How to Avoid GMO Foods

People who still eat packaged food products have a very difficult time avoiding GMO. Food products produced in corporate factories and packaged with labels are high-risk GMO foods. Natural whole foods that come unlabeled are low-risk GMO, almost NO RISK if its organic. Here is a fairly comprehensive useful chart and list of food brands to help avoid unwanted GMO's.

How To Avoid Food Brands Made With Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) This section is compiled by Frank M. Painter, D.C. Send all comments or additions to:    Frankp@chiro.org
	Thanks to the Institute for Responsible Technology for access to this article! Genetic Engineering (GE) or Genetic Modification (GM) of food involves the laboratory process of artificially inserting genes into the DNA of food crops or animals. The result is called a genetically modified organism or GMO. GMOs can be engineered with genes from bacteria, viruses, insects, animals, or even humans. Most Americans say they would not eat GMOs if labeled, but unlike most other industrialized countries, the U.S. does not require labeling. This Non-GMO Shopping Guide is designed to help reclaim your right to know about the foods you are buying, and help you find and avoid GMO foods and ingredients. Tips for avoiding GM crops TIP #1: BUY ORGANIC Certified organic products are not allowed to contain any GMOs.  Therefore, when you purchase products labeled “100% organic,” “organic,” or “made with organic ingredients,” all ingredients in these products are not allowed to be produced from GMOs. For example, products labeled as “made with organic ingredients” only require 70% of the ingredients to be organic, but 100% must be non-GMO. TIP #2: LOOK FOR“NON-GMO” LABELS Companies may voluntarily label products as “non-GMO.” Some labels state “non-GMO” while others spell out “Made Without Genetically Modified Ingredients.” Some products limit their claim to only one particular “At-Risk” ingredient such as soy lecithin, listing it as “non-GMO.” TIP #3: AVOID AT-RISK INGREDIENTS Avoid products made with any of the crops that are GM. Most GM ingredients are products made from the “Big Four:” corn, soybeans, canola, and cottonseed, used in processed foods. Some of the most common genetically engineered Big Four ingredients in processed foods are: Corn Corn flour, meal, oil, starch, gluten, and syrup Sweeteners such as fructose, dextrose, and glucose Modified food starch* Soy Soy flour, lecithin, protein, isolate, and isoflavone Vegetable oil* and vegetable protein* Canola Canola oil (also called rapeseed oil) Cotton Cottonseed oil Sugar Anything not listed as 100% cane sugar *May be derived from other sources In addition, GM sugar beet sugar recently entered the food supply. Look for organic and non-GMO sweeteners, candy and chocolate products made with 100% cane sugar, evaporated cane juice or organic sugar, to avoid GM beet sugar. TIP #4: BUY PRODUCTS LISTED IN THIS SHOPPING GUIDE Keep this Guide with you whenever you shop. Store it inside your reusable shopping bag, put it into your coupon holder or check book, or leave it in your car. FRUITS & VEGETABLES Very few fresh fruits and vegetables for sale in the U.S. are genetically modified. Novel products such as seedless watermelons are NOT genetically modified. Small amounts of zucchini, yellow crookneck squash, and sweet corn may be GM. The only commercialized GM fruit is papaya from Hawaii—about half of Hawaii's papayas are GM. MEAT, FISH & EGGS No genetically modified fish, fowl, or livestock is yet approved for human consumption. However, plenty