The company maintains that government-approved genetically engineered foods are safe to eat. And it denied that outside pressure motivated the change. The only explanation given by company officials was that they believed the new formulation would be popular.
"We believe consumers will embrace it," General Mills spokesman Mike Siemienas said.
GMO Inside, an anti-GMO campaign, was quick to claim victory. Organized by members of Green America, a Washington-based nonprofit advocating environmental sustainability, GMO Inside encouraged thousands of people on Facebook to urge General Mills to make Cheerios free of genetically modified organisms.
"We decided General Mills and Cheerios were a good place to focus our energy because a huge company like that could have a major impact," said Elizabeth O'Connell, director of the campaign.
The effort came on the heels of the failed 2012 ballot initiative in California known as Proposition 37 that called for labeling of many genetically engineered foods. Supporters of GMO labeling were stung again by a similar loss in Washington state in November known as I-522.
But O'Connell said consumers are doing what governments have failed to do by threatening to take their grocery dollars elsewhere.
"This shows consumers that their voice does make a difference," she said. "Collective action makes a difference. The ballot actions added awareness and created frustration. Having a win is a great way to show we do have power against these huge corporations."
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-cheerios-gmo-20140104,0,4949616.story#ixzz2pRonOyL1
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