Earlier this week on my Facebook page, I posted a disastrous list of America’s most popular snack brands – all of them containing Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs).
Everyone was in uproar about their favorite brands – Nabisco, Frito Lay, Orville Redenbacher, and Kellogg’s heavy use of GMOs in their popular products and asked for alternatives. I created this handy chart below that lists some of my favorite non-GMO snacks that are equivalent in taste and satisfaction to these popular snack brands. To be perfectly honest, I think the non-GMO snacks taste better knowing they aren’t poisoning me.
I usually don’t recommend many snack foods like these that often – I like to preach the gospel of whole real foods, however sometimes you just need to get your snack on and this is how you do it without consuming genetically modified ingredients and supporting companies that use GMOs who are trying to stop the effort to label GMOs in CA and our right to know.
Recommended Non-GMO Snack Brands:
- Field Day Organics – Golden Round Crackers
- Kettle Organic Sea Salt Chips
- Late July Organic Mild Green Mojo Multigrain Chips
- Trader Joe’s Organic Corn Dippers
- Eden Organic Popcorn
- Mary’s Gone Crackers Original
- Late July Organic Sea Salt Multigrain Chips
- Late July Organic Cheese Crackers
- Ak-mak Whole Wheat Crackers
One thing I love about the non-GMO snack brands, is that they do not contain MSG, an ingredient that keeps you going back for more and more and more. This is why some of the GMO snack brands like Doritos are so addictive and have become “popular” as a result.
In other news – It’s official – every Friday is now GMO Free Friday. This is the day to avoid GMOs at all costs, boycott brands that use GMOs, ask restaurants to serve you GMO free food and to spread GMO awareness with your community every time you eat.
This movement will send a huge wake up call to the companies that sell us GMOs and let them know, loud and clear, we want GMOs taken out of our food!
Big food companies have already redesigned many of their products without GMOs for Europe. Why does Europe deserve safer food than us? And – did you hear? Russia officially just yesterday banned all GMO corn imports into their country in response to the very alarming French Study that found rats developed tumors all over their bodies and in their internal organs when they were fed GM corn during the course of their lifetime.
Take back your food, get your friends and family involved and declare GMO Free Friday!
Have a great weekend!
Food Babe
Garden Of eatin’ is another good non-GMO organic brand. Sometimes you just need a chip!
Amen, Sister! Red Hot Blues!!!!!!!!!!!
Sorry! They’re owned by Heinz/Hains Celestial. The chips themselves may be GMO free, but a profit on those babies is still a profit for Heinz (and Montsano, Lockheed Martin, Phillip Morris, Citigroup, Walmart, and Exxon-Mobile).
Red hot blues, indeed.
Are you concerned about the yeast extract that’s found in a lot of organic chips and cheese crackers? I’m on the fence about this and am currently avoiding them.
I totally agree– as far as I know yeast extract/hydrolized yeast etc. is just MSG masked with another name. I would love to get a definitive answer to this because it has me puzzled!
Here’s a list: Glutamic acid (E 620)
Glutamate (E 620)
Monosodium glutamate (E 621)
Monopotassium glutamate (E 622)
Calcium glutamate (E 623)
Monoammonium glutamate (E 624)
Magnesium glutamate (E 625)
Natrium glutamate
Yeast extract
Anything “hydrolyzed”
Any “hydrolyzed protein”
Calcium caseinate, Sodium caseinate
Yeast food, Yeast nutrient
Autolyzed yeast
Gelatin
Textured protein
Soy protein, soy protein concentrate
Soy protein isolate
Whey protein, whey protein concentrate
Whey protein isolate
Anything “…protein”
Vetsin
Ajinomoto
thank you!
Also “natural flavor” is MSG. The industry is all sneaky assholes.
Thanks for the list. I’ve been looking for something like this. My son has Aspergers and after keeping a food diary, we discovered that each time he has MSG, he gets over-the-top emotional.
Unfortunately, even the non-GMO brands still often contain hidden MSG, although there are more options than conventional. For those truly sensitive, even the small bits of hidden MSG like “natural flavors” or the processed proteins on Lori’s list above is too much.
Don’t forget Modified Food Starch, it’s in a lot processed stuff.
Here is a comprehensive list of ingrediants that contain MSG.
http://rense.com/general92/hidename.html
Thank You very much!!
Truth in labeling has a comprehensive list of hidden terms for MSG .
check it out.
