The 2018 Non-GMO Sourcebook

tion all of its conventional dairy milk products to be Non-GMO Project Verified by 2018. Clover sources milk from 19 organic and 13 conventional dairies that have an average of 350 cows per farm. The com- pany processes more than 50,000 gallons of milk per day, making it one of the largest dairy producers in the U.S. to seek Non-GMO Project Veri- fication. Production is evenly split between organic and con- ventional. Similar to Trickling Springs Creamery, Clover emphasizes sustainability in its conventional milk production. The company established its own set of quality standards for its milk with the North Coast Excellence Certi- fied (NCEC) program, was the first dairy in the United States to become American Humane Certified, and its milk is also rBST-free. Non-GMO Project verification seemed like the nat- ural next step. The verification process was not difficult for Clover because, like Trickling Springs, their organic prod- ucts had already been non- GMO verified. Clover started the non- GMO verification process with 25 percent of its conven- tional dairies. The company introduced its first Non- GMO Project Verified con- ventional milk products in February 2017. The aim is to transition the rest of the dairies to non-GMO by 2018. The reaction from Clover’s customers to Non-GMO Proj- ect Verified milk has been “ex- tremely positive,” Corson says. “Parents are asking for this, and our part is to respond to that de- mand.” ( This article originally appeared in the February 2017 issue of The Organic & Non-GMO Report)

attribute after rBST-free.”

Pathway to organic dairy production According to Miller, another advantage to Trickling Springs Creamery’s non- GMO verification program is that it provides a pathway for dairy farms to become certi- fied organic. FarmFriend standards, which include rais- ing cows on pasture, meeting standards for cow health, and prohibiting the use of syn- thetic hormones, are similar to those for Trickling Springs’ organic farms. “Because we have strict stan- dards for our FarmFriend farms, it’s not difficult for farmers to become certified organic,” he says. “If we can move them for- ward toward Non-GMO Project verification, we are also helping move them one step forward to- ward organic.” About 80 percent of Farm- Friend farms have transi- tioned to organic. Clover Stornetta re- sponds to consumer demand A few thousand miles away in Petaluma, California, Clover Stornetta is transitioning its dairy products to Non-GMO verification based on con- sumer demand. “It stems back to us having a mission to listen to consumers, and there is a desire among our consumers to avoid GMOs,” says Kritel Corson, Clover’s mar- keting director. In an online survey, 56 per- cent of Clover consumers said they thought GMOs pre- sented health risks, and 60 percent said they wanted a non-GMO milk option. “Milk is a natural product, and consumers thought that having a product not connected with GMOs is important,” Corson said. In 2016, Clover an- nounced that it would transi-

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