Dive Brief:
- GMOs were at the forefront of a discussion at a session called "Big Food, Big Changes" at the Fortune Global Forum in San Francisco this week. The session featured Monsanto chairman and CEO Hugh Grant and Ilene Gordon, chairman, president, and CEO of Ingredion.
- Grant highlighted the necessity of GMOs to feed a rapidly growing population.
- Gordon, however, while taking no issues with GMOs, touted the success of the non-GMO foods industry, which she believes will continue to grow but eventually plateau as gluten-free foods have.
Dive Insight:
"We need to get a lot smarter in how we manage soil and how we manage water," Grant said.
The non-GMO foods industry continues to gain speed, and Packaged Facts predicts that the total global market for non-GMO products will nearly double by 2019, surging at a CAGR of 15% between 2014 and 2019. Even major companies like McCormick are jumping onboard.
However, as Gordon noted, GMO-related food concerns could be nothing more than a passing trend.
"We have to be careful not to make capital investments based on fads," Gordon said.