Some cereal companies have caved to the radical anti-gmo crowd and have decided to make to their cereal without any genetically modified ingredients. General Mills will now label Cheerios as not containing genetically modified ingredients. Post also jumped on the bandwagon and changed the Grape Nuts formulation so it too can carry the “Non-GMO verified” label.
Of course, that’s really trendy and sounds cool, but it turns out it might also mean your cereal is lacking a few essential vitamins.
According to Forbes, a simple box comparison highlights the differences:
Comparing the labels of the original to the reformulated versions reveals the following facts. Original Cheerios provided 25% of the Daily Value of Riboflavin (Vitamin B2) but the non-GMO version has only 2%. Cheerios original had 0% saturated fat and now Cheerios non-GMO has 3% saturated fat. Original Grape Nuts provided substantial Vitamins A, D, B12 and Riboflavin, but non-GMO Grape Nuts has zero Vitamin A, D and B12, and only 4% of Riboflavin, down from 25% in the original formulation.
Meanwhile, your box of cereal is going to be overall smaller, but for the same price. That means you’re paying more for less cereal and less nutrition!
Dr. Wayne Parrott explained the reason for the missing vitamins:
He says there are not enough non-GMO vitamins on the market to add as supplements. He says the only non-GMO vitamin producer has closed. The vast majority of vitamins and enzymes and other food additives are produced through genetic modifications using micro-organisms such as yeast.
Oh, it gets worse.
[DELETED SOURCE MATERIAL AND PERSONAL COMMENTS. SEE “UPDATE” BELOW.]
These companies are already risking a lot by changing their top brand product in order to appease a few radical groups.
What a shame, because this just means I’m even less likely to ever support them again. Unfortunately, when radicals win, it is the consumers that lose.
UPDATE: I was informed by a reader that Forbes has taken down the article that I originally quoted because they may or may not have been threatened with legal action by anti-GMO advocates for linking General Mills and John Fagan. Fagan is an anti-GMO activist that apparently has a fun time playing with plant vibrations. Apparently there is not a connection between the two. Nonetheless, I have removed the source material and my comments where indicated. While I normally wouldn’t bow down to anti-GMO activists, I’ve deleted the information because my source deleted it.
Thank you for this. I get so tired of the sheeple who just jump on the next health craze!! Brains…God gave them to us so that we can make our own educated decisions!!
Thank you! You are spot on! Anti-GMOers can't even see out of their box to realize their misguided opinions.
Remember GMO means genetically modified, do you really think genetically modified food with added man made vitamins can be good for you? You can listen to propoganda from the multi billion dollar GMO companies, or you can do the research and see for yourself all studies linking GMO products to cancer and many other harmful risks to your body.
It's funny, Gabriel, but there is not a SINGLE study showing that GMOs are bad for humans or the environment. Not a single shred of evidence, and certainly NOTHING that connects GMOs to cancer. Just because you say it over and over again doesn't make it true.
Cereal is highly processed food that no one should be consuming GMO or not. We really need to stop fighting about and growing all these cereal grains and oils seeds that are unhealthy for all to consume humans and cows.
I published this only because I think it's so ridiculous. Cereal is not bad for you and can certainly be part of a healthy and balanced diet.
I agree with you totally. Enjoy your blog.