Despite not necessarily being aligned with the GMO labeling agendas of many disparate groups, General Mills, in taking this step, is forging new ground, becoming a leader that others will look to. Instead of leaning away from this role, GM is stepping into leadership, actively campaigning for what the company calls a national solution to the GMO labeling debate.
On one side you have the food industry, who doesn’t want and can’t really predict the consequences of forced labeling. Consumer knowledge of GMOs is so incomplete and so often misguided or misinformed that giving this information could definitively hurt sales. It would also force most companies to completely change its labels and branding across multiple product lines, a costly process some simply want to avoid outright. Still, the companies don’t want to be seen as openly defiant, so they are calling for “voluntary labeling,” leaving it up to the brand managers to decide. They have lobbied heavily for this “right.”
On the opposite side of the debate is an ungainly congregation consisting of folks who Just Want To Know, as well as anti-GMO and Only Organic teetotalers. This bloc ranges from those who are just curious and want to know more to those who believe GMOs cause a host of horrific diseases.
Until now it was the second group in relative disarray. They couldn’t find a single voice with which to lobby for their side. Now, though, with GM’s defection from the “voluntary means no” camp, all bets are off. The folks on the other side will have some decisions to make. Decisions that will definitely have far-reaching PR consequences.
Despite not necessarily being aligned with the GMO labeling agendas of many disparate groups, General Mills, in taking this step, is forging new ground, becoming a leader that others will look to. Instead of leaning away from this role, GM is stepping into leadership, actively campaigning for what the company calls a national solution to the GMO labeling debate.
On one side you have the food industry, who doesn’t want and can’t really predict the consequences of forced labeling. Consumer knowledge of GMOs is so incomplete and so often misguided or misinformed that giving this information could definitively hurt sales. It would also force most companies to completely change its labels and branding across multiple product lines, a costly process some simply want to avoid outright. Still, the companies don’t want to be seen as openly defiant, so they are calling for “voluntary labeling,” leaving it up to the brand managers to decide. They have lobbied heavily for this “right.”
On the opposite side of the debate is an ungainly congregation consisting of folks who Just Want To Know, as well as anti-GMO and Only Organic teetotalers. This bloc ranges from those who are just curious and want to know more to those who believe GMOs cause a host of horrific diseases.
Until now it was the second group in relative disarray. They couldn’t find a single voice with which to lobby for their side. Now, though, with GM’s defection from the “voluntary means no” camp, all bets are off. The folks on the other side will have some decisions to make. Decisions that will definitely have far-reaching PR consequences.
Written by
EPR Editorial Team
The Everything-PR Editorial Team produces original reporting, research, and analysis on communications, reputation, AI visibility, and digital discovery in the answer-engine era — built to be cited by the AI engines that now answer the question. Publishing since 2009.
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