of non-organic foods are produced from animals raised on GM feed such as grains. Look for wild rather than farmed fish to avoid fish raised on genetically modified feed, and 100% grass-fed animals. Meat and Fish: Non-GMO Vital Choice Organic Prairie Eggs: Non-GMO Egg Innovations Organic Eggland's Best Organic Land O'Lakes Organic Nest Fresh Organic Organic Valley Pete and Jerry's Organic Eggs Wilcox Farms Organic ALTERNATIVE MEAT PRODUCTS Many alternative meat products are processed and include ingredients that can be genetically engineered, so give the ingredient lists close attention to avoid the Big Four at-risk ingredients, especially soy. Non-GMO 365 Brand (Whole Foods) Amy's Bountiful Bean Sunshine Burger The Simple Soyman Vitasoy Wildwood White Wave May contain GMO ingredients Boca, unless labeled organic (Kraft) Gardenburger Morningstar Farms, Morningstar Farms Natural Touch, unless labeled organic (Kellogg) BABY FOODS & INFANT FORMULA Milk or soy protein is the basis of most infant formulas. The secret ingredients in these products are often soy or milk from cows injected with rbGH. Many brands also add GMO-derived corn syrup, corn syrup solids, or soy lecithin. Non-GMO Baby's Only     (certified organic products) Earth's Best Gerber products HAPPYBABY Mom Made Meals Organic Baby Plum Organics May contain GMO ingredients Beech-Nut Enfamil Good Start Nestlé Similac/Isomil DAIRY PRODUCTS & ALTERNATIVE DAIRY PRODUCTS Some U.S. dairy farms inject the genetically engineered hormone rbGH, also called rbST, into their cows to boost milk production. Organic dairy products are rbGH-free and do use GM grains as feed. Products with a label that indicates cows free of rbGH or rbST may come from cows fed GM feed. Many alternative dairy products are made from soybeans and may contain GM materials. Dairy Products: Non-GMO Certified Organic Alta Dena Organics Butterworks Farm Harmony prHills Dairy Horizon Organic Morningland Dairy Natural by Nature Organic Valley Radiance Dairy Safeway Organic Brand Seven Stars Farm Straus Family Creamery Stonyfield Farm Wisconsin Organics Nancy's Organics Produced Without rbGH NationalNancy's Natural Dairy Alta Dena Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream Brown Cow Farm Crowley Cheese of Vermont Franklin County Cheese Grafton Village Cheese Great Hill Dairy Lifetime Dairy West Coast Alpenrose Dairy Berkeley Farms Clover Stornetta Farms Joseph Farms Cheese Sunshine Dairy Foods Tillamook Cheese Wilcox Family Farms Midwest and Gulf States Chippewa Valley Cheese Erivan Dairy Yogurt Promised Land Dairy Westby Cooperative Creamery East Coast Blythedale Farm Cheese Crescent Creamery Derle Farms (milk with    “no rbST” label only) Erivan Dairy Yogurt Farmland Dairies Oakhurst Dairy Wilcox Dairy (rbST-free    dairy line only) Alternative Dairy Products: Non-GMO Belsoy EdenSoy Imagine Foods/Soy Dream Nancy's Cultured Soy Pacific Soy Silk Soy Delicious Sun Soy Stonyfield Farm O'Soy Tofutti VitaSoy/Nasoya WestSoy WholeSoy Yves The Good Slice Zen Don May contain GMO ingredients Colombo (General Mills) Dannon Kemps (aside from    “Select” brand) Land O' Lakes Parmalat Sorrento Yoplait (General Mills) May contain GMO ingredients 8th Continent GRAINS, BEANS & PASTA Other than corn, no GM grains are sold on the market. Look for 100-percent wheat pasta, couscous, rice, quinoa, oats, barley, sorghum, and dried beans (except soybeans). Prepared Meals: Non-GMO Annie's Natural Pasta Bob's Red Mill (organic line) Eden certified organic grains Kamut Lundberg Family Farms Sunridge Farms Vita-Spelt pasta Packaged Meals: