For the last 20 years, Megan Westgate has led the charge against GMOs as the Founder, CEO and Executive Director of the Non-GMO Project. Now, she is continuing to lead the natural foods movement by founding the Food Integrity Collective and Non-UPF Verified product label, two organizations committed to bettering our food system through an interdependent approach.
Building the Non-GMO Movement: Retailers, Brands, and Food Systems
The Non-GMO Project began when consumers started to demand more information about what was in their food. “It was really independents and co-ops who were seeing shoppers come in and ask, how do I find food made without GMOs? And there wasn't an answer,” Megan says. The Non-GMO Project set out to clearly label these products, boosting consumer awareness and helping shoppers to more effectively vote with their dollars.
Megan credits independent retailers as a pivotal force in the Non-GMO Project’s success. “It was the passionate retailers who were able to communicate to brands, ‘we need you to do this,’ It catalyzed the Non-GMO Project movement and got more brands interested,” Megan says. Retailers play the critical role of turning consumer feedback into action by communicating it to brands. The “constellation of choices that shoppers, retailers and brands make is literally how we co-create the packaged food system,” she explains.
Preserving Food Integrity and Shopper Values
Even without a complete understanding of GMOs, many shoppers still place strong value on non-GMO food. Megan believes that as humans, “We have an intuitive sense of the importance of protecting the integrity of life. And even if we don't understand it super deeply, it's not that complicated to wrap your head around the idea that altering DNA is this violation of nature that just doesn't feel right to a lot of people.” Seeing the non-GMO butterfly gives them a higher sense of confidence.
While the fight against GMOs is far from over, Megan and her team are broadening their efforts to transform our food system. The Non-GMO Project launched the Food Integrity Collective, a holistic initiative aiming to address food integrity through an interdependent approach. They’re tackling issues from across the food system – from animal wellbeing to mindful packaging. Among their chief concerns is minimal processing and additives and the rise of ultra-processed foods (UPFs).
Fighting Ultra-Processed Foods Through the Non-UPF Verified Label
UPFs are concerning because they are engineered at the ingredient level. Certain processing methods strip food of its nutrients and modify it to bypass the body’s natural fullness cues, making them addictive. “It’s driving a global metabolic health crisis. Our bodies don’t recognize these products as food because they have been so manipulated and engineered,” Megan says.
Even when UPFs start with healthy ingredients, “they can be processed in a way that degrades their food structure. And then you add a ton of sugar, and you add flavors and add gums, and all a sudden you have this highly engineered hyperpalatable substance,” Megan explains. “It might be non-GMO, might be organic, it might even claim to be natural, but it's ultra processed.”
Because processing information generally isn’t available on packages, The Food Integrity Collective has introduced the Non-UPF Verified label. It signals “that this is a product that has largely preserved the natural form of the ingredients. So, the nutrients, the food matrix, the actual quality of the ingredients is still intact.” To earn the Non-UPF Verified label, brands’ processing methods must meet rigorous standards. Like the non-GMO butterfly, the Non-UPF Verified label grows consumer confidence in their food.
How Independent Retailers Can Lead the Movement
The best way for independent retailers to support the food integrity movement is to “recognize, appreciate, and celebrate the products in your stores that are non-UPF, because nothing is going to motivate change in the food system like that will . . .” Megan urges. “If we want to get our food cleaner and healthier and more back to the nourishing vision that this health food industry was founded on, we need to really support the brands who are going to make that effort.”
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