Ken Roseboro has been called “the nation’s reporter on all issues surrounding genetically modified foods” by Acres USAmagazine. He has written extensively about GM foods and the non-GMO trend since 1999. Ken’s articles have appeared in leading food and agriculture publications and websites such as Civil Eats, Harvest Public Media, Prepared Foods, Natural Foods Merchandiser, Food Processing, and World Grain as well as The Huffington Post, Yahoo News, Mother Earth News, and others. He is a contributing editor to EcoWatch, Organic Connections and New Hope 360. Ken is author of Genetically Altered Foods and Your Healthand The Organic Food Handbook both published by Basic Health Publications. He has spoken at many conferences including Natural Products Expo West, All Things Organic, Acres USA Conference, The Organic Farming Conference, National Heirloom Seed Expo, and others. Ken is a member of the design team of the Non-GMO Supply Working Group and a founding member of the board of directors of the Iowa Organic Association. Ken also serves on the board of directors of Soil Technologies Corporation
Articles by this contributor:
April 3, 2018
Kris
Continue to eat non-GMO for my family and grow non-GMO seeds in my garden (with no chemicals!) I also plan to donate food shelf items that are non-GMO so others will benefit to my committment.
October 15, 2019
Hidden GMOs in the Seafood Aisle
GMOs show up almost everywhere in our food—even in our seafood products. If you are a savvy shopper you may wonder how a seafood product could have GMOs, since fish come directly from the ocean. Unfortunately, it is not that simple. GMOs as an added ingredient Many fish products we purchase contain added ingredients, which… » Read more
October 11, 2019
Navigating Meat Alternatives
In the past few years, new plant-based meat alternatives have inundated the market. These products resemble meat, but contain no actual animal tissue. They are created with plant-derived ingredients like soy or pea protein. With as many as a quarter of North American millennials describing themselves as vegetarians or vegans, and plant-based diets on the… » Read more
October 8, 2019
The Carnivore’s Dilemma: Navigating Burgers in the Age of Meat Alternatives
Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve likely heard about the plant-based meat alternative craze. If you do live under a rock, odds are there’s a Burger King under a rock near you, and you’ll see it on the menu there. Veggie burgers have been making their way from health food stores to grocery… » Read more
October 1, 2019
Happy Non-GMO Month!
Today we kick off our 10th annual Non-GMO Month, a 31-day celebration of our right to make non-GMO choices! Each year we partner with thousands of passionate retailers and natural food brands to bring shoppers the latest news and products in the non-GMO landscape. Happy Birthday Non-GMO Month, You’re 10 Years Old! This year is the… » Read more
August 29, 2019
Organic and Non-GMO: The Gold Standard for Food
We all love organic food here at the Non-GMO Project. Like most of our readers, we prefer not to consume foods that were produced with the use of harmful pesticides or chemical fertilizers. Some people are surprised to learn that the Non-GMO Project doesn’t test for those types of chemicals; our single-issue program focuses exclusively… » Read more
August 21, 2019
That Watermelon Isn’t a GMO, But it Might Be a Mutant!
Now that summer is in full swing in North America, people have been asking one of my favorite GMO questions again. Let’s clear up a point of confusion: there are no commercially available GMO watermelons! Like all living things, the crops we eat have chromosomes inside the nucleus of their cells. This is where their… » Read more
August 16, 2019
Happy Honey Bee Day! Dance Like Bees are Watching
National Honey Bee Day is Saturday, August 17! The past decade has seen sharp declines in many bee populations around the globe. For those of us living in urban centers, this may seem like a distant concern. However, bees are indispensable allies in our food system, responsible for about a third of what we eat… » Read more
August 7, 2019
Does Mutation Breeding Produce GMOs?
As we mentioned in our last post, breeding techniques don’t have to be low-tech in order to be non-GMO, but we hear from many of you that some modern takes on traditional breeding techniques don’t always feel completely natural. Quite a few of you would like to learn about mutation breeding this week, so let’s… » Read more
August 2, 2019
Technology and Crop Breeding: What’s NOT a GMO?
If you read last week’s blog, you know that there is some ill-intentioned disagreement about what counts as a GMO. Consumers overwhelmingly rejected the first wave of GMOs, so biotech companies are mounting campaigns to convince the public that new GMOs aren’t actually GMOs. Meanwhile, these companies are also working hard to mix up biotechnology… » Read more
July 29, 2019
New Standard, Same Butterfly
The Newest Non-GMO Project Standard is Out Now! You already know that the Non-GMO Project is a nonprofit organization committed to preserving and building sources of non-GMO products, educating consumers, and providing verified non-GMO choices. We believe everyone has a right to know what is in their food and deserves access to non-GMO choices and… » Read more
July 25, 2019
CRISPR and TALEN and RNAi, Oh My!
