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'''The Non-GMO Project''' is a 501(c)(3) [[non-profit organization]] which works to identify products which are not affected by artificial [[genetic engineering]].  Through outreach, education, and market support, they work to support organic farming and provide safe food options to consumers.<ref name="NGMOP About">http://www.nongmoproject.org/about</ref> One of their main purposes is to provide non-GMO labeling, since GMO labeling is not required in most places. Interest in this organization has dramatically increased as the battle of mandated GMO labeling has continued.<ref>http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/27/business/food-companies-seeking-ingredients-that-arent-gene-altered.html</ref>

'''The Non-GMO Project''' is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.<ref>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.</ref> One of their main purposes is to provide third-party verified non-GMO labeling, since GMO labeling is not required in the United States and Canada. Interest in this organization has dramatically increased as consumers of all backgrounds, ages and geographic locations say labeling of GMOs is important to them.<ref>See the PEW Research Center’s recent consumer study on organic and GMO attitudes.</ref>  The Non GMO Project believes everyone has a right to know what is in their food and deserves access to non-GMO choices.

==Labeling==

==Labeling==

Products are evaluated based on the Non-GMO Project Standard, which is a document designed by dozens of industry experts to define what is truly free of genetically modified organisms.<ref>http://www.nongmoproject.org/about/organization/standard-committee</ref>  Foods which are not directly made from genetically modified ingredients can qualify for the project's verification, but more criteria must also be met. For example, animal products from animals which were given GMO feed cannot be used. If all of the verification criteria are met, the product may then be sold with the The Non-GMO Project Verified logo, and it will also be listed on project's official website.

Products are evaluated based on the Non-GMO Project Standard for GMO avoidance, which is a document designed by dozens of industry experts to guide the third-party verification and testing of ingredients at risk of GMO contamination The Non-GMO Project Standard is updated regularly after a series of public comments and reviews. Recent standard updates reflect the standardization of international threasholds for GMO avoidance and to respond to food industry demand. For example, in 2016 the updates included standards for animal-derived products such as dairy, meat and eggs,. If all of the verification criteria are met, the product may then be sold with the The Non-GMO Project Verified trademark, and will be listed on The Project's website and available on the mobile app.<br />

Interest in this organization has dramatically increased as the battle of mandated GMO labeling has continued.<ref>http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/27/business/food-companies-seeking-ingredients-that-arent-gene-altered.html</ref>

==History==

==History==

The project was started in 2007 by two grocery stores, The Natural Grocery Company (in Berkeley, California), and The Big Carrot Natural Food Market (in Toronto, Ontario). They had already been working to provide GMO-free options, and this was a better way they developed to further than goal.<ref>http://www.nongmoproject.org/about/history</ref>  The Non-GMO Project has remained active in these two originating countries, the [[United States]] and [[Canada]], since then.

The Non-GMO Project was started in 2007 by two grocery stores, The Natural Grocery Company (in Berkeley, California), and The Big Carrot Natural Food Market (in Toronto, Ontario). They had already been working to provide transparency of what is in the food they sold, and the development of a rigorous testing and verfiication and lableing program was a pragmatic and market driven response to the desire to offer verified non-GMO choices.[4] The Non-GMO Project has remained active in these two originating countries, the [[United States]] and [[Canada]], since then. The first products with the trademark Butterfly on them appeared on grocery shelves in 2010.  As of 2016, the Non-GMO Project had verified over 41,000 products for shoppers seeking third-party verified assurance of GMO avoidance.  

==References==

==Footnotes==

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