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Do Your Favorite Snack Brands Contain GMOs?

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).

Top Snacks

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 organic and non-GMO snacks that are equivalent in taste and satisfaction to these popular snack brands. To be perfectly honest, I think the non-GMO and organic snacks taste better knowing they aren’t poisoning me with exposure to Roundup.

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 and our right to know.

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Recommended Non-GMO Snack Brands:

One thing I love about these alternative 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.

Take back your food, get your friends and family involved and share these products with them!

Have a great week!

Food Babe

P.S. I’d love to know – What are some of your favorite non-GMO and organic snacks?
 
 
 
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367 responses to “Do Your Favorite Snack Brands Contain GMOs?

  1. Thanks so much! I really appreciate you not only telling is what’s not good for is but giving us alternatives! I fell in love with your suggested Late July brand sea salt tortilla chips!!! They are by far the very best tortilla chips I’ve ever tasted!!!!

    1. I used to be a big fan of Garden of Eatin tortilla chips, but no more. they use canola oil, which is the worst! I contacted them about it, but just got the runaround. Too bad – it seemed like a great product.

  2. I got 1 lb of Whole Foods 365 white corn Tortilla chips for under $3.00. The bag was full of chips and not full of air! The chips are certified USDA organic, QAI certified and also verified NON GMO project. The chips contain expeller pressed organic sunflower or safflower seed oil. I doubt they taste as good as Late July but they are a decent replacement for GMO corn chips.

    1. Organics are great if you are looking for local produce that tastes better because it is just recently harvested. The unfortunate part is that the commercial organic farmers have to use more chemical sprays than genetically modified produce.

      Having said that, white corn isn’t genetically modified to begin with. Only corn grown for commercial use as corn meal, corn startch, etc., would be modified.

      1. Actually, GMOs have INCREASED pesticide use. NO question there. And corn grown that’s used in corn chips is certainly GMO. Even if “white corn” hasn’t been specifically gm’d ( don’t know) It is in danger of contamination by GMOs

      2. So if someone has a strong reaction to chemicals such as calcium chloride that is sprayed on organic produce, (I throw up, violently), organics with chemical threats on them don’t need the same labelling as is used on other types of agriculture? What proof is there that genetically modified crops are sprayed with more? From what I have read it goes into the stems to kill the bugs that bore in stems, not into the end product. Also I read it isn’t sprayed after flowers emerge on the plants. How does the chemical get into the corn?

      3. @WestCoast,

        That is the whole point of GM food, it is made to withstand the powerful pesticides that kill everything and anything around it, but the GM food itself. So yes, they are sprayed with crazy, crazy stuff. Not to mention the process in which GM food is made. Read up on it and educate yourself.

      4. Mick, please define what “crazy crazy stuff” is? That isn’t a scientific term I can actually “read up” on and you have just asked me to do so.

  3. Orville Redenbacker makes non-GMO gluten free popcorn. Works for my gluten intolerance. Check it out.

    1. There is no gluten in corn…real popcorn should be naturally gluten-free. Sometimes they add ”stuff” (flavouring) to the popcorn that contains gluten.

      I wonder how Orville Redenbacker keeps their non-GMO corn separate from their ”regular” one.

      1. Popcorn is not GMO. None, nada, zilch.

        If there is stuff added to it, then it could enter into the gmo contaminated crap but on its own, it is not a gmo.

    1. genetically modified organisms have glyphosphate (roundup) built right into the plants cant be washed off because it’s right in the fibers of the plants; it’s highly toxic…

      1. No you idiot. Roundup is not built into the plant. The GMOs are crops genetically modified to be resistant to the herbicide glyphosphate aka Roundup. The modified version of this phosphate synthetase was naturally occurring in nature before it was added the evil M’s line of crops. It is this synthetase that allows farmers to kill nutrient robbing weeds without killing the crops

      2. To ^^Shawn^^~ ~ ~ did you really just call Marcia an Idiot???? totally uncalled for….a lot of us are just learning about GMO’s….. you wanna be a know it all…. start your own blog……prob nobody will go on it with a rude attitude like that…..

