Saturday, August 17, 2013

Big Food Stocks and Anti-GMO Sentiment: The Right to Choose Movement Gains Strength

Big Food Stocks and Anti-GMO Sentiment: The Right to Choose Movement Gains Strength:

The coalition of big biotech seed companies sponsoring GMOAnswers.com will clearly use the site as a platform to counter negative consumer perception. However, in light of negative health findings regarding GMOs, it looks like escalating global negative sentiment will continue to hurt and could eventually doom the company. Yet there is still considerable institutional support; many five-star mutual funds currently hold Monsanto.
In the face of mass demonstrations, documentaries like GMO OMG , and a torrent of irate consumers who have inundated the blogosphere with complaints and criticism of genetically modified organisms (GMOs), food giants are responding with concessions. Whole Foods Market, Inc. ( WFM ) announced that by 2018, it will require the labeling of genetically engineered ingredients in its American and Canadian stores. In the UK, it's already mandatory. Whole Foods' competitors are expected to follow suit. 

Americans are showing clear support for the Right to Choose movement by buying more of the few products that are already labeled non-GMO. Whole Foods President, A. C. Gallo told the New York Times , "We've seen how our customers have responded to the products we do have labeled. Some of our manufacturers say they've seen a 15% increase in sales of products they have labeled non-GMO." 

Despite all of the controversy surrounding the GMO issue, however, it has been business as usual during the past year or so for big food companies like Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. ( WMT ) and Whole Foods, and biotech engineering companies like Monsanto Company ( MON ), where earnings and share prices have been relatively stable. 

Read more: http://www.nasdaq.com/article/big-food-stocks-and-antigmo-sentiment-the-right-to-choose-movement-gains-strength-cm268292#ixzz2cERLVqR3

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