Food Companies will go Non-GMO if CA Labeling Law Passes

By Ken Roseboro
Ingredient suppliers say it would take two years for supply to meet non-GMO demand

Major food manufacturers are likely to switch to using non-GMO ingredients in their products sold nationwide if California's initiative to label GM foods-Proposition 37-passes this fall, according to food industry experts.

Food manufacturers fear that a label saying Genetically Engineered on their products would scare off consumers. When GM food labeling became law in Europe food manufacturers stopped buying GM ingredients to avoid the GM label.

California's big impact

California, which is the world's eighth largest economy and consumes 12% of the food eaten in the US, is such a major market that it could lead companies to switch to non-GMO nationwide.

"A strong GMO labeling law passed in California would certainly influence all manufacturers of nationally distributed foods to try to go total non-GMO," says Clyde Boismenue, owner and general manager of Basic Foods Company.

"If labeling passes in California, most food producers will look at changing production on a regional and possibly on a national level," says Steve Peirce, president of RIBUS, a manufacturer of non-GMO and organic rice ingredients. "I don't think you can just change production for one state unless you are a small producer."