Wow I don’t think this is the case in Australia, has to have the chemical name or number. If it says flavor it can be artificial (like vanilla etc) but not MSG, also protein isolate, how is that an MSG? Just confused that is all, I know it wouldn’t get through the cracks like that here…. protein has to be protein lol
No. Yeast extract contains NO MSG. From YeastExtractInfo.com: “Yeast is the basic ingredient of yeast extract. Only three simple steps and the help of two natural ingredients are needed to obtain yeast extract from yeast. These natural ingredients are sugar – or any other carbohydrate-rich ingredient such as malt or molasses – to help the yeast grow, and some natural enzymes to help break it down into smaller, savoury taste-delivering compounds.” Why one would use an extract when the real item is available is beyond me…..unless it is for taste.
Many food producers who want an organic label have replaced monosodium glutamate with yeast extract, which is cheaper and allows food producers to claim their product is ‘all natural’ or ‘with natural flavorings’. This is a subversive move by the industry to hide an additive since the free, unbound glutamate contained within the yeast extract does not require explicit labeling. As the only form of free glutamate allowed in organic foods it has become the flavor enhancer of choice in such products. Please not that it is only allowed in foods labeled “organic”, not those labeled “100% organic”, which has more strict ingredient requirements and does not allow an extra set of ingredients approved for such use. Unfortunately, most consumers are apparently not aware of that labeling distinction.
Is there a non-GMO alternative to Sun Chips?
I think Lundberg rice chips are comparable to sun chips and they’re tasty!
Love this article with the graphic on alternative brands! I’ve thought many times of how useful it would be to help steer others to specific items that are tried and true. Years ago when I pulled the plug on GMOs in my fav convenience foods I wasted a TON of money while trial and error shopping trying to find replacements.
For Ritz replacements, the golden rounds offered under the Whole Foods 365 label and the Trader Joes label taste great and they use safflower oils instead of corn/soy so that’s what we buy. Keep the good advice coming!
Can always make your own healthy and organic snacks
Yes I’m much more interested in learning recipes to make my own! From the 100days website I got recipes for whole wheat cheese crackers and graham crackers but that’s all I’ve got. It’s not enough! They are both amazing though.
I like to make cookie dough in bulk cut into single serve and freeze, baked carrot strips and kale chips, mini quiche, I will send my son with fruit smoothies for snack at school, grapefruit, easy things that are easy to grab and eat. I also keep my own prepared pureed apple or fruit to make a batch of apple sauce for the week. I try to post recipes on FB page at Roswell Farmers Market
There’s a book out called Homemade Pantry that has some cracker recipes and their all strictly homemade recipes. The author has more recipes on her blog eatingfromthegroundup.com. She’s got homemade oreos in there and I’ve made those a couple times per request. I haven’t personally done her cracker recipes as we’ve focused on other homemade items, like the sandwich bread and ricotta cheese-both delicious!
I love Rhythm Super Foods Bombay Curry Kale Chips!! So yummy and they really fill you up!!
Do Larabars have GMOs??
Larabars do not contain GMOs, but they are owned by General Mills, who is a major contributor to the fight against labeling of GMOs. It’s all very confusing, and you just have to make your own decisions. Larabars are safe, but buying them (and this is just my opinion, not trying to pass judgement at all) supports General Mills. Here is the “official” statement from Larabar concerning GMOs… http://www.larabar.com/prop-37
Our family gave up larabars for this reason. On the plus side, we now buy DelReal Organic Dates in BULK (the best dates I have EVER tasted) and make our own
Carolyn, I would love to have the recipe you use for making your own, if you’re willing to share!
I don’t really follow a recipe – each batch is a little different based on what I have. The only rule I follow is equal amount of dates to everything else. Like for the simple Cashew Bars I will use 2 cups of cashews and two cups of really soft dates – process with a good pinch of salt and roll them out. We use cookie cutters to make shapes instead of always having the traditional bars.
I have taken 2 cups of dates, 1 cup ripe banana and 1 cup walnuts with a tsp of vanilla and a good pinch of salt.
I really like 2 cups of dates, 1/2 cup raw cacao powder, 1/2 C raw cacao nibs, 1 C unsweetened grated coconut, 1-2 TSP Vanilla and a pinch of salt.
Just play around with and have fun!
Go to Chocolate Covered Katie’s blog! Check out her fudge babies! So yummy! I think they are way better than Larabars
Check out “100 Days of Real Food”, she has a recipe for homemade Lara Bars.
Thanks for the “recipe”!
A good alternative to Larabars are Kit’s Organic bars from Clif. They are completely organic, taste better than Larabars, and Clif supported labeling!!!
