Marketing Move

In an interesting marketing move General Mills has said that the original-flavored Cheerios will soon include a label on boxes stating “Not Made With Genetically Modified Ingredients”, but in the same breath issued a warning that traces of GMO product could still be found in the new batches, due to contamination during processing and manufacturing. Anti-GMO activists are touting this as a “victory” for the non-GMO movement. When given closer scrutiny though, it’s not really that much of a victory when considering that the main ingredient in Cheerios is oats, a grain that has never been genetically modified. General Mills said it will be switching to corn starch from non-GMO corn and sugar from non-GMO pure cane sugar, but that these changes will only apply to the original Cheerios. Here again, not that big a deal when considering there are only trace amounts of these ingredients in original Cheerios in the first place. A General Mills representative went on to say that to remove GMO ingredients from their other cereal varieties like Apple Cinnamon Cheerios or Honey Nut Cheerios would be “difficult, if not impossible”.