New Seasons Market Revenue and Competitors

At New Seasons Market we utilize country-of-origin labeling for all our produce, meat, poultry and fish. It takes some extra effort to update our signs regularly and trace where these products come from, but it's definitely doable - and we feel it's our responsibility. We also believe that the grocery industry itself needs to shift its thinking. The Food Marketing Institute, the lobbying group representing over 26,000 grocery stores and about three-quarters of all domestic retail food sales, has fought against country-of-origin labeling for years. This is one of the reasons that New Seasons Market resigned from the organization last year. Currently, the FMI is working against local governments across the nation in an effort to prevent country-of-origin labeling, something they refer to as "mandatory madness." FMI President Tim Hammonds himself has said in Congressional testimony: "I would emphasize that today there is industrywide support for voluntary country of origin labeling. This new legislation is endorsed by well over 300 organizations representing every industry segment. The mandatory approach to labeling will only increase costs for consumers and reduce sales for the very producers it is supposed to help. Voluntary country of origin labeling will succeed where the mandatory law cannot."