Giants Hershey, Dannon & Nestle Pledge Non-GMO Future!
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The U.S. leading yogurt producer Dannon has announced that it’s three flagship brands will be made from non-GMO ingredients and that the cows that produce Dannon’s milk will be fed non-GMO feed.
Dannon
Dannon announced Wednesday a pledge to its farmers, retail customers and consumers to further improve sustainable agriculture practices for its milk supply, to increase transparency for its portfolio of products and evolve to more natural and fewer ingredients for flagship brands.
Dannon’s announcement came hot on the heals of Nestlé’s announcement last week that it is removing all genetically modified ingredients (GMOs) from six of its top selling ice cream brands, in a move to “evolve with consumer preferences”.
Dannon’s Pledge key components:
Dannon commits to offer products coming from a more sustainable agriculture by working with its dairy farmer partners and their suppliers to progressively implement the use of sustainable agriculture practices and technology that leads tobetter soil health, better water management, an increase in biodiversity, and a decrease in carbon emission.
Dannon commits to bring all products from three flagship brands (Dannon®, Oikos® and Danimals®) towards the use of fewer and more natural ingredients that are not synthetic and non-GMO. Importantly, Dannon also commits that for these brands the feed of its farmers’ cows will be non-GMO, within a transition period of 3 years. The ambition is to evolve the remaining brands over time.
To ensure full transparency for consumers, Dannon also commits todeclare by December 2017 nationwide on label the presence of GMO ingredients in its products. In the meantime, if one state implements a GMO labeling requirement, since Dannon favors a nationwide labeling system, it will label the presence of GMOs nationwide according to the state requirements.
The first impact of these changes will be visible starting July 2016, when the company will move to more natural ingredients which do not contain genetically modified ingredients for its flagship brands Oikos, Danimals and Dannon. These brands represent 50 percent of the company’s current volume. For the company’s foundation ingredient – milk – Dannon is going one big step further. Starting in 2017 and completing the transformation by the end of 2018, Dannon will work with its farmer partners to ensure that the cows that supply Dannon’s milk for these flagship products will be fed non-GMO feed, a first for a leading non-organic yogurt maker. To further improve transparency, by December 2017, Dannon’s labels will note the presence of GMO ingredients in all products in which such ingredients remain. Looking further into the future, Dannon’s ambition is to also evolve the other brands in its portfolio, beyond Dannon, Oikos and Danimals, over time.
The changes will enable consumers to make everyday choices for themselves, their family and children consistent with their wish for natural and sustainable eating options, choosing which agricultural and environmental model they favor.
The broad pledge started with the relationships the company has forged with its dairy farmers. Dannon began to evolve its milk supply model in 2010 to work directly with the farms that provide its milk. “We created a new way to work with dairy farmers to improve our shared sustainability priorities,” said Mariano Lozano, President and CEO of The Dannon Company. “Our ambition is to produce healthy food that is affordable, creates economic and social value and nurtures natural ecosystems through sustainable agriculture. Although our journey is independent from that of our organic sister companies, we have learned a lot from and are inspired by Stonyfield and Happy Family.”
As expressed in the company’s pledge, Dannon’s priorities for agriculture focus on soil, water, biodiversity, carbon and energy, and animal welfare. Dannon has already started work on the first phase of its commitment by encouraging practices, such as rotating crops, managing fertilizer, pesticide and herbicide application in the production of feed for a portion of the cows providing the company’s milk supply.
“Dannon’s pledge to use more sustainable agricultural practices with their producer-partners will drive innovation and improvements and represents a bold and important step toward greater transparency,” said Dr. Molly Jahn, Agronomy Professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and former Deputy Under Secretary of Research, Education and Economics at the U.S. Department of Agriculture. “Dannon’s leadership in sustainability sets an ambitious benchmark for other dairy companies.”
Ken McCarty of McCarty Family Farms, which has been a farmer partner to Dannon since 2011, added, “We’re proud of the partnership we have with Dannon. It’s uncommon in the dairy industry to have such a close working relationship with a milk buyer. Not only does it give us reliability in the market, it gives us reliability for our families and our community. And it encourages all of Dannon’s farmer partners to convert to practices that better serve our natural resources and environment.”
Recognizing the importance of the pledge, Dannon is inviting others to join them in support of the pledge. To learn more about the pledge, visit www.DannonPledge.com.
“It’s our mission to bring health through food to as many people as possible,” said Lozano. “And it’s our passion to help people enjoy the benefits of yogurt every day in a sustainable way. While this commitment is ambitious, we believe it’s necessary to continue to serve Americans using a sustainable and transparent model.”
~ REUTERS one hour ago!
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TOO BAD FOR GMO GROWERS!
YSYB IS NON-GMO!!! YSYB IS THE BIGGEST NON-GMO PROCESSOR WORLDWIDE THERE IS!!!!!!!
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Oct 17 (Reuters) - A coalition of farmers slammed Danone SA's U.S. subsidiary on Monday for marketing new products made without genetically-modified ingredients, or GMOs, as supporting sustainable agriculture.
Groups representing ranchers, beet sugar, corn, soybean and dairy farmers said the marketing misleads consumers about GMOs and may harm sustainable farming rather than promote it, in a letter to Mariano Lozano, head of Dannon, as Danone's U.S. unit is known.
Dannon said in April it would use non-GMO ingredients and transition all of the feed for its farmers' cows to non-GMO within three years for three of its brands. The yogurt maker also said it would work with dairy farmers and their suppliers to use sustainable agriculture practices and technology.
Major U.S. crops like corn and soybeans have been genetically engineered to introduce traits like resistance to insects and pesticides. Debate over GMOs heated up this year as lawmakers moved to make labeling of the ingredients mandatory, pressed by consumer advocates.
Dannon's pledge will force farmers to take a "step backward in truly sustainable food production," groups including the National Corn Growers Association, National Milk Producers Federation and American Sugarbeet Growers Association said in the letter.
Farmers say that use of genetically-engineered crops reduces their need for inputs including pesticides and water.
"This is just marketing puffery, not any true innovation that improves the actual product offered to consumers," said Randy Mooney, chairman of the National Milk Producers Federation, and a dairy farmer from Rogersville, Missouri, of Dannon's pledge.
A spokesman for Dannon did not respond immediately to request for comment. Dannon said in April the company wants to enable consumers to have more choices to eat healthier and more sustainable foods.
The farmers' letter represents one of the broadest and most coordinated moves yet by farmers to fight a wave of food companies including Hershey Co and General Mills Inc that have shunned GMO ingredients in some of their products.
Farmers previously pushed back on Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc for advertising of its non-GMO ingredients and fought hard against efforts by states including Vermont to introduce mandatory labels, saying it stigmatizes the ingredients.
Big food companies and farm groups spent millions lobbying to prevent the labeling."
Quoted REUTERS ~ TODAY!
