Boulder Brands CEO Says 43% of Customers Want Non-GMO Food

Consumers don’t want GMO in their butter – or anywhere else. Thanks to the anti-GMO movement, the makers of Smart Balance will remove genetically modified organisms from their butters and spreads. Prices will not increase and the change will happen as early as this March.

This determination follows the precedent set by General Mills to remove GMOs from one of its main cereals: Cheerios. Whether it’s a well-played marketing scheme to lasso more consumers who are GMO-conscious, or a true desire to feed people more healthful food (probably not), the change is a testament to consumer-decision power.

Even the major store Target has decided to launch a major brand that contains no GMO ingredients. Chipotle and others have decided to at least label GMOs on their menus, which has led to a huge spike in profits.

“I’ve been in the food industry for 35 years. I have never seen a consumer issue come on this fast,” said Stephen Hughes, chairman and chief executive of Boulder Brands, the parent company of Smart Balance. “Forty-three percent of our consumers want to see a non-GMO Smart Balance.”

The Boulder Brands CEO also commented on the importance of what goes into food, as well as what is absent from it, “They think what we put in our food matters, and frankly, the same applies to what we leave out.”

The Grocery Manufacturer’s Association admits that up to 80% of processed foods in the US contain genetically modified organisms. This is likely why members of the ill-intended group want to prohibit GMO labeling, sensing the growing displeasure of consumer-activists. Among GMA members are General Mills, Coke, Pepsi, Kraft and Kellogg’s – companies which provide a large portion of convenience foods to the planet.

It is a step for Boulder Brands, the makers of Smart Balance, to remove GMO from their products, but how will they really know what is going in them if labels aren’t a legal requirement?