You already know about herbicide-tolerant crops, Bt crops, and other types of transgenic GMOs such as the AquAdvantage salmon—we’ve been talking about them for years. If you have been paying attention to the news, you have probably heard a little about CRISPR and the newest wave of GMOs. These technologies, which may be referred to… » Read more
June 17, 2019
Bee-cause It Matters
It’s National Pollinator Week, a time to celebrate all the living creatures who help humans grow crops. The Non-GMO Project uses a butterfly logo because pollinators are important to our shared food system and because we recognize the many human-caused problems they face. All humans rely on pollinators in order to eat! Pollinators are a… » Read more
May 31, 2019
Got Milk? Then Be Sure the Cows Steered Clear of GMO Alfalfa
Alfalfa, sometimes called lucerne, is the fourth-most prevalent crop in the United States. At least 18 million acres of alfalfa are grown in the US each year—this nutrient-dense legume makes up a sizeable portion of our farmland. Meant almost exclusively for animal feed, alfalfa is typically cut, dried, and bailed. It can also be stored… » Read more
May 28, 2019
Are Artificial Flavors GMOs?
Many of the processed foods that we see on grocery shelves today bear an ingredient label that says “artificially flavored.” Due to the prevalence of artificial additives in the marketplace, one of the questions we are asked most frequently from savvy shoppers is: “Why did I see the word artificial in the ingredients of a… » Read more
May 21, 2019
Don’t be Caught off Gourd by GMO Zucchini
Zucchini, a delicious type of summer squash, is one of the lesser-known GMO risk crops. It is almost exclusively grown in the United States. There are only about 2,500 acres of GMO zucchini—that’s ten small family farms worth. While there are well over 200 different varieties of GMO corn, there are only two known GMO… » Read more
May 7, 2019
If You Eat Meat or Dairy, You Eat Cotton
We’re all familiar with cotton—this versatile crop is used to make a good portion of the clothing and other textiles most people use daily. However, these consumer goods represent only a small piece of cotton’s impact on our economic and environmental systems. Cotton is considered a high-risk crop under the Non-GMO Project Standard because GMO… » Read more
May 1, 2019
Non-GMO From the Ground Up
Non-GMO From the Ground Up Guest post by Annie’s We believe that food is the most powerful force for change we have. One of the greatest opportunities we have to improve our impact on people and the planet is through our daily food choices. Here at Annie’s, we work hard to choose ingredients, manufacturing partners,… » Read more
April 25, 2019
Sticker Shock: PLU Myths and Truths
When we think of innovations in today’s supermarket, the mind easily jumps from farm to fridge blockchain tracking, to stores with a million cameras and no checkstands, or even to robots roaming grocery aisles. However, a smaller and much simpler piece of business technology has been pervasive in the marketplace for nearly three decades. Price… » Read more
April 17, 2019
It’s All Going to Pot
Blame it on the Times You may have heard news about the Agricultural Improvement Act (commonly known as the farm bill) in the US and the Cannabis Act in Canada, both of which effectively legalized hemp and CBD. Despite these laws, the legal status of CBD as a food additive remains murky and confusing in… » Read more
April 4, 2019
Grow a Non-GMO Garden!
As the gardening and growing seasons get underway across North America, it’s easy to be overwhelmed by the choices. Rolling racks the height of NBA players dominate nurseries and garden centers, offering limitless options to the bewildered beginning gardener. If you’re looking to grow a non-GMO garden this season, here are some tips from the… » Read more
March 26, 2019
Non-GMO Challenge
Join us for the Non-GMO Challenge this April! The Non-GMO Challenge is a month-long opportunity to engage with mission-aligned brands who are paving the way to a non-GMO future. Join our online community to create awareness this April! The Challenge serves as an impactful way for all of us to think deeper about where our… » Read more
March 12, 2019
The World’s First GMO Salmon is Coming to America
GMO Salmon have made headlines before—check out our older blog for more details on the fishiest GMOs. AquAdvantage Salmon to be Sold in the United States On March 8, the American FDA lifted its ban on the import of the genetically modified AquAdvantage salmon created by AquaBounty Technologies. The FDA initially approved this GMO for… » Read more
February 22, 2019
Behind the Non-GMO Project’s Mission
Learn more about the seven belief statements behind the Non-GMO Project’s nonprofit mission. You’ll find information about how we support these beliefs within our organization and beyond, along with additional hyperlinks to learn more about each of these commitments. 1. We believe everyone has a right to know what is in their food and deserves access… » Read more
February 19, 2019
GMO Feature: Canola
Yes, There is Non-GMO Canola! Our readers write to us almost every day to ask why they saw canola in a Non-GMO Project Verified product. There’s a fairly pervasive misconception that all canola is genetically modified, but this is not true! Non-GMO canola does exist; when you see canola in a product bearing the Butterfly,… » Read more
February 7, 2019
What’s so Clean about “Clean Meat” Anyway?
