GMO Inside, a coalition dedicated to advancing the right of consumers to know whether or not foods are genetically engineered, is asking cereal giants Kellogg’s and General Mills to either label or remove genetically modified organisms (GMO’s) from it’s products.
The ingredients in question for cereal include corn, soy and added sugars, and GMO Inside is asking consumers to sign a petition online, telephone the companies or take action on Facebook profiles for the brands. Information is available at http://gmoinside.org/take-action/.
To date, more than 5,000 consumers have taken action with GMO Inside signing a petition to General Mills to remove GMOs from its bestselling Cheerios line of products, and more than 17,000 Facebook fans helped to shut down the companys Cheerios Facebook app in December 2012.
“We have been completely blown away by the amount of consumer support the GMO issue has created,” said Alisa Gravitz, President of Green America. “Since Prop 37 was defeated in California in November last year, consumer action has only increased.”
General Mills is the maker of cereals including Cheerios, Chex, Kix and Lucky Charms, as well as the owner of Betty Crocker, Pillsbury and Hamburger Helper. Kellogg’s manufactures Corn Flakes, POPS, Froot Loops, Frosted Flakes and Special K, and also owns MorningStar Farms, Pop Tarts and Keebler.
The coalition is also asking the cereal giants to pledge not to fund any opposition to I-522, the Washington State ballot initiative for GMO labeling, which will be up for a vote in November 2013, or any other initiatives and legislation emerging in states around the country.
“We’re calling on consumers to get a fresh start this year by beginning every day with a healthy breakfast, free of GMO ingredients,” said Elizabeth O’Connell, GMO Inside Campaign Director. “Putting Kellogg’s and General Mills under our January spotlight is part of GMO Inside’s commitment to educate consumers about which products are likely to have GMO ingredients. We’ll call attention to new products every month.”
For more information on the GMO’s and the movement to get products labeled or have GMO’s removed from food, see our article “The Truth About GMO’s in Your Food.”