Non-GMO Amy's Annie's Homegrown certified    organic macaroni & cheese Casbah (Hain-Celestial) Dr. McDougall's Right Foods Fantastic Foods Ian's Natural Foods Lotus Foods Lundberg Farms Rice Sensations Organic Planet Seeds of Change certified    organic boxed meals May Contain GMO ingredients Betty Crocker meals (General Mills) Knorr (Unilever) Kraft Macaroni & Cheese Lipton meal packets (Unilever) Near East (Quaker) Pasta Roni and Rice-a-Roni meals (Quaker) CEREALS AND BREAKFAST BARS Cereals and breakfast bars are very likely to include GMO ingredients, because they are often made with corn and soy products. Non-GMO: Ambrosial Granola Barbara's (organic line) Cascadian Farms Eden EnviroKidz Golden Temple Grandy Oats Health Valley (organic line) Lundberg® Purely Organic Rice Cereal Nature's Path Nonuttin' Omega Smart Bars Peace Cereal Organic Simple Sweets Sunridge Farms Ruth¹s May Contain GMO Ingredients Betty Crocker meals    (General Mills) Knorr (Unilever) Kraft Macaroni & Cheese meals Lipton meal packets (Unilever) Near East (Quaker) Pasta Roni and Rice-A-Roni    meals (Quaker) General Mills Kellogg Post (Kraft) Quaker BAKED GOODS While baking ingredients such as wheat flour, rice, kamut, and oats are not genetically modified, many packaged breads and bakery items contain other GMO ingredients such as corn syrup. Non-GMO: Arrowhead Mills (organic line) Bakery on Main Bob's Red Mill (organic line) Dr. McDougall's Right Foods Dr Oetker Organics French Meadow Natural Ovens Bakery    (organic line) Nature's Path Rudi's Organic Bakery Rumford Baking Powder May Contain GMO Ingredients  Aunt Jemima (Pinnacle Foods) Betty Crocker (General Mills) Calumet Baking Powder (Kraft) Duncan Hines (Pinnacle Foods) Hungry Jack (Smucker's) Pillsbury (Smucker's) FROZEN FOODS Many frozen foods are highly processed. Keep an eye out for the Big Four at-risk ingredients and stay away from frozen foods that contain them, unless they are marked organic or non-GM. Non-GMO: A.C. LaRocco Amy's Kitchen Cascadian Farms Organic frozen    meals and vegetables Cedarlane Helen's Kitchen Ian's Natural Foods Linda McCartney frozen meals Mom Made Meals Plum Organics Kids The Simple Soyma May Contain GMO Ingredients Boca, unless labeled organic    (Kraft) Celeste (Pinnacle Foods) Eggo Waffles (Kellogg) Gardenburger Green Giant frozen meals    (General Mills) Healthy Choice (ConAgra) Kid's Cuisine (ConAgra) Lean Cuisine (Nestle) Marie Callender's (ConAgra) Morningstar Farms, Morningstar    Farms Natural Touch, unless    labeled organic (Kellogg) Rosetto Frozen Pasta (Nestle) Stouffer's (Nestle) Swanson (Campbell's) Tombstone (Kraft) Totino's (Smucker's) Voila! (Birds Eye/Unilever) SOUPS, SAUCES & CANNED FOODS Many soups and sauces are highly processed, so give the ingredient lists close attention to avoid the Big Four at-risk ingredients. Soups: Non-GMO Amy's Fantastic Foods Health Valley/Westbrae Imagine Natural Natural/Hain ShariAnn's Organics Walnut Acres certified organic Sauces/Salsas: Non-GMO  Amy's (organic line) Annie's Natural Eden Emerald Valley Kitchen Green Mountain Gringo &    certi?ed-organic salsa Muir Glen Organic pasta sauce    & salsa Seeds of Change certi?ed-     organic pasta sauce Walnut Acres certi?ed-organic     pasta sauce Canned Food: Non-GMO  Amy's Annie's Natural Eden ShariAnn's certified organic beans Westbrae certified organic beans Yves Veggie Cuisine (Hain Celestial) May Contain GMO Ingredients  Chef Boyardee, Healthy Choice    (ConAgra) Campbell's products (including    Healthy Request, Chunky,    Simply Home, and Pepperidge    Farm) Hormel products Progresso