You probably already know that the Non-GMO Project requires GMO testing all the way back to animal feed—it’s one component of our program that sets it apart from the new federal GMO labeling law and other GMO avoidance programs that don’t check out what animals eat. This is important because most GMOs are large-scale commodity crops… » Read more
January 29, 2019
New Year, New FAQs
You asked and we answered. In an effort to provide full transparency to our readers and make more readily available the information you want most, we’ve recently updated our frequently asked questions page. Over the past year, your top three most frequently asked questions were: 1. Why does the Non-GMO Project verify products like orange… » Read more
January 23, 2019
Non-GMO Feed, Non-GMO Future!
Learn more about the importance of non-GMO animal feed and non-GMO eggs. Click to view the full-sized infographic. Thank you to our friends at NestFresh!
January 9, 2019
Can You Tell Which GMOs Will Be Labeled under the NBFDS?
Read part one of this blog. Jump to quiz Jump to FAQs Read the NBFDS The National Bioengineered Food Disclosure Standard requires some food producers to put labels on some products that contain GMOs. Unfortunately, there are two glaring problems with this law that mean consumers will still not be able to tell what is… » Read more
January 4, 2019
Americans Deserve Better than the USDA’s GMO Labeling Law
After a lengthy delay, the USDA published the final National Bioengineered Food Disclosure Standard (NBFDS) in the Federal Register on December 21. This law, which you may have heard called the DARK Act, is the start of mandatory GMO labeling in the United States. It means that some—but not all—products containing GMOs will have to… » Read more
December 21, 2018
State of the Non-GMO Landscape: Highlights of 2018
As we wrap up the calendar year, it’s time to look back at 2018. We celebrate our victories, we reflect on our hard work, and we express gratitude for the many people who helped us further our mission this year. The number of Non-GMO Project Verified products grew to 54,000 The Non-GMO Project’s key mission… » Read more
December 4, 2018
Guest Blog: Why I Choose To Purchase Non-GMO Project Verified
As a mom of two and a Health Coach, the aisles of the grocery store are like a second home to me. Being as mindful as possible about my purchases and teaching others to do the same is one of my most important principles. While I try to purchase Non-GMO Project Verified and USDA certified… » Read more
November 19, 2018
Support the Non-GMO Project this #GivingTuesday
The Non-GMO Project works hard to partner with retailers and brands to establish and maintain the non-GMO food supply, preserve the world’s resources of genetically diverse, non-GMO seeds, and educate consumers on the changing landscape of GMOs. With the help of supporters such as yourself, these relationships can and do greatly affect the market. We… » Read more
November 12, 2018
Veterans Cultivate More Than Produce at Growing Veterans
Situated in the northwestern corner of Washington state, a three acre farm is a refuge for the ex-service members who run Growing Veterans, a Lynden-based nonprofit. The modest plot of land primarily produces hops, honey, and garlic—but Growing Veterans cultivates much more than just crops. The organization helps veterans plant roots in their community, providing… » Read more
November 9, 2018
Ten Exciting Non-GMO Month Wins
The Non-GMO Project’s eighth Non-GMO Month was a success thanks to the amazing support of our retailers, brands, and you! As always, we had so much fun celebrating our right to choose non-GMO. For us, this means taking the time to appreciate the farmers growing our food and tending the soil, the retailers working diligently… » Read more
October 31, 2018
The GMO Potato: What Consumers Need to Know
Jump to Frequently Asked Questions Read the Non-GMO Project Standard You’re probably aware of the best-known GMO crops such as corn, soy, and canola. Did you know that there are also GMO potatoes? They have been around since 2015, but it is just now that they are becoming widely available in the American food supply…. » Read more
October 26, 2018
It’s Alive: Spooky GMOs for Halloween
Frankenfish The AquAdvantage salmon is the first genetically engineered animal available for purchase in North America. The mad scientists at AquaBounty Technologies spliced it together with parts from the Atlantic salmon, Chinook salmon, and the Ocean pout to produce a GMO fish that grows scary fast. The modified salmon is currently sold completely unlabeled… » Read more
October 18, 2018
GMOs in the Aloha State: Biotech’s Passion for Hawaii
Many images may come to mind when one thinks of Hawaii: tropical beaches, big wave surfing, a fruity beverage underneath palm trees swaying in a light breeze…But what about GMOs? Would it surprise you to know that the Hawaiian Islands have been home to some of the largest GMO experiments in the United States—most of… » Read more
October 9, 2018
The Growing Corporate Control of Our Seed Supply
At the Non-GMO Project, we believe that by encouraging a non-GMO seed supply, we are supporting the restoration of traditional seed breeding and the right of farmers to save and plant their own seeds and grow varieties of their choice. Open the full infographic to read the story. Read more: Part One: Patented Plants: Who Owns Our Global Seed… » Read more
September 27, 2018
Non-GMO Month Is Here!
