Guardian: Whole Foods' GMO labels make trouble for...

Guardian: Whole Foods’ GMO labels make trouble for cheesemakers

I’m been a strong supporter of GMO Labeling generally, but I must admit this article raises issues I hadn’t considered, as they pertain to cheesemakers who are producing what is essentially a GMO-free product but may have to label due feed supply issues. Via theguardian.com:

Quel fromage! Whole Foods’ GMO labels make trouble for cheesemakers
For artisanal cheesemakers working with Whole Foods, the company’s GMO commitment sends ripples up the supply chain
Kehler isn’t merely a leader in the American artisan cheese renaissance; he’s also knee-deep in the nation’s curdling fight over GMO labeling. He’s based in Vermont, the first state in the nation to pass a GMO labeling law. For now, the law excludes dairy products, pending a report by Attorney General Bill Sorrell due in January 2015.
The dairy cows that Kehler depends upon to make cheeses like his bark-wrapped Harbison, buttery Alpha Tolman and gooey washed-rind Winnamere are not genetically modified. However, a small part of their feed comes from genetically engineered corn. For the moment, that’s not an issue in Kehler’s home state, but he says it’s a looming worry.
The reason? Whole Foods, which last year became the first national chain to set a deadline – of 2018 – for full GMO transparency: “We heard our customers loud and clear asking us for GMO labeling and we are responding where we have control: in our own stores,” writes Walter Robb, co-CEO, in the company’s initial announcement.
As the largest specialty cheese retailer in the nation, Whole Foods’ decision casts a long shadow across the industry. For producers who want to continue selling their products there, the scramble to source non-GMO ingredients is heating up. The company’s standards are still developing, but by 2018, its producers will have to label products made from GMO ingredients – including dairy and meat products derived from livestock fed with genetically engineered crops.
Kehler explains that this could be an insurmountable supply-chain problem. “There isn’t a large supply of non-GMO grain,” he says. “In Vermont, there’s one mill that supplies it and they’re not taking customers. We’re on a waiting list,” he says.
For cheesemakers, whose products often require a year or more of careful aging, that timeline is becoming even more pressing.
“You have to be verified [non-GMO] for 12 months by an independent third party, If you’re making a cheese that’s aged a year, like Cabot clothbound cheddar, you need to start in March 2017, which means we have from now until March 2016 to figure this out.”

Read the full story.