By 2018, all products in U.S. and Canadian Whole Foods Market stores must be labeled to indicate if they contain genetically modified organisms (GMOs). Whole Foods Market is the first national grocery chain to set a deadline for full GMO transparency.

“We are putting a stake in the ground on GMO labeling to support the consumer’s right to know,” said Walter Robb, co-CEO of Whole Foods Market. “The prevalence of GMOs in the U.S. paired with non-existent mandatory labeling makes it very difficult for retailers to source non-GMO options and for consumers to choose non-GMO products. Accordingly, we are stepping up our support of certified organic agriculture, where GMOs are not allowed, and we are working together with our supplier partners to grow our non-GMO supply chain to ensure we can continue to provide these choices in the future.”

Whole Foods Market has been collaborating with many of its supplier partners for several years to source products without GMO ingredients. In 2009, the company began putting its 365 Everyday Value line through Non-GMO Project verification and encouraged its grocery supplier partners to do the same. Whole Foods Market currently sells 3,300 Non-GMO Project verified products from 250 brands. It will now expand this effort, working with suppliers in all categories as they transition to ingredients from non-GMO sources, or clearly label products containing GMOs by the 5-year deadline.

The Natural Products Association (NPA), Washington, D.C., Board of Directors also recently called for a national, uniform standard for labeling all foods containing GMOs. “This is really very simple,” said John Shaw, executive director and CEO, “people have a right to know what’s in their food. A national standard is the best, most cost-effective and least-confusing way to deliver on this commitment for American consumers. To have hundreds of different state and local requirements would be counterproductive and expensive. As the nation’s largest association of the natural products industry, NPA is ready to play a leadership role in this effort.”

Polls show Americans overwhelmingly support GMO labeling. An ABCNews.com survey conducted last summer found that 93% of Americans say the federal government should require labels on food that indicate whether it has been genetically modified or “bio-engineered.” At least 22 states are considering legislation requiring GMO labeling for foods.