Ben & Jerry’s Ingredient Genetically-Modified Organisms Controversy

Due to controversy, famous ice cream maker Ben & Jerry’s issued a statement saying that the company will stop using the Genetically-modified organisms, GMO, ingredients in its products.

In addition to supporting the call for transparency in food labeling, Ben & Jerry’s has also committed to sourcing only Non-GMO ingredients for our products. Our goal is to do so by the end of 2013, but we will still be making this conversion into 2014. It may seem like this is a long way off, so we’d like to give you a peek behind the curtain to see what’s involved in transitioning all of our ingredients.

The genetically modified foods controversy is a dispute over the relative advantages and disadvantages of food derived from GMOs, genetically modified crops used to produce food and other goods, and other uses of genetically modified organisms in food production. The dispute involves consumers, farmers, biotechnology companies, governmental regulators, non-governmental organizations and scientists. The key areas of controversy related to genetically modified (GM) food are: risk of harm from GM food, whether GM food should be labeled, the role of government regulators, the effect of GM crops on the environment, the impact of GM crops for farmers, including farmers in developing countries, the role of GM crops in feeding the growing world population, and GM crops as part of the industrial agriculture system.

There is broad scientific consensus that food on the market derived from GM crops pose no greater risk than conventional food. No reports of ill effects from eating GM food have been documented in the human population. Supporters of food derived from GMOs hold that food is as safe as other foods and that labels send a message to consumers that GM food is somehow dangerous. They trust that regulators and the regulatory process are sufficiently objective and rigorous, and that risks of contamination of the non-GM food supply and of the environment can be managed. They trust that there is sufficient law and regulation to maintain competition in the market for seeds, believe that GM technology is key to feeding a growing world population, and view GM technology as a continuation of the manipulation of plants that humans have conducted for millennia.

Advocacy groups such as Greenpeace and the World Wildlife Fund have concerns that risks of GM food have not been adequately identified and managed, and have questioned the objectivity of regulatory authorities. Opponents of food derived from GMOs are concerned about the safety of the food itself and wish for GMOs to be banned or at least labeled on the food packages of foods they are in. They have concerns about the objectivity of regulators and rigor of the regulatory process, about contamination of the non-GM food supply, about effects of GMOs on the environment, about industrial agriculture in general, and about the consolidation of control of the food supply in companies that make and sell GMOs, especially in the developing world. Some are concerned that GM technology tampers too deeply with nature.

UPDATE: Here is the latest blog posted on Ben & Jerry’s website.
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Genetically modified organisms, or GMOs , are organisms that have had their genetic makeup (DNA) altered through genetic engineering in a way that does not occur in nature or through traditional cross-breeding methods. GMOs include crops like corn and soy that claim they are resistant to chemical herbicides and toxic, persistent pesticides, and even a genetically engineered salmon that is meant to mature in half the time of a regular fish.

Sounds great, right? Now, we aren’t scientists, we make ice cream, but we do know there are questions about whether GMO technology is truly living up to its promise of making bigger and better food, or whether it’s just simply another way to further industrialize and consolidate our food and agriculture system. Because Ben & Jerry’s has a long history of supporting family owned farms, we’re concerned that increasing GMO crops comes at the expense of smaller farms, which we believe is a more sustainable kind of farming.

What we do know is that GMOs are found in key commodity crops grown in the United States, like corn and soy. Because more than half of processed food products on grocery store shelves contain one or more genetically engineered ingredient, it’s likely that almost all of us eat foods that contain GMOs on a regular basis.

There is a growing movement of consumers, and health and environmental advocates who are demanding that companies be transparent about whether or not their products contain GMOs. Those advocates and citizens are calling for mandatory labeling of all products made with one or more GMO ingredient. In fact, there are already more than 40 countries around the world that have mandatory labeling of GMO foods. We support those calling for transparency and a consumer’s right to know and support the push for mandatory labeling. We ought to all have freedom to choose whether or not we want to eat food that has been genetically engineered. We think this is a fundamental right.