(Note: I put this here instead of Cafe Society because it’s more about Non-GMO wheat than crackers)
I just saw an ad for Triscuit crackers. Their claim is that they now only use genetically unmodified wheat. Discussions of whether GMO foods are bad for you or not aside, the first thing that sprung to my mind was where the heck do they get that much unmodified wheat!
I’m assuming they are using the term loosely but maybe not. Is there that much original wheat left on the planet and is Nabisco using it?
The term GMO refers to crops modified with modern genetic engineering, and doesn’t include modifications like deliberate mutagenesis or good old-fashioned artificial selection. The last time I checked, there was no GMO on the market, anywhere. I’d guess that the Triscuit are just using a marketing trick like this.
In seriousness, it is likely just a marketing ploy. Sure there are some distinct varieties of crops that are mainstream and have been genetically changed, usually to give it better resistance to disease/pests/inclement weather. Now whether they were put “under the scope” and changed or traditionally changed by interbreeding select cultivars for desired traits is never specified. Marketing depts use this loophole of sorts to market their product to a wider base of consumers. It’s not as if they found some great supplier of unmodified wheat, they had it all along. Just a better way to market the product. Max The Immortal is spot on.
Apparently Triscuit is losing fans. The article states,
“The consumer criticism was swift, with hundreds of comments pouring in calling out Nabisco, a subsidiary of Mondelēz International, for “pandering to ignorance and fear,” and a sea of socially and scientifically conscious former Triscuit fans promising to give up the beloved crunchy snacks.”
And goes on to say,
“But nearly all of the foods we eat, with the exception of wild plants and game, including foods labeled non-GMO, natural, organic and even heirloom, have had their genes modified using unnatural methods, including exposure to radiation or chemicals intended to cause genetic mutations.”
I also know of no genetically modified wheat approved for sale in the United States, so this is strictly a marketing ploy (similar to what’s used by manufacturers of other foods for which there is no GM equivalent).
“6.1.4 Claims that a single-ingredient food is not a product of genetic engineering shall not be made for a single-ingredient food of which no genetically engineered strains have been offered for sale, unless accompanied by an explanatory statement, for example, like all other oranges, these oranges are not a product of genetic engineering.”