I don’t see how Tricuits have Gmo they have like 3 ingredits Whole grain wheat, soybean oil,salt
Soybean oil is made from gmos
ok so I guess olive oil and safflower oil is the only non gmo oils. Thanks
I was going to ask the same thing. Thanks.
coconut oil is healthy, too.
Or palm oil. Or grapeseed, almond, avocado, etc. Occasionally you’ll find a product made with one of those.
I was so distraught to learn my beloved Triskets on the GMO list. One of the few “real food” crackers commercially produced and widely available. Haven’t found Ak-Mak locally yet, but our TJ’s is set to open within the next month, and I am insanely excited.
I love Triscuits too. Whole foods and Trader Joes both have a triscuit like cracker under their private label (365 and Trader Joe’s brand). The 365 brand doesn’t have any oil in it, so I’m guessing they are GMO free, not sure though. Does anyone have any information on the 365 and Trader Joes brand woven wheat crackers?
365 Brand is supposed to be GMO Free according to WF
Trader Joe’s is GMO. They have not verified any products with nongmoproject.org Whole Foods has verified their private label 365 brands.
Trader Joe’s brand products are all non-GMO. I buy their snack foods, even non-organic ones, for this reason. Here’s the statement. http://traderjoes.com/about/customer-updates-responses.asp?i=4
Katrina… I know they state they are nonGMO but how can we believe that an entire store of mostly processed foods that is owned by Aldi Corp is 100% nonGMO. Impossible. It is absolutely impossible. If they were really nonGMO they would verify with the nongmoproject.org and would be singing at the top of their lungs with the Cali proposition in the news. They “say they are non GMO” which is VERY DIFFERENT from being non GMO. I trust Whole Foods much more than TJs. TJs gives the appeal of a Co-Op but they are basically an Aldi with cooler names for products.
Trader joes and also are the same company
I found the ak-mak crackers at Publix. If I remember correctly, they were on the bread aisle, at the end near tortillias and rice cakes.
I buy the 365 brand triscuit-like crackers. They only have two ingredients: whole wheat & salt. Gmo-free & my family loves them! Great with hummus & veggies.
Thanks Vani for all your effort. I get so angry that GMO’S gave been put into our food supply without our knowledge. I appreciate all you do!
I love Way Better Chips! They are made with sprouted grains and are labeled NON GMO…
Crunchmaster crackers are non-gmo, I believe. I make my own potato chips with potatoes I buy from a friend. I thought about trying to make my own sweet potato chips from my homegrown sweet potatoes.
The ones I bought have yeast extract.
It is so crazy these days……….And then of course the GMO free foods with bad parent companies. But before I drive myself too crazy, I would really have to inspect our mutual funds, which of course contain MANY companies and nearly every major company is part of another company that supports GMO’s big time………..I think eating mostly organic fruits, veggies, nuts, and seeds is the safest way to go right now. Or moving to a country that does not let this stuff enter without a label.
What about Food Should Taste Good? GMO or no?
I haven’t been able to confirm 100% yet.
Food Should Taste Good is owned by General Mills and they are most likely using GMO now. They got rid of their non-gmo label and they contain canola and soy. They are supposedly going through the nongmoproject verification but I unfortunately bought their chips. I’m recovering from an illness so I don’t eat chips but it was for my family. I happened to find out by chance today that they are owned by General Mills. No more bags of chips for us!!!
If the label doesn’t say “organic” certified by the USDA or Oregon Tilthe, or that the ingredients are NON-GMO then you must assume that it is genetically modified. More than 80% of grains grown in the U.S. are genetically modified.
Even the Whole Foods 365 brand can’t be trusted to be free of GMOs, and of course, as we’ve been hearing, Whole Foods sells plenty of other brands that contain GMOs. A lot of companies slap the “natural” label on foods containing GMO ingredients.
“Two breakfast cereal products that are currently enrolled in the Non-GMO Project, Barbara’s Bakery’s Puffins and Whole Foods’ 365® Corn Flakes, contained more than 50 percent GM corn… Meanwhile, the control, Nature’s Path® USDA certified organic corn flakes, contained only trace amounts of GM contamination (less than 0.5 percent). ”
from http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2011/11/22/natural-breakfast-cereals-contain-pesticides-gmo.aspx
Correct Pacia…I saw a vid on youtube that claims Whole Foods staff lie to their customers about being GMO free: http://tv.naturalnews.com/v.asp?v=484FC93C887B206A895A116C0A3469E3
I’ve recently learned about GMOs and am horrified that so many companies are chosing to lie to its consumers. I’m not sure about this, but my thinking is that it all boils down to greed/money. I want to be able to buy non-GMO foods, but I am a college student and financially incapable of this. I am sure that this is a silly question, but what are the prices like on these non-GMO products?
