Specifics of the process include:
- Farmers in Cargill’s non-GMO producer program are identifiable, so non-GMO corn, soybeans and high oleic canola can be traced back to the farms,
- Testing performed on harvest bin composites, truck deliveries or the finished ingredients to ensure the ingredients comply with agreed upon standards, and
- Specific segregation that protects against cross-contact with GMOs.
Upon hearing of Cargill’s intentions, producers took to Twitter to voice their displeasure with the decision.
“Just a reason for me to market my grain to a local cooperative. For my entire farming career,” Tyler Young, an Illinois corn and soybean farmer, said on Twitter.
“It’s very frustrating. You have attached the name Cargill to a group who actively spreads (fearmongering) and mistruths,” Nate Chittenden, a dairy farmer from New York, said on Twitter.
Julie Kelly, a reporter with National Review, The Hill and The Federalist, said on Twitter that Cargill’s decision “insults farmers” and “misleads consumers.”
Meg Brown, a hog and beef producer from California, said her job just got harder.
In a series of tweets, Cargill said the decision was made “in response to our customers’ needs to fill a specific need in their supply chains…but please don’t take this as a change in our continued support for GMOs.”