For years, major corporations have been opposing GMO labeling, but the tide is finally starting to turn in a big way.
Ben & Jerry’s just agreed to remove all genetically-modified organisms (GMOs) from its list of ingredients by the end of the year. This is a huge shift for the company — just earlier this year, its corporate parent, Unilever, made headlines by contributing hundreds of thousands of dollars to the fight against GMO labeling. Now Ben & Jerry’s is doing an about-face and fighting against the likes of Monsanto to label GMO products and use natural ingredients instead.
As a more radical brand of a much large food corporation, Ben & Jerry’s can help drive the debate over GMOs in a big way. If Unilever and other companies see an outpouring of support for Ben & Jerry’s over this issue, it will help push more brands to change, and put power behind the movement for real food.
This isn’t an easy decision for Ben & Jerry’s — it will require an overhaul of over 200 products. Ben & Jerry’s needs to know that this is the right move, and that support from its customers will make this transition worth it.
Ben & Jerry’s has a legacy of supporting consumer health. A decade ago it championed labeling laws for products from cows treated with a genetically-engineered growth hormone.