General Mills Labels GMO Ingredients
The state of Vermont made history in 2014 when it passed the nation’s first law mandating the labeling of genetically-modified organisms, also known as GMO ingredients in foods sold in that state. Advocating under the banner of consumers’ “Right to Know,” the law has withstood court scrutiny and is set to go into effect this year. As a result, many major food companies, including General Mills, must decide how to proceed in order to keep their foods on Vermont supermarket shelves. Last week, General Mills announced that it would institute these new labeling practices on all its brands across the country.
It’s Vermont’s Law, but We Will All Benefit
In a move that may pave the way for a national movement towards GMO labeling without the need for further legislation, General Mills’ announcement comes on the heels of a similar declaration by Campbell’s this past January. According to a blog posted executive VP and COO, Jeff Harmening, General Mills’ choice was made with consumers in mind. He writes,
We can’t label our products for only one state without significantly driving up costs for our consumers and we simply will not do that.
In addition, General Mills has taken several additional steps to give consumers the information they want about GMOs. It has set up a searchable database of all its products at Ask.GeneralMills.com which provides consumers with the same labeling information that will begin to appear on packages. It also urges consumers with any additional questions to contact their Customer Relations team via telephone or email.
The Truth About GMO Ingredients
General Mills has taken steps to label GMOs as a direct response to one state’s legislation. However, like most large food manufacturers, it stands by the health and safety of genetically-modified foods, stating:
All sides of this debate, 20 years of research, and every major health and safety agency in the world agree that GMOs are not a health or safety concern.
However, 9 out of 10 American consumers believe that food companies should label GMO ingredients, and not out of safety concerns alone, but because they believe they should be informed. Vermont’s Right to Know advocacy group, the people behind its recent legislation, liken the labeling of GMO ingredients to the labeling of calories, fat, protein, and other nutritional facts on foods. These labels are now a standard practice, but that was not always the case. Consumers demanded them, laws were passed, and now no one thinks twice about this information. In fact, it is used by consumers every day when shopping.
It is also important to note that the exact ingredients that are genetically modified within each product will not even be clear. Vermont’s law only states that a food producer must identify if there are GMO ingredients present in a food and how much of those ingredients are present, which often expressed in terms of percentages (i.e. “less than 75%).
The Future of Labeling GMO Ingredients
While General Mills and Campbell’s, have chosen to offer information about GMO ingredients to consumers nation-wide, the long-term changes that consumers can expect to see on food labels remains unclear. Last week, the U.S. Senate voted down a bill designed to preempt the Vermont law, H.R. 1599, called the Deny Americans the Right to Know (or DARK) Act, which would have halted Vermont’s law from taking effect. This was a clear victory for consumers and the state, but there are still no guidelines for other companies and outside of Vermont.
Because of this, people like General Mills COO Harmening are concerned that additional legislation from other states may make clear labeling of GMOs harder, especially for large, national food companies. Harmening’s blog questions what would happen if additional states join in and pass their own labeling legislation that may contradict Vermont’s. He, like many in the food industry – and country at large – is calling for a national standard regarding GMO communications.