You just have to buy organic. To me, i am loww on cash but i keep my priority with what i put into my body on a daily basis. I dont care spending a little more for my body and health, my body will thank me later, and ill be saving big bucks when it comes too medical bills! If your way way low on cash, consider buy lentils. Organic of course, i like split red lentils for when i want something mushier and faster, add curry powder and chili powder with a bunch of diff spices like oregano and you got yourself i pretty good meal, protiens, pretty yum, and gmo free and cheap. It thats to plain for you just add some cauliflower and tomatoes. If you like more whole lentils, i like yellow. Quinoa is a seed thats eaten like a grain and is a complete protein. Chickpeas, raw veggies with organic hummus. Anyways that is a cheap, healthy way to eAting healthy gmo free.
Don’t think all 365 products have be verified non-GMO…the organic animal cookies have soy lecithin in them….by my reckoning that’s GMO unless the word organic is in front of it…which its not
Thanks for sharing! I LOVE Mary’s Gone Crackers! Yum! I am sharing this on my blog.
Im confused about you saying Orville Redenbacher has GMO’s, I read somewhere (and cant remember where) that popcorn was made from a different type of corn than what is GMO and showing up in everything packaged
I read something that i actually found on pinterest. It was an article stating blue corn and popcorn are the only 2 varieties of corn that are not GM. We eat the organic blue corn tortilla chips from Target all the time. The only chips i buy these days.
It’s probably the oil they are using in the microwave popcorn, and not the corn itself. Everyone should stay away from microwave popcorn even if its organic – you’re eating plastic poisons when you eat microwave popcorn.
I asked a Trader Joes employee about their products, and he said that they “strive” to source non GMO ingredients in their “Trader Joe” brand, but anything with soy cannot be guaranteed to be GMO free. Something to do with the fact that pretty much more than 90% of soy crops are GMO and the remaining 10% is probably contaminated anyways.
Hello, I have done quite a bit of research on the GMO topic, including viewing the Genetic Roulette documentary which is quite thorough.
If you’re on a budget and cannot afford organics, there are many crops that as of late 2012 are not GMO….so if you avoid the biggies, which are mostly in processed food you’ll avoid GMO without breaking the bank. It’s probably easier to list the big offenders: corn (not popcorn), soy (soy protein isolate, soybeans, edamame, soy milk, etc.), canola oil, a small amount of zucchini and crookneck squash, and most of the papaya from Hawaii. Avoiding those (non-organic) foods should eliminate the GMOs in your diet pretty much.
The reason Orville Redenbacher is probably listed when the popcorn crop is not reported to be GMO is because the microwave and flavored popcorn products use flavorings, soy-based etc. in their products. If you buy non-organic straight up kernels you shouldn’t be getting any GMOs.
The Aldi non-GMO statement I believe may only apply to their European stores as in the EU GMO’s must be labeled.
Most of Aldi’s produce sections is safe from GMO, as well as of course their organic dairy products and many dry beans (pinto etc.).
Meat and eggs that aren’t organic are very likely GMO foods because the animals are fed GM grain…. Of course those items are extremely expensive organic!
As far as yummy snack foods, I highly recommend nongmoproject.org as well as Amazon. I just picked up a 12 pack of Garden of Eatin’ blue corn chips (certified nonGMO) for 25.00, just $2 per bag!
Hope this info helps!
Not a scientist, just a concerned consumer.
Tell the FDA you want your food labeled!!
Sorry, forgot to mention sugar beets…Something like 85% of sugar beets are GMO. So look out for products w/ sugar listed on the label. Organic sugar is nonGMO…pure cane sugar is known to be non GMO as well.
there is soy oil in my childrens snacks and cereal by Envirokids….is that ok?? (envirokids says its organic)
Time to ’fess up: organics have GMOs
http://www.producer.com/2013/02/time-to-fess-up-organics-have-gmos/
I just read this article, and although it comes from Canada, our food systems are almost identical.
Love the new pic with the magnifying glass! Sooo cute!
We LOVE Xochitl corn chips! GMO free and no MSG! Garlic flavor tastes very close to Cool Ranch Doritos.
Oh man! I was so happy I found something with five ingredients at Target a few trips back. Triscuits it is… bummer.
