Natural Food

Vote NO to GMO

November 5, 2012

Proposition 37, a California initiative that would mandate the labeling of genetically modified foods (GMO) will be on the November 6th ballot. Affecting many clients in the Conscious Lifestyle and Natural Foods industries, it’s a subject that is important to this firm and its clients.

In short, the initiative requires manufacturers to label food that has been made from genetically modified plants or animals and prohibits them from advertising those foods as “natural.”

California Right to Know, the organization fueling the initiative, submitted 971,126 signatures to get the California Right to Know Genetically Engineered Food Act on the ballot. According to the organization, the initiative will increase consumer awareness “because consumers have the right to know what’s in our food.”

Cheryl Hodgson has written this open letter expressing her viewpoint on GMOs and Prop 37.

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Client Congratulations: Oat Solutions

October 11, 2012

Hodgson Legal congratulates Oat Solutions LLC founders Mika Manninen  and Helena Lumme on recent awards for their SIMPLI line of oatshakes.  The SIMPLI Oatshake has been awarded the prestigious BEVNET Award for Best Smoothie/Meal Replacement.

Adding to the accolades, Gourmet Retailer Magazine named the SIMPLI Oatshake as Best New Product in its August 2012 Editors’ Pick.

Founded in early 2011, Oat Solutions rapidly emerged as a leader in the gluten free, natural foods movement with its line of shakes and gluten free oatmeal products. SIMPLI products, which are also non-GMO, are manufactured using gluten free oats from family farms in Finland.  The oats are processed in one of only two certified gluten free facilities in the world.  Recent additions to the product line include a coffee flavored oat shake, as well as individual “on the go” servings of apricot and raspberry gluten free instant oatmeal.

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Is Certified-Organic Label a Fraud?

October 11, 2012

Michael Potter, founder of Eden Foods considers the Certified-Organic Label a fraud and refuses to put it on Eden Products.  Potter was interviewed in a recent New York Times article that brings into question whether consumers can trust or rely upon the “Certified-Organics” brand.  Eden Foods is one of the last remaining independent organic companies of any size, with most sizeable organic companies  having already been bought by “Big Food.”

Bear Naked, Wholesome & Hearty, Kashi: all three and more actually belong to the cereals giant Kellogg. Naked Juice? That would be PepsiCo of Pepsi and Fritos fame. And behind the pastoral-sounding Walnut Acres, Health Valley and Spectrum Organics is none other than Hain Celestial, once affiliated with Heinz, the grand old name in ketchup.

Over the last decade, since federal organic standards have come to the fore, giant agri-food corporations like these and others — Coca-Cola, Cargill, ConAgra, General Mills, Kraft and M&M Mars among them — have gobbled up most of the nation’s organic food industry. Pure, locally produced ingredients from small family farms? Not so much anymore.

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