Over the past two decades or so, there has been a war pertaining to our food supply. Specifically, it is the green community with their support for organic foods versus big businesses and corporations with their support of genetically modified organisms (GMOs). As of late, there has been major growth for the former thanks to access to information through the internet. Ergo, aggressive support for green community beliefs, such as GMO labeling , now has a fighting chance against pro-GMO businesses and corporations.
However, those in support of GMOs are doing their best to bite back through any means necessary. This includes funding scientists to research GMOs to be non-hazardous to human health and lobbying for political candidates supporting their business. Now, they have a new plan of attack: buying the organic businesses themselves. With that in mind, the latest acquisition was accomplished by Coca-Cola and Goldman Sachs. Through a tag team effort, they were able to buy Suja Juice, a top organic juice company.
According to Wall Street Journal , Coca-Cola accumulated $90 million to buy a stake in Suja Juice that totals up to about 30 percent of the company. By doing this, they are officially the majority owner. To be fair, 30 percent doesn’t seem far off given the fact that the four founders of Suja Juice own 25 percent, which is just five percent short of Coca-Cola. It is quite possible for them to pool enough to purchase six percent more in stock, making them the majority again. Unfortunately, Coca-Cola isn’t the only pro-GMO company to invest in Suja Juice. Goldman Sachs is reported to have purchased 20 percent of Suja Juice as well.
For those who are unfamiliar with Goldman Sachs , they are the United States banking giant known for helping Syngenta merge into Monsanto, as reported by Reuters . Their merger creates a pro-GMO behemoth organization with combined sales of $31 billion. Adding Coca-Cola’s stake with theirs, half of Suja Juice is now owned by pro-GMO organizations.
Fans of Suja Juice who supported them for being against GMOs will surely be saddened by this turn of events. However, they shouldn’t be surprised because this happens to be the trend of pro-GMO businesses and organizations presently, as reported by AltHealthWorks . Dave’s Killer Bread was bought out by Flower Foods, the organization that owns Wonderbread. Annie’s Homegrown was bought out by General Mills. Applegate Farms was bought out by Hormel. And the list is growing.
In conclusion, it seems Coca-Cola is the most aggressive pro-GMO company when it comes to sniping out organic companies. Along with Suja Juice, they have also bought out Zico Coconut Water and Honest Tea. The question is, which organic company is next.
[Image via Suja Juice Promotions]
