by Ben Nuelle
Major Ag groups challenge Dannon on their non-GMO pledge. Monday, members of the U.S. Farmers and Ranchers Alliance sent at letter to leadership at Dannon. They responded to the company’s recent pledge to eliminate the use of biotechnology to feed dairy cows that supply milk for yogurt products.
The letter urged Dannon and other food companies to recognize that their sustainability goals, intended to reduce the use of natural resources, cannot be achieved without the use of modern agricultural practices, despite any misleading assertions to the contrary.
Dannon is one of several prominent food manufacturers and retailers in recent years has taken steps to eliminate genetically-modified ingredients from its supply, claiming that such a move improves the sustainability of its products.
?Just as every one of our farmers believes strongly in sustainable biotechnology, we also believe in the competition of a free market,? said ASA President Richard Wilkins, a farmer from Greenwood, DE. ?But Dannon isn?t competing in good faith; Dannon is making false marketing claims to boost the sale of its products. We can?t afford to stand by and allow this technology to be further denigrated by untruthful claims like Dannon?s.?
American Soybean Association is a part of the U.S. Farmers and Ranchers Alliance. Other groups who signed the letter include: American Farm Bureau Federation, American Sugarbeet Growers Association, National Corn Growers Association, National Milk Producers Federation. Collectively, these organizations represent hundreds of thousands of farmers and food producers across the U.S.