  4. Very cool ! love the article.. you are awesome! I love Garden of Eatin’s Blue Corn Tortilla Chips! So bad.. but so good.. at least no GMOs lol

  5. Poison…not something I want! I heard from an Iowa State nutrition professor that eating food with Genetically Modified/altered ingredients were NO different than non-GMO ingredients. The only GMO’s are yellow #2 corn and soybeans which we only eat the starch, sugar, oil, and meal from. I consider poison to be toxic which none of those are. Before you go believing everything you read, check the authors credentials!

    1. Before you go on bashing an author and start believing a single nutrition professor, do some research to see what other people with ‘credentials’ say.

    1. Popcorn does not have a GM variety available. There are many types of corn – popcorn, sweet corn, and field corn (yellow #2) are the most common.

      1. Popcorn is an end product, not a type of corn. You need to know what kind of corn is used to make the popcorn. If it’s GMO corn, then you are ingesting some poison along with your corn…akin to eating a bit of ground glass with your meatloaf…but less obvious and slower.

      1. Hi there is GMO free popcorn, it’s called Skinny Popcorn
        and it’s popped in sunflower oil,they have many flavors like
        butter and sea salt,of pepper, the pepper one is good gives it a little
        spice.then there is the cheese one like the smart pop with the cheese that stick to the fingers, try the Skinny popcorn. I look for GMO free things alot the time
        so I came across it in my food store and it’s light and tasty and not heavy,I take it to the movie theater,instead of buying popcorn from the movies where that is full of gmos and god knows what else.And I try Suja a really nice juice Food Babe talked about on her post here that is wonderful,I now bring that with me to the movies and my gmo free popcorn and it pays to be healthy it’s expsensive sure but Dr bills are more exspensive.

  6. I love Hail Merry cocoroons…the chocolate ones taste like brownies, and they’re gluten free, non-gmo, and I think they might be vegan too…

  7. How about some alternative products that don’t contain cow’s milk? Although I like the soft, cream-cheese-like goat’s milk cheese, it gets a little boring after awhile. Do you know of any foods containing goat or sheep milk cheese?

    1. Go to the packaged cheese case near the deli in any main stream grocery store. Stay awhile and read the labels; you will find cheeses from other countries with more respect for food than USA. You will find goat cheese. The only thing I buy at Trader Joes is the goat or lamb Feta cheese in brine.

  8. I like Eda-zen Crunch-a-ma-me! They have undertaken a multi-year project to make sure their n0n-GMO soy is grown in the USA. The crunchy edamame snacks come naked or lightly seasoned. I think you would love them!

  9. I looked at the ingredients on every Garden of Eatin Chips….everyone had Expeller pressed Canola Oil and/or Safflower Oil and/or Sunflower Oil. Yet the bags are all labeled ‘Non-GMO Project Verified’.

    I’m confused! Isn’t all Canola Oil GMO?

    Please answer.

    1. Yes, canola oil is one of the GMO foods, but there is non-GMO canola that is still grown, just like there is still non GMO corn and non GMO soybeans.

      1. I think the canola oil in these chips is a problem. Wonder what Food Babe thinks.

  10. Here is a great new benefit to provide for your employees/co-workers. It’s perfect for offices of 1-19 employees, 20-49 employees or 50-75 employees. A turnkey healthy snack delivery subscription service designed for your office. The program is ultra-convenient and delivers the best-tasting healthier snacks right to your office every month. Featuring products that emphasize all natural and/or organic ingredients that contain NO artificial preservatives, artificial colors, artificial sweeteners, partially hydrogenated oils, high fructose corn syrup or msg. Click on this link below for more information (or to sign up). http://www.HealthySnackDelivery.com

    1. Some of their products are organic and “safe” to eat and some aren’t. It made me sad too because I love their stuff and used to think I was in the clear if I purchased their products. Make sure you check the box before you buy it and only get their organic labeled products.

