Dive Brief:
- Chipotle raised awareness about genetically modified foods when it removed GMOs from most of its products earlier this year, and is incorporating the GMO debate in marketing events. Chipolte Cultivate events have been held in Kansas City, MO and Phoenix and one is planned for Minneapolis on Saturday.
- The company uses the events to reach consumers who see non-GMO products as falling under what the industry calls the "health halo." Those consumers perceive the food is fresher, more natural.
- What consumers want does not line up with what top scientists and major food and beverage companies report: GMOs, in processed foods made with corn, soy, or beet products, are safe to consume.
Dive Insight:
Part of the focus for Chipotle and other anti-GMO companies is promoting the education of consumers on GMOs, which they say are unsafe to consume. As part of a consumer education initiative, anti-GMO food and beverage companies can take advantage of the non-GMO labels. California Certified Organic Farmers' counters with a "Non-GMO & More" label for its members. The organization aims to educate consumers who may not know that organic foods are by nature non-GMO and devoid of other chemicals and artificial ingredients.
"The marketplace is trying to sell what they believe consumers want. But what they want [non-GMO food] is already regulated [as organic food]," according to Cathy Calfo, executive director of California Certified Organic Farmers.
These labels could be made voluntary, however, if a recently passed House bill continues to make its way through Congress. Even if GMO labels are made voluntary nationwide, companies could still promote non-GMO products to capture that concerned subset looking for the "health halo."
The GMO labeling fight has even received celebrity endorsement, including mother and daughter Blythe Danner and Gwyneth Paltrow. According to one recent study, GMO labels would not scare consumers away.