With the current trend in government legislation to label and indicate which products contain Genetically Modified Organisms, many big companies are attempting to make GMO-free versions of their products. But, according to Reuters, this is turning out to be a much harder task than previously imagined.
Companies like Whole Foods Markets, Chipotle Mexican Grill, and General Mills are starting to phase over towards non-GMO products. Yet GMO's have become one of the largest industries in the U.S., and since their inception eighteen years ago, have all but dominated the market. Needless to say, this makes it a bit difficult to create a product that's completely free of GMOs.
Currently, more than 90% of the soybeans and corn grown in the US are GMO strains, which were originally introduced to fight against insects and plant disease. Those same plants are prolific at cross pollinating other fields, easily tainting non-GMO crops that are not carefully monitored. This makes it incredibly difficult to grow a crop at this moment in which GMOs have not interfered.
Mac Ehrhardt, president of the Albert Lea Seed Company, says the problem is enormous. "All the non-GMO seed we sell has some level of GMO in it." Ehrhardt cites cross contamination from other fields of GMO produce, and claims that it would be nearly impossible for them to produce fully non-GMO seed.
In an effort to effect change, many companies have begun signing up for the Non-GMO Project. This project, started seven years ago, grants companies the opportunity to be audited, and then labeled as a product that contains no more than .9 percent GMO. With the global trend toward a desire for non-GMO products, it will be unsurprising to see many other corporations joining in the fight.
Want to learn what foods are GMO-free? You can check out a list of them here.