    2. Kellogg bought Kashi back in 2000. So you are consuming Kellogg’s version since then. These companies write the laws that determine what is organic or Non-GMO.
      I have attended the meetings. They start by modifying the qualifications from the seed resources and farm insecticide and pest control procedures then work up the production chain through fertilization and irrigation and more pest control. By the time a product is actually made or grown the laws governing labeling have been modified to fit the producers version of organic or non-GMO. There are huge sums of money being exchanged to make these changes happen. I would not believed it if I had not witnessed myself.

  11. You should try Jackson’s Honest Chips..made from organic potatoes, sea salt and fried in coconut oil. They are delicious!

      1. I notice they are kettle chips.. Are they hard greasy and stale like all the rest of the Kettle chips? Or are they light and crisp like Lays originals? I am looking for organic chips that are like lays. I make them myself (far better than lays but just as light and crisp). But I hate kettle chips with a passion and Kettle brand is one of the worst (and yes, I have tried the organic Kettle brand chips and find them just as stale, hard and greasy as everything else they hock.

  12. Most of the alternatives I’m good with – but Ak Mak crackers – man, I’ve never ever ever in all my 43 years liked those. Okay, perhaps they weren’t around 43 years ago, and I certainly wasn’t eating them at that time, but they have never tasted like Triscuits. Surely there was a better match to Triscuits than Ak Maks.

    1. I love Ak Mak! I just wanted to throw that out there because I think they are worth trying. But I agree with Kristen in that there are nothing like Triscuits.

  13. Our go to snacks besides raw fruits and veggies are Angie’s kettle corn(they have a variety of flavors, our favorite being sweet & salty), veggie straws by sensible portions, skinny pop popcorn, non GMO gogo squeeze applesauce, simply balanced organic corn tortilla chips(target) or Kirkland brand organic tortilla chips(Costco) & peace all natural cereals and granola in Greek yogurt… Oh and non GMO trail mix. Having 4 kids I always have these things on hand as well as homemade jerky from gf ground beef or bison.

  14. Could you please share some AFFORDABLE GMO-free options? All of the items you recommend require an upper middle class salary to regularly purchase. They are often 3x the price of the GMO versions.

    1. jas I hear ya. It is more expensive to eat organic and non-gmo at first. But when you start to change over to healthier foods, you will find that your food costs actually go down because processed food is much more expensive than whole foods. Try doing it in steps. I mean, a bag of Fritos runs $4.29? That’s expensive to me. When you start putting better quality foods into your body, you will find you eat less of the processed foods and therefore save money.

      1. To Sharon and Jas: eat no wheat , including organic. Wheat makes you eat more food, period. Read the popular books, ask people who eat no wheat. They need less food.

    2. Most snacks on the market are JUNK, GARBAGE, without any nutritional value at all. Not only are they not nutritious but they are also toxic. Yet you’re willing to put them in your body because they are ”cheaper” than real food?

    3. The Trader Joe’s Organic Corn Chip Dippers are very affordable. They also have organic olive oil pop corn that is affordable. I would say you just have to shop around what is in your area and go for the best options. If you can’t do that then you can shop around online, but shipping has to be factored into the cost.

      There are two things you can do to help make healthier GMO free organic snacks more affordable. Do not buy anything non organic and only buy organic. As more people vote with their dollars, so will capitalism respond. And they will stop making the crap and focus on supplying the demand for the good. And more supply means less expensive.

  15. I like Food Should Taste Good snacks but can’t find much information about them. The backs of the package say gluten free, not made with genetically engineered corn, no MSG… Am I making a good choice? I wish they came in bigger packages but they have become my go-to chips and crackers. Discovered the cheddar tortilla chips in the Minneapolis airport of all places!

  16. Great list to help empower people for better snack choices. I am happy to report that I am on track eating non gmo snacks. Thank you for all that you do.

  17. Do you have sny suggestions for a substitute for Bachman Jax?
    They have been my snack since high school. I need a replacement to help me break the habit… thank you for your help 🙂

  18. I buy the jar of unpopped Orville Redenbacher popcorn and on the back it says it is non genetically modified. Does this mean that it isn’t GMO?

