So I e/m'ed Kellogg's and asked if their corn flakes used GM corn, and

[no_hypocrisy]

this was the response I just got:

Thank you for contacting us about our products and the use of biotechnology ingredients. As a consumer you can be assured that we would never do anything to compromise the trust you have placed in us to provide healthy, nutritious and safe food.

Biotechnology is not unique to us or other food manufacturers in the United States, with biotechnology-produced ingredients having been grown in the U.S. for the past decade. In fact, articles published by leading universities estimate that between 60% and 70% of multi-ingredient foods in the United States may have been made with biotechnology crops. Even organic ingredients cannot be guaranteed to be biotechnology-free due to cross-pollination. Like most other food makers in the nation, we buy the ingredients for our foods on the open market and it is likely that these ingredients could have biotech content in the same proportion that it occurs in the national supply.

It is important to note that there is worldwide scientific consensus that there are no safety concerns with the current genetically modified agricultural products on the market. The World Health Organization, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN, the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, and the American Medical Association all share this assessment.

Being a global organization, our focus has always been on meeting the needs of our consumers worldwide and being responsive to a variety of consumer preferences. Our decisions on whether or not to use biotech ingredients are made on a market-by-market basis and depend on a variety of factors specific to each market.

The following websites will provide further information on biotechnology and our food supply:
The Alliance for Better Foods www.betterfoods.org
Intl. Food Information Council http://ific.org
--------Click on "Food Biotechnology" in the "Food Safety Information" Section

We are committed to protecting and promoting consumer confidence in our products, as was our founder, W. K. Kellogg. He had his name placed on every product as his personal assurance of quality. We would never do anything to compromise this 100-year legacy of consumer trust and loyalty.

Thank you for giving us an opportunity to respond.


So, no denial about GM corn. From now on, only organic cereal for me, folks!

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

1. Good idea. Just 100% natural, non mutant corn for me.

[HeresyLives]

2. There isn't any. n/t

[Poll_Blind]

8. If I didn't know as much as I do I'd say you were being snarky. Quite the opposite...

...I think if it isn't true now, your statement will be all too soon.

PB

[HeresyLives]

9. No, not trying to be snarky.

Corn was originally a wild grass, with ears only a couple of inches long. Wasn't very tasty either.

It's been bred to be better for centuries.

It was an early form of GM, and involved a lot of guesswork.

Now we know what we're doing it involves all corn, and has done for years in North America.

[Poll_Blind]

12. You know, that reminds me, I've been meaning to watch the...

...Documentary "King Corn".

PB

[kestrel91316]

20. Selective breeding is not the same as genetic engineering.

You can breed corn varieties ALL YOU WANT TIL THE DAY YOU DIE, and you will never breed BT toxin into it. BT toxin, a "natural pesticide" as they love to put it (it's natural only when it's in floating around out in nature and not as part of the corn genetic material), does not occur naturally in any corn and never has.

FAIL.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

21. Why not?

Horizontal gene transfer.

It'd be slow, but it could happen.

Why would you claim that random mutations are superior process?

[dhpgetsit]

22. Yes, and another common gene they insert into food crops...

Yes, and another common gene they insert into food crops makes the plant able to survive being spayed by herbicides. So you can be pretty sure your GM corn has had a fair amount of Roundup sprayed on it.

[NickB79]

24. Would you prefer Atrazine or 2,4-D on your corn?

Because that's what farmers applied VERY liberally before GM crops and Round-Up were developed.

[spanone]

3. 'yes' would have sufficed.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

6. Probably.

But "Yes, but GM corn is perfectly safe you fucking conspiracy theory moron," would have been rude.

[BlooInBloo]

14. I would immediately buy a box if they said that.

:rofl:

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

16. That's why I loved those "it comes from corn" commercials.

Boy, those really pissed some people off.

[enki23]

4. doesn't matter. they put homeopathic GM high fructose corn syrup in the chemtrails these days.

you can't really escape them anymore. even if you drink nothing but pure water and organic grain alcohol.

[begin_within]

5. So in other word, "Yes."

[1]

7. wow. that is a long non-answer...

[wroberts189]

10. worldwide scientific consensus? Not for some EU nations like Germany..

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/157763.php

Article Date: 16 Jul 2009 - 5:00 PDT

"There are no new cultivation approvals - in fact - France and Germany have imposed cultivation bans within the past two years. In addition, biotech corn is still not moving into the EU."

[HeresyLives]

11. That's to protect them from

American imports.

They are using 'health concerns' to protect themselves against dropping trade barriers.

[wroberts189]

15. Then how about we do not send them GM? nt

[madrchsod]

13. the problem is the patents on the gm corn.

when corn starch does`t thicken then there is a problem.

[Toucano]

17. Off topic

What is "e/m'ed" and how is it pronounced?

[wroberts189]

18. electronically emailed would be my assumption. nt

[kestrel91316]

19. I love it. Several paragraphs of corporate word salad, and no direct answer

to your very simple question. I give that a big fat FAIL, lol.

[TheMadMonk]

23. For those unable to parse basic english. A nutshell summary.

"Probably. We don't attempt to exclude it from our supply chain, except where consumers make a big stink about it."

The rest is boilerplate you'd see in response to any product enquiry.


If you're going to ping Kellog's (or pretty much any other breakfast cereal manufacturer) over their products, a far better place to start would be their actual nutritional value, which once you exclude the added vitamins is roughly the same as flavourised dried wallpaper paste.

If you want to eat healthy choose museli. If you want to enjoy your slightly foreshortened life, eat what you damned well please in appropriate moderation.

[jmowreader]

25. Shorter answer

"Yes, probably. We buy corn on the open market, and the 'open market' is flooded with GMO corn. Therefore, it goes without saying that Kellogg's corn products are full of GMO corn.

'Science currently doesn't know whether this shit is bad for you, so eat lots of our cornflakes and maybe you won't grow another penis."

[nightrain]

26. Kellog's convoluted response. I think that's a "yes, we do use GM corn".

Mostly I avoid processed corn items when I don't know their source. Monsanto has had some recent problems in Europe with GM.

[MagickMuffin]

27. Stay clear of Kashi, as I have had severe rashes from their Honey Puffs cereal

Symptoms included a rash so severe it covered my whole legs from the knees down to my feet, caused swelling as well. It was painful!

I used to eat their Kashi Honey Puffs cereal like popcorn, no milk. Then my legs started developing a rash. I didn't know at first the Kashi was the cause but later found out that it was indeed what caused it.

Some corn and peanuts will also cause me to have the same symptoms. It is very frustrating not being able to enjoy food I love.