Angry online criticism of Waitrose is building after the upmarket grocer chose to stock broccoli grown from seeds supplied by a Monsanto subsidiary.
The ‘Bellaverde’ sweet stem broccoli, while not genetically modified, is reported to have links with the American GM giant.
The Grocer reports that Waitrose’s Facebook page has been inundated with angry messages and comments from shoppers. An online petition has also been launched at www.change.org. One supporter commented: “I am really surprised by Waitrose who I would have thought better of,” another states “Monsanto is the worst company in the world and they spread death, disease and misery wherever they go. A global boycott of their products is a start, but I would to see their company liquidated out of existence. Monsanto are evil.”
The company has been fielding questions on its Facebook page and has set up a separate notes and information page. Responding to allegations by customers that it has been deleting comments the retailer said that it did so “in rare circumstances where comments breach site rules”.
In October, Natural Products reported that a so-called a ‘super- broccoli’ which went on sale in Marks & Spencer at the end of last year is based on a technology partly developed and owned by Monsanto.
Picture: Unliked — Waitrose customers let the retailer know what they think of Monsanto
