Large food manufacturers, faced with declining sales, are increasingly using deceptive absence claim food labels to distinguish themselves in a highly competitive space. Their goal: gain market share by playing on consumers’ lack of knowledge, misconceptions or outright fears regarding the safety of their food.
Nowhere is this type of fear mongering more prevalent than with GMOs. Biotechnology enables farmers to grow more food, more safely, and more sustainably than in the past. 20 years of research and evidence attesting to the safety of the use of GMO technology has made that clear. But the use of bioengineering has become a convenient target for clever marketers.
Sometimes it’s a company that changes its processes or sourcing to avoid GM ingredients – even though there is no nutritional, health, environmental or other benefit from the change.
Or it might be a company whose product never contained GMOs in the first place that decides to take cynical advantage of consumer fears and drop a prominent “non-GMO” label on its product anyway.
It’s time to speak out and challenge these misleading marketing claims. Here are a few of the most disappointing examples of food label fear mongering in the marketplace today. As we collect more – GMO or otherwise – we’ll keep updating this list.
If you come across a case of food label fear mongering, take a photo and share it on Twitter using #PeelBackTheLabel!