Co-op Group to Raise Cash for GMO Labeling Effort

The National Cooperative Grocers Association plans to raise $75,000 this October to support the Just Label It campaign, a national coalition of more than 650 organizations that support labeling food products containing genetically modified organisms.

Representing 134 food co-ops in 36 states with combined annual sales of more than $1.5 billion, NCGA has been working for years on a national level to ensure food labels provide consumers with information about what’s in their food and where it comes from. Just Label It organizers say more than 90 percent of Americans want foods containing GMOs to be labeled.

“Food co-ops exist to serve their members,” said Robynn Shrader, NCGA's CEO. “And the message nationwide from co-op shoppers has been and continues to be clear: shoppers want to know if foods contain GMOs. Whether they choose to buy GMO foods or not, consumers have the right to make informed choices about what they eat.”

In October, NCGA is partnering with 10 manufacturers whose products are Non-GMO Project verified and/or certified organic to raise the donation for the Just Label It campaign and bring consumer awareness to the issue: Dream, Endangered Species Chocolate, Garden of Eatin’, Harvest Bay, Manitoba Harvest Hemp Foods, Nature’s Path Organic, Organic Valley, Silk, Spectrum and Wholesome Sweeteners.

“We’re proud to play a role in the groundswell of businesses, consumers and organizations that are uniting behind one of the most important food issues we face today,” Shrader said.

The Non-GMO Project – America’s only third-party verification system and for labeling non-GMO food and products – launched Non-GMO Month in October 2010 as a platform for raising consumer awareness of the importance of knowing what’s in the food they eat.

Founded in 1999, Iowa City, Iowa-based National Cooperative Grocers Association is a business services cooperative that helps unify food co-ops in order to optimize operational and marketing resources, strengthen purchasing power, and ultimately offer more value to natural food co-op owners and shoppers everywhere.