General Mills portrays itself as a purveyor of wholesome foods for the whole family. The company boasts that it is nourishing lives – making lives healthier, easier, and richer.
But General Mills has a dirty little secret. Its foods (including products from iconic brands such as Betty Crocker, Pillsbury, and Hamburger Helper) are chock full of corn, soy, and sugars -- ingredients that are almost always genetically modified in the United States. That includes Cheerios, America’s most-consumed cereal, and one that parents often feed to their children as a snack throughout the day. Genetically modified organisms (GMOs) have never been proven safe for consumption, and a growing body of studies is raising concerns around the health effects of eating them. GMOs are also increasing the use of herbicides and causing harm to farmers in the US and abroad. They are not making life healthier, easier, or richer. Nonetheless, General Mills keeps using ingredients known to have GMOs in its foods.
Adding insult to injury, the Cheerios that General Mills sells in Europe do not have GMO ingredients. That tells us two important things. First, General Mills can make Cheerios without GMOs. And second, General Mills doesn't care about the health of American families.
Knowing the growing public concern that exists around GMOs, General Mills is also doing all it can to prevent its customers from finding out that GMOs are in their foods. The company spent more than $1.1 million to oppose Proposition 37 in California, which would have required the labeling of GMO foods in that state. The “No on 37” coalition flooded the airwaves with misleading information to defeat Californians’ right to know what’s in their food.
Join Green America and the GMO Inside coalition in telling General Mills that it needs to shift towards non-GMO foods and support the public’s right to know when there are GMOs in its foods.