Huffington Post – by Hunter Stuart
Ben & Jerry’s is removing a controversial ingredient from its ice cream: Genetically-modified organisms.
As of now, only 80% of Ben & Jerry’s ingredients are sourced non-GMO, according to the ice cream maker. But by the end of the year, the company aims to completely phase out genetically modified products from its ice cream.
The Vermont-based ice cream maker said on its website that the undertaking will be “complex” because a single flavor can contain up to 40 ingredients. As a result,the conversion process may continue into 2014.
Genetically modified foods, which are engineered to resist insecticides and herbicides, have been a source of controversy in the U.S. and abroad. Supporters say the plants boost crop yields, increasing the global food supply, while critics argue the chemicals can be harmful to the environment and lead to serious health problems. Protesters in cities across the country took to the streets last week to demonstrate against Monsanto, the company most synonymous with GMOs.
Ben & Jerry’s announcement comes less than a year after California residents voted down Proposition 37, a California ballot initiative that would have required genetically-modified food to be labeled as such. Ben & Jerry’s parent company,Unilever donated almost half a million dollars to defeat the measure, according to Underground Health.
In total, companies like Monsanto and The Hershey Co. gave a combined $44 millionto defeat the ballot initiative.
But the GMO controversy rages on. The European Union recommended all of its members check certain U.S. wheat shipments after the U.S. Department of Agriculture said it had found an unapproved genetically-modified grain on a farm in Oregon.
The discovery of the engineered Oregon wheat, which had been developed by Monsanto, led South Korea and Japan to suspend wheat imports.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/06/02/ben-and-jerrys-gmos-genetically-modified_n_3372451.html
Would this raise the price now for their ice cream because of going no GMO? Kind of like organic is always more expensive.
Wouldn’t surprise me.
I like Aldens organic its 1.5 qts or 3 pints for $6 on sale
At $2 a pint thats $2 less than BJ pints or hagen daz 14 oz.
When BJ brings back some of the old good flavors like holy canoli coconut almond fudge chunk chocolate peanut butter cookie dough dastardly mash I will buy their product. Their new flavors taste bad and generally have a repulsive name or feature a jew comedian which is basically the same thing.
They charge so much it should already be organic and come with free sex. I boycotted them when it was sold for 2billion about a decade ago. they stopped make “worlds best vanilla”. Now its vanilla bean or french vanilla. It was the only recipe they held on to.
I guess I’m a cynical old bastard but when I read the headline I read it as an admission their products contained GMOs up til now. And I always thought they were all about healthy products and ingredients. Shows you how much I knew about them.
Yes, obviuosly things Changed when “Ma & Pa” sold the Company.
OK Angel, I don’t have a TV so I may be a bit out of touch. Are you saying Ben and Jerry don’t own it any more? I also noticed they will go non GMO by the end of the year. Why the wait? Need to get rid of existing GMO inventory?
LOL. Not something I’ve followed, either.
From my understanding, (don’t remember when) Ben and Jerry did sell. After that, I remember seeing alot of Franchise shops and bizare flavors.
I wonder who bought them? I guessing either Monsanto or Bill “vaccinate ’em til they die” Gates? Maybe ADM? Buckshot Dick Cheney…he needs something evil to do…Heck, it might even be sombody I ain’t thought of yet.
Hey they were just peaceful fat hippies.
I would gladly pay a little more for a better product that doesn’t poison me..
Never bought their stuff anyway. Now that I know they’re not organic, I’m glad I just stuck with Breyers all these years.
And I only buy that when it’s on sale.
I called them as I was in a grocery store and asked if they use GMO beet sugar in their ice cream. There was a long pause, then it’s as if the person on the line was reading a script. He told me that they couldn’t tell me if it contained GMO beet sugar or not, that they didn’t know if their supplier’s sugar contained GMO beet sugar. I told them that I couldn’t imagine a major brand not knowing every single ingredient and where it came from. In other words, it does and I aint telling you. So, they can’t say it contains 100% cane sugar because it doesn’t. Any food with “sugar” on the label and not “pure cane sugar” will most likely contain GMO beet sugar which is in most processed sweet goods in the U.S. simply because it’s cheap. “All natural” doesn’t mean anything.