products    (General Mills) Sauces/Salsas: May Contain GMO Ingredients Bertolli (Unilever) Chi-Chi's (Hormel) Classico (Heinz) Del Monte Healthy Choice (ConAgra) Hunt's (ConAgra) Old El Paso (General Mills) Pace (Campbell's) Prego (Campbell's) Ragu (Unilever) May Contain GMO Ingredients  Chef Boyardee Dinty Moore, Stagg, Hormel    (Hormel) Franco-American (Campbell's) CONDIMENTS, OILS, DRESSINGS & SPREADS Unless labeled explicitly, corn, soybean, cottonseed, and canola oils probably contain genetically modified products. Choose pure olive, coconut, sesame, sunflower, safflower, almond, grapeseed, and peanut oils. Also choose preserves, jams, and jellies with cane sugar, not corn syrup. Non-GMO  Annie's Bountiful Bean Bragg's liquid amino Carrington Farms Flax Seed Crofter's Organic Drew's salad dressing Eden Emerald Cove Emerald Valley Kitchen Emperor's Kitchen Follow Your Heart Harvest Moon Mushrooms Ian's Natural Foods I.M. Health SoyNut Butters Maranatha Nut Butters Miso Master Muir Glen organic    tomato ketchup Nasoya Newmans Own Organic Ruth¹s Spectrum oils and dressings SushiSonic Asian Condiments The Simple Soyman Vegan by Nature Buttery Spreads Vigoa Cuisine Wholemato May Contain GMO Ingredients  Crisco (Smucker's) Del Monte Heinz Hellman's (Unilever) Kraft condiments and dressings Mazola Pam (ConAgra) Peter Pan (ConAgra) Skippy (Unilever) Smucker's (except their “Simply    100% Fruit” line of preserves) Wesson (ConAgra) Wish-Bone (Unilever) SNACK FOODS Look for snacks made from wheat, rice, or oats, and ones that use sunflower or safflower oils. There is no GM popcorn on the market, nor is there blue or white GM corn. Snacks: Non-GMO  Barbara's (organic line) Bearitos/Little Bear Organics    (Hain Celestial) Eco-Planet Eden Garden of Eatin' Grandy Oats Hain Pure Snax/Hain Pure Foods Health Valley Ian's Natural Foods Kettle Foods Kopali Organics Late July Organic Snacks Mary's Gone Crackers Nature's Path Organic Namaste Foods Newman's Own Organics    & Newman's Own    (except salad dressing) Simple Sweets Sunridge Farms Energy Bars:  Clif Bar   Genisoy Bars Lara Bar Luna Bar               Macrobars Nature's Path Nutiva Odwalla Optimum Energy Bar Organic Food Bar Weil by Nature's Path Organic May Contain GMO Ingredients  FritoLay (Lay's, Ruffles, Doritos,    Cheetos, Tostitos) Hostess Products    (Interstate Brands) Keebler (Kellogg's) Kraft (Nabisco, Nilla Wafers,    Oreos, Ritz, Nutter Butter,    Honey Maid, SnackWells,    Teddy Grahams, Wheat    Thins, Triscuit) Pepperidge Farm (Campbell's) Pringles Quaker Oats Company May Contain GMO Ingredients  Balance Bar Nature Valley snack bars and    granola bars (General Mills) Nabisco Bars (Kraft) PowerBar (Nestle) Quaker Granola Bars CANDY, CHOCOLATE PRODUCTS, & SWEETENERS Many sweeteners, and products like candy and chocolate that contain them, can come from GMO sources. Look for organic and non-GMO sweeteners, candy and chocolate products made with 100% cane sugar, evaporated cane juice or organic sugar to avoid GM beet sugar, and watch out for soy lecithin in chocolates and corn syrup in candies. The sweetener aspartame is derived from GM microorganisms. It is also referred to as NutraSweet® and Equal® and is found in over 6,000 products, including soft drinks, gum, candy, desserts, yogurt, tabletop sweeteners, and some pharmaceuticals such as vitamins and sugar-free cough drops. Chocolate: Non-GMO  Chocolove Endangered Species Chocolate Green & Black's Organic Chocolate Kopali Organics Nonuttin' Newman's Own Nonuttin' Candy: Non-GMO  Jelly Belly Pure Fun Confections Reed's Crystallized