Ben & Jerry’s Vows To Ditch GMO Ingredients By 2014

Ben & Jerry’s is preparing to ditch ingredients that contain genetically-modified organisms (GMOs).

Eighty percent of the company’s ingredients are already GMO free, but the Vermont-based ice cream maker doesn’t believe that high level of GMO-free ingredients is good enough for its products.

According to Ben & Jerry’s, the process of changing nearly 40 ingredients to non-GMO based substitutes will be “complex” but well worth the effort.

Genetically modified foods have come under fire because of their origins ,which include being resistant to insecticides and herbicides. Supporters of GMOs say they help crop yields in a world where food demands are ever-increasing. Opponents argue that GMOs use chemicals that are poisoning our planet and causing serious health problems.

Food products are not required to be labels with a GMO warning, although California lawmakers did attempt to pass Proposition 37 which would have required such labels to be placed on food. Voters in California voted down Proposition 37, a decision that may have helped Ben & Jerry jump into action.

The move to ditch genetically modified foods at Ben & Jerry’s makes sense given the company’s hippy roots and focus on the environment and people.

The decision also flies in the face of Monsanto and The Hersey Company, those companies provided $44 million to defeat the California initiative.

Ben & Jerry’s isn’t the only agency looking to target GMOs, the European Union currently recommends that all US wheat shipments be examined after unapproved genetically-modified grains showed up in the country from a farm in Oregon.

Ben & Jerry’s may be leading the charge towards genetically-modified organisms but the fight is not new, many “natural” food providers have moved away from modified ingredients in an attempt to create a better tasting, more natural product.

Will you buy more Ben & Jerry’s ice cream when all of its ingredients are created without GMOs?