    1. Redenbacher is specially selected over decades conventional popcorn to be their own taste and texture. Popcorn will not cross with any other corn, so cannot be GMO. However, any popcorn grower can use roundup for whatever reason on his crop. Redenbacher will pop better than any organic corn I have tried, both plain in microwave popcorn bowl and in oil on the stove.

  19. Do you know that there is a non-GMO insignia on the back of Orvil Redenbacher kernel popcorn? Funny, it doesn’t make this claim anywhere on its website. Coming from ConAgra foods I find this highly suspicious…. I went ahead and passed it up.

  20. Hi Vani,

    I was wondering if you could do a post about Starbucks bottled beverages that are in the food stores and gas stations all around the US. I personally don’t drink them–I’ve had them once and thought they tasted very weird, and artificial. Not to mention they are LOADED with sugars and carbs. However, my friend was drinking one the other day and noticed the expiration date wasn’t for 2 years, which led us to question: what the heck is in these things? “Dairy” shouldn’t last for 2 years!

    Thanks for all your hard work and relentless investigations!

    Mary

    1. Just read the label. There is natural flavor ( read: synthetic flavor) in it. Sterilized milk in the bottle, like canned milk, will keep a long time.

  21. Seems like the key to eating is to eat organic. If you use “certified organic” as your guide then maybe it will be a little easier to eat well.

  22. I just wanted to let consumers who pay attention where they spend their money that Eden’s Organic had a lawsuit working it’s way through the courts with the same premise as the Hobby Lobby supreme court case. They do not want to provide full health care to their female employees. I will not eat GMOs and I will also not spend my money on Eden’s Organic products.

    1. I will spend my money with them! If Eden’s Organic is going through the same thing Hobby Lobby dealt with, then, gasp!, they are a company entitled to provide what they want to provide to their employees. Similarly, they are a company who wants to provide what they want to provide to their consumers –non GMO foods. And I’ll be that they have no problem keeping themselves staffed if they are good employers competing in the hiring market. Women have the ability and means (if that means getting a job elsewhere, it’s clearly an option) to figure out their birth control. Give women some credit. Hooray for choices and the ability to make them!

  23. Annies was just bought by General Mills. They are now being boycotted by health food stores where I live because GM has a history of buying brands then changing the sources of ingredients. This means Annies will be modified for distribution by GM! So they should be immediately dropped from your list of recommendations.

    1. Raisin bran flakes are wheat. There is no GMO wheat in commercial use, so there is no reason not to eat it if GMOs are your concern.

  24. Organic food is good for us. It would be silly Not to label organic on products. IF GMO is that good, it would be silly not to label GMO.

  25. Just an FYI…. trader joes has not been (and refuses to be) 3rd party tested for GMOs and Annie’s is selling to Pepsico. I dont imagine Annies will be GMO free much longer.

  26. Hi Vani, I’m having a hard time finding a snack to replace the original goldfish crackers that don’t contain cheese for my kids who get a reaction to cheese. Any suggestions?

  27. thanks for the info but um, it’s no good to me cos i have no clue where to get the alternatives you suggest.

  28. We love the Food Should Taste Good brand… Can’t get enough of the blue corn chips with some hummus!

  29. We’ve become hooked on Way Better Snacks since I returned from ShiftCon a couple weeks ago. One of my favorites was their Cranberry Punkin organic corn tortilla chips – so so tasty! And I’ve seen other brands try to pull off the pumpkin tortilla chip and was not a fan.

  30. Hi Vani

    Not related to snacks, and I do not know if it is my perception only, but all potatoes I buy today, have a sweet taste to them, from the gold and red skinned to russets. Have you experienced this? I wonder if you have time to investigate as I find it frustrating for a “normal” potato to taste like a “sweet” potato.

    Thanks in advance.
    Necia

  31. Hi!

    I enrolled in Food Babe’s November eating guide – and I noted her mention that snacks are fine, but it seemed like she discouraged them a bit. I was just curious about her feeling about snacks in general (it is most likely well researched – so I wanted to take note!)

    Thanks,

  32. We use the Kirkland brand Organic tortilla chips, made with organic sunflower oil mainly because they are also certified GF. Late July brand chips are also. Two household members with celiac disease make this a necessitiy.

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