods Enters Europe

Whole Foods Market Inc. (Nasdaq: WFMI), the world’s largest organic and natural foods chain, opens its first store outside North America tomorrow, June 6. The London store is the first of the hundreds planned in Europe. At 80,000 square feet, it is the largest supermarket in the UK, and Whole Foods largest to store to date. By 2010, the company plans to have 300 stores in the U.S., up from 194 today, and envisions eventually having the same number in the UK and Europe.” Along with its usual gourmet organic offerings, the London Whole Foods has a pub and a DJ on the second of its three floors. Whole Foods faces more competition in the UK than in the U.S. One analyst said its success in London depends on it becoming a shopping and tourist destination, because residents have plenty of options for purchasing everyday items. British chains Tesco (TSCO.L), J. Sainsbury Plc (SBRY.L), Wal-Mart Stores’ unit Asda (Nasdaq: WMT) and others carry thousands of organic products at prices often cheaper than at Whole Foods.

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