Bellingham, WA, Jan. 16, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — The Non-GMO Project has introduced Non-UPF Verified, the next milestone in the transformation of our food system, developed under the newly established Food Integrity Collective. This initiative expands beyond GMO avoidance to address an urgent public health crisis: the pervasive dominance of ultraprocessed foods (UPFs) in our global food supply, which now accounts for more than 50 percent of calories consumed in Western countries.
“The Standard American Diet has become one of the leading risk factors for death worldwide, yet navigating today’s food landscape can feel like an impossible task,” explains Megan Westgate, Founder & CEO of the Non-GMO Project and the Food Integrity Collective. “This isn’t by accident. When tobacco companies acquired major food manufacturers in the 1980s, they deliberately applied their expertise in addiction science to food engineering. The result was a new generation of ultraprocessed foods designed with the same precision as cigarettes to trigger cravings and override our body’s natural satiety signals.”
Recent research reveals the devastating scope of UPF impact on human health, from depression, disrupted sleep patterns and hormonal imbalances to increased risks of heart disease, obesity, diabetes and cancer. Even more troubling, these effects are particularly severe in children and adolescents, whose developing brains are especially vulnerable to nutritional insults.
According to the Non-GMO Project’s 2024 research with Linkage, 85 percent of shoppers want to avoid UPFs, but they may feel overwhelmed and unsupported in this goal. “Even the most informed consumers struggle to identify ultraprocessed foods consistently,” notes Westgate. “When we began addressing GMOs in 2007, we recognized that genetic engineering was just one way industrial food production was distancing us from natural ingredients,” Westgate continues. “Today’s ultraprocessed foods represent an even deeper departure — taking familiar ingredients and transforming them so fundamentally that our bodies no longer recognize them as food.”
The new certification will complement the Butterfly seal, helping consumers choose foods that promote human and environmental health. Like the Non-GMO Project Verified program, Non-UPF Verified will set clear standards and encourage food manufacturers to offer more minimally processed options. This initiative is based on the 8-Petal Framework for Food Integrity, developed in collaboration with experts in the natural products industry.
The Non-UPF Verified program will launch with its pilot phase in spring 2025. Consumer-packaged food companies and manufacturers interested in certification can learn more at www.nonultraprocessed.org.
About the Food Integrity Collective
The Food Integrity Collective, launched by the Non-GMO Project, brings together thought leaders and stakeholders across the natural products industry to create systematic change in our food system. Through its 8-Petal Framework for Food Integrity, the Collective works to transform the marketplace to prioritize human and environmental health. www.foodintegritycollective.org.
About the Non-GMO Project
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. The Non-GMO Project Butterfly is the most trusted seal for GMO avoidance, found on more than 63,000 products from more than 5,000 food brands, representing $47 billion in annual sales. Find out more at www.nongmoproject.org.
- Megan Westgate, Founder & CEO
- Non-UPF Verified is coming