Ben & Jerry’s is getting rid of GMO ingredients in their products.
Genetically modified organisms include plants that have been altered through gene splicing which has become a highly controversial practice among health-conscious consumers and organizations who consider it something along the lines of a dangerous Dr. Frankenstein experiment.
President Obama recently signed the so-called Monsanto Protection Act which purports to prevent the federal courts from having the power to stop GMO seed crops from being grown. This measure has prompted widespread protests.
Most corn and soybeans in the US are genetically modified.
Ben & Jerry’s already supports mandatory GMO labeling as part of the consumer’s right to know, but the company is taking it one step further by going completely non-GMO. Ben & Jerry’s claims that 80 percent of its ingredients in its ice cream products in the US and Canada are already non-GMO, but the company wants to make that 100 percent by the end of the year. In an update on the corporate website, Ben & Jerry’s explained that “We commit to sourcing non-GMO ingredients for all our products everywhere by year-end 2013. In fact all our products made in Europe are already non-GMO … We commit to sourcing non-GMO ingredients for all our products everywhere by year-end 2013. In fact all our products made in Europe are already non-GMO.”
The website will provide regular updates to track the company’s progress towards completely GMO-free ingredients and says it is finalizing its non-GMO sourcing standards for suppliers.
Whole Foods recently made headlines when it mandated GMO labeling for all food sold in all its stores to be phased in within five years.
Ben & Jerry’s spokesman Rob Michalak provided background on the company’s commitment to eliminating genetically modified ingredients, particularly in connection with helping to converti the supply chain to non-GMO: “One of the roles we see our company playing is in the conventional agriculture marketplace. We want to play a role in increasing demand for conventional non-GMO ingredients and non-GMO foods and to help create a robust non-GMO agriculture sector.”
Do you applaud Ben & Jerry’s for going non-GMO? Are you concerned about the encroachment of GMO ingredients into the food supply?
