Report To Ask Why General Mills Won't Sell American Families The Same "GMO Free" Cheerios It Makes Available To European Consumers

Most Popular Cereal in America – Often First Solid Food for Babies – is Not "Natural" As Is Claimed; Self-Proclaimed CSR Leader General Mills Spending Over One Million Dollars on Keeping Consumers in the Dark About GMOs in Food.

WASHINGTON, Oct. 15, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- General Mills – the maker of the ubiquitous breakfast cereal Cheerios – prides itself on being a champion of corporate social responsibility (CSR), but it is anything but that in the United States, where it denies consumers the option of Cheerios without genetically modified organisms (GMOs), and is a major force in the corporate campaign to deny consumers information about foods containing GMOs, according to a major new report to be issued at 11 a.m. EDT on October 16, 2013 by the nonprofit Green America.

Despite its refusal to do so at home, General Mills already offers GMO-free Cheerios in Europe … even as it incorrectly describes Cheerios sold in the U.S. as consisting of "natural" ingredients. To make matters worse, General Mills postures as a leader in corporate CSR, even as it pours over one million dollars into campaigns designed to prevent consumers from getting information about which food products contain GMOs.

The case of Cheerios is important since it is the most widely consumed breakfast cereal in America and is often the first solid food that is fed to American babies. 

Phone-based news event speakers will include:

• Elizabeth O'Connell, campaigns director, Green America;
• Dr. Robin Bernhoft, spokesperson, American Academy of Environmental Medicine, and, director, Bernhoft Center for Advanced Medicine, Santa Monica, CA;
• Alexis Baden Mayer, political director, Organic Consumers Association; and
• Michelle Perro, M.D., pediatrician, Institute for Health & Healing, Sutter Pacific Medical Foundation, San Francisco, CA.

TO PARTICIPATE: You can join this live, phone-based news conference (with full, two-way Q&A) at 11 a.m. EDT on October 16, 2013 by dialing 1 (877) 270-2148. Ask for the "Cheerios GMOs" telenews event.

CAN'T PARTICIPATE?:  A streaming audio replay of the news event will be available on the Web at www.NoGMOsCheerios.org as of 3 p.m. EDT on October 16, 2013. 

ABOUT THE GROUPS:

GMO Inside is a coalition of businesses, organizations, and individuals that support a healthy, GMO-free food system.  The GMO Inside steering committee, led by Green America, includes: Food Democracy Now!, GMO Free USA, Institute for Responsible Technology, Label GMOs, Nutiva, and Food Babe. http://gmoinside.org/.

Green America is the nation's leading green economy organization. Founded in 1982, Green America (formerly Co-op America) provides the economic strategies, organizing power and practical tools for businesses, investors, and individuals to solve today's social and environmental problems. http://www.greenamerica.org.

SOURCE Green America and GMO Inside, Washington, D.C.