Organic Processing Vo1.5 #2

Ingredients

processor. The results were financial losses, damaged reputations and threats of lawsuits. Everyone lost.

In a 2001 nationwide survey conducted by the Organic Farming Research Foundation (OFRF), certified organic farmers reported the first direct financial and related operational impacts associated with the threat of GMO contamination. For example, 46 percent of survey respondents rated the risk of exposure and possible contamination of their organic farm products by GMOs as moderate or greater OFRF executive director Bob Scowcroft said, “If this trend continues, what we’re seeing now will prove to be just the tip of the iceberg.”

cal mass with the backing of Whole Foods Market and United Natural Foods and participation of leading organic food processors, including Eden Foods, Nature’s Path Foods, Organic Valley and Lundberg Family Farms.

At last year’s Natural Products Expo West tradeshow, Michael Funk, president and CEO of United Natural Foods, described the Non-GMO Project as “a call to action” to eliminate GMOs from natural and organic foods. “There is no greater threat to the organic industry than GMOs,” said Funk. “They don’t belong in the organic food supply, and they threaten human health and the environment.”

The Non-GMO Project: a “Call to
Action” to Eliminate GMOs

While surveys show that most American consumers are unaware of the presence of GMOs in the food supply, organic consumers tend to be more aware. A 2001 survey found that organic consumers would be willing to pay as much as 50 percent more to avoid GMOs in food products. In fact, with unlabeled GMOs so prevalent in the U.S. food supply eating organic is the best way to avoid them.

As a result of the GMO threat to organic, The Natural Grocer Company, based in Berkeley, California, launched the “People Want to Know” campaign in 2003 with the aim of organizing natural food retailers to persuade organic and natural food companies to verify the GMO status of their products. Growing to 161 natural food stores and cooperatives, the campaign became the Non-GMO Project in 2005, when FoodChain Global Advisors, an Iowa-based company with expertise in GMO controls and monitoring, was asked to provide technical assistance in DNA testing for non-GMO verification. In 2007, the Non-GMO Project reached criti-

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