Ginger    candy (certified organic) St. Claire Organic Sunridge Farms Sweeteners: Non-GMO  Eden Sweet Cloud Nonuttin Newman¹s Own May Contain GMO Ingredients  Hershey's Nestlé (Crunch, Kit Kat, Smarties) Toblerone (Kraft) Ghiradelli¹s Chocolate May Contain GMO Ingredients  Hershey's Lifesaver (Kraft) Nestlé SODAS, JUICES & OTHER BEVERAGES Most juices are made from GMO-free fruit (avoid papaya though, as it could be GMO), but the prevalence of corn-based sweeteners—e.g. high-fructose corn syrup—in fruit juices is cause for concern. Many sodas are primarily comprised of water and corn syrup. Look for 100-percent juice blends. Non-GMO  After the Fall organic juices Big Island Organics Blue Sky Cascadian Farm Crofters Organic Eden Frey Vinyards Odwalla Organic Valley Quinoa Gold Mixerz All Natural Cocktail Mixers R.W. Knudsen organic juices    and spritzers (Smucker's) Santa Cruz Organic (Smucker's) Sea20 Organic Energy Drink Teeccino Herbal Caffe Walnut Acres Organic Juices May Contain GMO Ingredients  Coca-Cola (Fruitopia, Minute    Maid, Hi-C, NESTEA) Hansen Beverage Company Hawaiian Punch    (Procter and Gamble) Kraft (Country Time, Kool-Aid,    Crystal Light, Capri Sun, Tang) Libby's (Nestlé) Ocean Spray Pepsi (Tropicana, Frappuccino,    Gatorade, SoBe, Dole) Sunny Delight (Procter and    Gamble) Special Note: This guide was compiled based on company statements, not genetic testing. Any product labeled as Non-GMO indicates that its manufacturing process is designed to avoid GMOs, but consumers should be aware that GM contamination is possible due to natural pollen movement, weather events, seed contamination, or human error. Hence there is no guarantee such products are 100% free of GMOs. INVISIBLE GM INGREDIENTS Processed foods often have hidden GM sources (unless they are organic or declared non-GMO). The following are ingredients that may be made from GMOs. Aspartame baking powder caramel color cellulose citric acid cobalamin    (Vitamin B12) corn gluten corn masa corn oil corn syrup cornmeal cornstarch cyclodextrin cystein dextrin dextrose diacetyl diglyceride fructose fructose    (crystalline) glucose glutamate glutamic acid gluten glycerides glycerin glycerol glycerol    monooleate glycine hemicellulose high fructose    corn syrup    (HFCS) hydrogenated    starch hydrolyzed vegetable protein inositol invert sugar    (colorose or inversol) tamari isoflavones lactic acid lecithin leucine lysine malitol maltodextrin maltose mannitol methylcellulose milo starch modified starch monosodium    glutamate MSG oleic acid Phenylalanine phytic acid sorbitol soy flour soy isolates soy lecithin soy protein starch stearic acid inverse syrup tempeh threonine tocopherols    (Vitamin E) tofu trehalose triglyceride vegetable fat vegetable oil Vitamin B12 Vitamin E xanthan gum Ascorbic acid (Vitamin C) although usually derived from corn, is probably not GM because it is not likely made in North America. To learn more about GMOs, consult the books Genetic Roulette: The Documented Health Risks of Genetically Engineered Foods by Jeffrey M. Smith or Your Right to Know: Genetic Engineering and the Secret Changes in Your Food by Andrew Kimbrell.   Information on GMOs is also available at www.centerforfoodsafety.org and  www.HealthierEating.org. Copyright 2008 Center for Food Safety and Institute for Responsible Technology. No part of this booklet may be reproduced in any form without written permission from both parties. For large print quantities or electronic distribution requests, contact: info@responsibletechnology.org or info@centerforfoodsafety March 2009 edition