Our mission is to build a healthier relationship with the planet through the food we make. Since day one, we’ve been committed to sourcing the best ingredients produced in fair and healthy conditions without genetically modified organisms (GMOs) and with the most transparency possible. We are pleased to share that we’ve formalized this commitment by obtaining Non-GMO Project Verified certification for our handcrafted nut butters and bars.
What are GMOs?
A GMO, or genetically modified organism, is a plant, animal, microorganism, or other organism whose genetic makeup has been modified in a laboratory using genetic engineering or transgenic technology. This creates combinations of plant, animal, bacterial, and virus genes that do not occur in nature or through traditional crossbreeding methods. In the absence of credible independent long-term feeding studies, the safety of GMOs is unknown (from nongmoproject.org).
How does the non-GMO certification process work?
Each ingredient for every verified product is vetted and confirmed by an independent auditor (known as a Technical Administrator) to have been grown and processed in compliance with Non-GMO Project standards. There are other non-GMO certifications, but Non-GMO Project is the most rigorous third-party non-GMO verification process.
Why aren’t all of your products certified?
Because of the time-intensive nature of Non-GMO Project verification, our Limited Batch nut butters are not certified. As we release new, permanent products into our collections, we will begin the certification process for them.
Why does a Non-GMO Verified certification matter?
GMOs originally came with noble goals of improved nutrition and higher crop yields, but in many cases, genetic engineering of our food crops has created near-opposite effects. Giant, multi-national agricultural companies have often used their GMO crops to a patent-law advantage, continuously trying to shut down small-scale farmers who work to harvest without GMO herbicide-resistant seeds.
Evidence mounts that, despite the scientific potential of GMO seeds, they are not the answer to reducing world hunger, improving nutrition, or increasing yields. Even so, GMOs have proliferated and now pervade our ecosystems and dominate food chains the world over. In fact, more than 80% of all genetically modified crops grown worldwide have been engineered for herbicide tolerance. As a result, the use of toxic herbicides, such as glyphosate, has increased fifteenfold since GMOs were first introduced (from the Non-GMO Project). We do not view this as progress and are grateful for efforts to educate people about GMOs and their consequences.
Further points:
- GMO crops are also responsible for the emergence of “superweed” and “superbugs” that can only be killed with increasingly toxic poisons.
- GMOs are intrinsically tied to the herbicide glyphosate, which the World Health Organization has deemed a probable carcinogen (cancer-causing substance): on August 10, 2018, a California jury ordered Monsanto to pay $289 million in damages to a man dying of cancer, which he says was caused by his repeated exposure to large quantities of Roundup and other glyphosate-based weed killers while working as a school groundskeeper.
- It’s been widely reported that GMOs primarily benefit massive chemical companies and their agricultural extensions, often at the expense of small family-owned farms.
- The long-term effects and impacts of GMO introduction into agriculture still cannot be known.