Non-GMO Month is here again and we’ve got a lot to celebrate. Stay tuned all month for giveaways, celebrations, and new ways to stay informed on all things non-GMO. With over 50,000 Verified products and over 14,000 Registered Retailers, we are actively changing the scene at the supermarket and showing our commitment to the belief… » Read more
September 26, 2018
Patented Plants: What do GMO Patents Mean for Farmers, Researchers, and Consumers?
In part one of this blog, we learned that the world’s largest chemical companies use patents to control the food supply. In part two we explore what this means for farmers, researchers, and consumers. What Do Patented GMOs Mean For Farmers? When farmers choose to plant GMO seeds, they must first sign a technology use… » Read more
September 21, 2018
Patented Plants: Who Owns Our Global Seed Supply?
At the Non-GMO Project, we believe that by encouraging a non-GMO seed supply, we are supporting the restoration of traditional seed breeding and the right of farmers to save and plant their own seeds and grow varieties of their choice. It’s one of our most important principles. But why do we need to restore these… » Read more
September 10, 2018
GMOs in Vitamins and Supplements: What You Need To Know
Genetically engineered ingredients can show up anywhere–even in health products like vitamins and supplements. Because GMO ingredients aren’t required to be labeled, most people don’t know what they are really putting in their bodies when they take their daily vitamins. We’ve partnered with our Education and Outreach Sponsor NutriGold to bring the facts to light, because… » Read more
September 6, 2018
Taking Transparency to the Next Level with One Degree Organic Foods
The smell hits you as soon as you walk through the door: freshly baked bread. Lots of it. The Sprouted Oven in Abbotsford, British Columbia has it all–muffins, cinnamon rolls, bagels, a sizable retail store, and even a gluten-free bakery. The best part? Everything is plant-based, non-GMO, and made with organic grains. I was left… » Read more
August 30, 2018
GMO Feature: Soybeans
Soybeans are one of the most prevalent commodity crops grown in North America today. At 89.1 million acres, American farmers planted more acres of soy than any other crop this year. However, most of that acreage is not producing food for humans. According to the USDA, just over 70 percent of that soy becomes animal… » Read more
August 27, 2018
Tips For Packing a Non-GMO Lunchbox
Packing a nutritious, delicious, and non-GMO lunch for your kids doesn’t have to be hard! These simple tips will ensure your child goes back to school with a lunch they love, made from ingredients you can feel good about.
August 16, 2018
Saturday is National Honey Bee Day!
To bee a part of the buzz this National Honey Bee Day, we’ve teamed up with our Education and Outreach Sponsor Wedderspoon to raise awareness of the importance of this tiny but powerful insect, and how GMOs are impacting their livelihood. Check out the infographic below and help us celebrate!
August 14, 2018
GMO Feature: Corn
Corn: A Brief History Did you know that well over half of a typical American diet is derived from corn? It’s true, and if you’ll remember from The Omnivore’s Dilemma, Michael Pollan famously calls North Americans “processed corn, walking.” He’s not wrong, and since more than 90 percent of corn grown in North America is… » Read more
August 9, 2018
What You Need to Know about the New GMOs Showing Up in Our Food Supply
Is it possible to create a non-GMO product using genetic engineering? While that might seem ludicrous to most of us, biotechnology companies have mounted an aggressive campaign to convince the world that the products of new genetic engineering techniques such as CRISPR are, in fact, non-GMO. Although this is completely unsupported by the scientific reality… » Read more
June 26, 2018
Comment on the National Bioengineered Food Disclosure Standard
Comment on the National Bioengineered Food Disclosure Standard and Let the USDA Know that You Want Meaningful GMO Labeling For two decades consumers have been fighting for meaningful GMO labeling that gives them clear and accessible information about the genetically engineered content of their food. This commitment to transforming our food system and providing GMO… » Read more
June 25, 2018
GMO Feature: Sugar Beets
We Got the Beet Did you know humans have been growing and enjoying beets for more than 4,000 years? Beets, or Beta vulgaris, are part of the Caryophyllale family like cacti, carnations, succulents, and many types of carnivorous plants. Thousands of years ago, they had long, thin, fibrous roots and were grown primarily for their… » Read more
