According to a recent MSNBC poll, 96% of all Americans would like to have GMOs (or the lack of them) labeled on food products. That’s an amazing statistic. I’m not sure you could get 96% of the population to agree that gravity exists.

What’s more, this is not some odd outlier research result. Polls done over the past 10 years have consistently shown that over 85% of Americans want to know when they are eating GMOs. Those same surveys indicate that consumers are concerned about the health impacts of GMOs, would like them more strictly regulated, and would eat fewer GMO-containing products if given an option.

Early participants in the Non-GMO Project Verified program are seeing these consumer attitudes translate into action. Dollar sales of Non-GMO Verified food products increased 24% last year, while the total food market was flat.

It’s easy for those of us in the food industry to talk about the impossibility of making our products non-GMO given that 92% of the US soybean crop and 80% of the corn crop are already genetically modified. But the reality is, someone is going to do it. If 96% of the population wants those products, shouldn’t we be the ones delivering them?

• Should we put together a plan to convert our key products to non-GMO?
• Are we labeling our Organic products as GMO-free? Many consumers do not know that organic certification means GMO-free