Urban Garden Magazine gives a standing ovation (and a share of our grocery dollars) to those companies who have taken a strong position against genetically modified ingredients in their products. Eden Foods, Kettle Foods, and Nature’s Path (among other companies) have had their non-GMO claims verified by the Non-GMO Project, a non-profit organization.

For more information on the Non-GMO Project and participating brands, visit the official website.

Nature’s Path

Dag Falck, Nature’s Path Foods’ Organic Program Manager, says:
“When I first started to learn about GMOs, I was shocked and overwhelmed. For me, that was a time of deep reflection about our food supply and, as a consumer of food, what my choices were. I started to understand as I got more education – which foods are genetically modified, and how to steer clear of them. Taking responsibility is very empowering, you learn about what your options are as a consumer. You don’t have to do it all at once. Only 5% of the population has to say no to GMOs in their food supply before things will start to change. GMO labeling will become mandatory. It’s all about educating ourselves, and then taking action. People ask why the Europeans are so concerned about GMOs: it’s because they know about them. It was the public educating themselves and saying no to GMOs that paved the way for mandatory GMO labeling in Europe.”

Nature’s Path products:

• USDA Certified Organic
• Contain no artificial preservatives or additives
• Contain no genetically modified organisms (GMOs)
• Kosher certified
• Vegetarian
• Many are gluten free

Eat Well. Do Good.

Nature’s Path’s was selected by Maclean’s magazine as one of Canada’s Greenest Employers 2009. The company is on the path to being zero-waste certified by 2010, and completely carbon neutral by 2020.

Company Profile

Headquarters: Richmond, British Columbia
Founded: 1985
Employees: 350+
Claim to Fame: Nature’s Path Foods is North America’s largest organic breakfast cereal producer.
Visit Nature’s Path online at www.naturespath.com.

Eden Foods

Michael Potter, President of Eden Foods, says:
“Today we face a permanent adulteration of our food — the pollution of our food gene pool by giant corporations who “own” the DNA and are only interested in profit. This is an affront to organic agriculture and places an enormous burden on companies like Eden Foods to acquire non-genetically polluted organic food; it is the single most serious threat to the freedom of humanity by corporate exploitation. It strikes me as ironic that food is genetically engineered to allow the killing of all life in the soil with toxic herbicides, when the inherent nature of anything considered food is to nurture life. I have stood on huge tracts of dead soil, all life choked out of it by agricultural chemicals made by these same corporations. For nature to repair this, it requires thousands of years; but, we are “the salt of the Earth,” and the magic of man is that we can repair this damage using organic techniques in three to five years. What power we have to nurture life! Or kill, if we do not act wisely and prevent further processes of imitation and adulteration of food.”

GEO/GMO Free Assurance Since 1993

Foreseeing the commercialization of genetically engineered food, in 1993 Eden established a policy against GEOs and their derivatives in food. Since then Eden has remained diligent in doing all that is necessary — and beyond — to keep EDEN food GEO free.

Organic Certification

Though all Eden Organic food is grown, handled, processed, and certified in a way that meets and exceeds the requirements for using the ‘USDA Organic’ seal, Eden chooses not to use this seal on its food labels. In short, this seal does not approach Eden’s standards for organic, in practice or in spirit.

Company Profile

Headquarters: Clinton, Michigan
Founded: 1968
Claim to Fame: Eden Foods is the oldest principled natural food company in North America. The Ball Corporation reports that Eden is the only U.S. food manufacturer to date to use BPA-free lined cans.
Connections: Eden Foods works with 355 family farms with over 79,000 acres of organic farm land.
Visit Eden Foods online at www.edenfoods.com.

Kettle Brand

Jim Green, Ambassador and Spokesperson of Kettle Brand, says:
“When we started making Kettle Brand® Potato Chips more than 25 years ago it was easy to avoid GMO crops, of course. As these practices have become more prevalent we’ve stuck to our original promise by seeking out farmers and suppliers who share our values, including a commitment to providing us with the highest quality natural, non-GMO ingredients. Today we make over 25 varieties of potato chips, including the only certified organic potato chips, as well as offering organic tortilla chips, nut butters and nut mixes. We think we make the best-tasting snacks out there and are more than happy to tell our fans exactly what’s in our products. We keep it simple so snacking doesn’t have to be a mystery – just delicious crunchy chips made batch by batch according to the Kettle Brand® natural promise.”

Kettle Brand’s Natural Promise

• Non-GMO ingredients
• Absolutely nothing artificial
• No trans fats
• No artificial colors or flavors
• No preservatives
• Gluten free

Company Profile

Headquarters: Salem, Oregon
Founded: 1978
Employees: 700+
Fuel Fact: 100% of the waste vegetable oil from Kettle Brand’s production process is converted into biodiesel.

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