Hi everyone. I’m 14 and I eat very, VERY healthy because of my mom. She always limits certain snacks such as the ones on the list above, but I don’t care much for those anyway. The problem is that I’m totally in love with cheese popcorn and I’m looking for and organic non GMO brand. Help!?!?
Trader Joe’s makes a white cheddar popcorn and their brand is supposed to be GMO free. Whole Foods also makes one – it it their brand – 365 and it is organic. Hope this helps. Let us know if you try them and like them! Give your mom and kiss and tell her “THANK YOU”
I started microwaving popcorn in a brown paper bag after reading about it on the 100 days blog. Then I sprinkle nutritional yeast over it. (A lot of vegans use that to get a cheesy flavor and if has a lot of B vitamins in it) I have also melted some Earth Balance spread and put that on but I want to try a little melted coconut oil (instead of butter).
I discovered your website not long ago and love it! I was wondering if there is an equivalent comparison of name brand products from Canada. 80% of products listed are from the USA. thanks and keep up the good work!
Oh, I love this! Pinning that chart right now! I know what you mean about eating whole foods, but sometimes you just need a packaged snack and there’s no way around it! Wai Lana chips are my go to snacks because they’re healthy (and gmo free), without that cardboardy taste most of the stuff you get from the health food store has. Okay, not most, but some. I’ve had a few bad experiences …. okay, nevermind. But, yeah, they’re really satisfyingly crunchy, which is the best part!
Lundberg Rice chips in many flavors. They have organic and mostly organic ingredients, and are nonGMO project verified. http://www.lundberg.com/products/Rice_Chips.aspx
Delicious and addicting like a chip should be.
Central Market Hatch Chile Tortilla Chips. They are organic and GMO free. Central Market makes many organic and GMO free products which are very well-priced. Unfortunately for most of the nation, they are located only in TX.
Aren’t kettle chips made by lays? Wouldn’t they be GMO too? Sheesh, they can make one chip with and one without?
I really enjoy your investigations as they seem to balance between strict adherence to a pure real food diet and the practicality of real life. Most natural food websites preach nothing less than 100% adherence to real foods and won’t even touch topics like: what are the best options at Chipotle, is Panera as healthy as it seems, what are good substitutes for traditional snack items, if your are stuck in a restaurant – how do I order the best food options, how do you travel and continue to eat healthy?
My job requires weekly business travel throughout the United States of multi-day durations where I have a great degree of difficulty in attempting to maintain a real/clean food lifestyle (at home I can control my food sources and quality). Some places I travel to have small real food oasis that I seek out, other places are food deserts, where I have to select the best of the worst food options. Other times, I have to defer to restaurants that my clients want to go to, or I’m stuck in work functions where provided food quality is the lowest concern. This is where you research and guides come in handy.
I appreciate your perspective on real and clean food lifestyles and your reviews of practical food options that are out there. Kind of like a “Worse Case Scenario Guide” – if you stuck in a situation in which you can’t control your food sources, how to make the best of it. It’s a niche that really no one else out there is filling, especially from someone who comes from a natural health perspective.
Keep up the great work.
Thank you! Your kind words are very much appreciated by Food Babe and her team!
Great article! Snikiddy’s cheese puffs are even better than the more popular brands and contain no artificial colors or flavors in addition to being GMO free. Also, a new cookie on the market is delicious, GMO and gluten free, and is made by Home Free.
Does anyone know of an MSG and/or GMO free protein powder? Thanks!!
http://reyhan.isagenix.com/us/en/isaleanshake_new.dhtml
Thank you!! I’ll look into it.
Help – My 16 month old loves crackers and I’ve been trying to find a tasty alternative to expensive baby crackers like Mum Mums and naughty crackers like Ritz. So I just tried “Trader Joe’s Golden Rounds Crackers” – they look exactly like Ritz with no artificial colors, flavors or preservatives. I’m just starting to learn about this GMO thing among other red flags. What are the biggest no nos in packaged food and how do I know if they have GMOs? Are TJ’s Golden Rounds ok? Help!
Most processed foods contain canola oil, soy, sugar, or some kind of corn product which are all likely GMO. To avoid, buy products that are organic or Non-GMO project verified. Trader Joe’s says that anything that is their brand does not contain GMO ingredients. Good luck!
Since every major scientific organization world wide (including the AAAS and WHO) has said that GMO crops are completely safe and nutritionally equivalent, this is of little concern.
And MSG occurs naturally in so many foods: (cheese, broccoli, tomatoes, and Marmite) and has never been found to have any health effects in double blind studies. The Japanese consume it in large quantities and are one of the healthiest populations in the world. So there is nothing to be concerned about there either.