Do you tend to believe that the products you buy in the organic aisle are healthy, or that you are “safe” buying well-known health food brands like Kashi, or Gardenburger? Think again! This election season Proposition 37 is a heated and divided issue on the California ballot. In short, it requires food manufacturers (outside of the dairy, meat and alcohol industries) to label foods that contain a certain proportion of genetically modified ingredients (GMO’s) and stop labeling foods that contain them as “healthy.” (If you have no idea what a GMO is, read the backstory at an article I wrote for Minyanville).
Ballot supporters say its time for consumers to know what they’re eating. Opponents say the effort doesn’t address the real issues, and that it will cost grocers, farmers, manufacturers–and consumers more money. Regardless of where you stand on the issue of GMO’s overall, there is a disturbing little nugget of information within the major food manufacturers who are putting major dollars to stopping the effort dead in its tracks, including Pepsi, Coca Cola, General Mills, Nestle, ConAgra, and Smuckers. On the surface, you may not be entirely surprised; no one is under the impression that Coke and Pepsi are healthy brands. Until you consider that they are the parent companies of brands you DO trust! Here are the top 10 “healthy food” brands, whose parent companies aren’t willing to say what’s in that box…kind of makes you wonder!
1. Naked drinks (parent company PepsiCo)
2. Odwalla, Simply Orange (Coca Cola)
3. Kashi (Kellogg)
4. Morningstar (Kellogg)
5. Garden Burger (Kellogg)
6. Bear Naked (Kellogg)
7. Cascadian Farms (General Mills)
8. Larabar (General Mills)
9. Horizon (Dean Foods)
10. Silk (Dean Foods)
Who can you trust? These are the brands who are putting money towards Prop 37
1. Nature’s Peak
2. Organic Valley milk
3. Amy’s organic
4. Annie’s organic
5. Clif Bar
