See, along with brilliant fall colors, late-season garden bounty, and the fun of remembering where we stashed our favorite sweaters, it’s also Non-GMO Month, which is a pretty big deal at Natural Grocers^®. We know there’s plenty of confusion swirling around this topic, and that’s why we’re looking forward to digging into the facts and sharing them with you all month long.

In the meantime, here’s the quick take. We believe the widespread cultivation of GMO crops and the use of GMO ingredients in our food supply is NOT beneficial to the things we care about the most—the health of our neighborhoods and the planet. We root this belief in evidence-based research, and equally as important, the lack thereof when it comes to proving the safety and long-term impacts of GMOs on our health.

We don’t believe in saying a bunch of words and not backing them up with our actions, so here are some of the things we’re doing about GMOs at Natural Grocers.

• We prioritize organic whenever possible, and organic is naturally non-GMO!
• Our produce is 100% certified organic.
• Our bulk department is 100% non-GMO, with many organic selections. 
• In 2013 we stopped bringing in new grocery products with high-risk GMO ingredients unless those ingredients are certified organic or verified non-GMO.
• All of our Natural Grocers brand products are organic or non-GMO if organic is not available (excluding our honey and bacon).

And speaking of Non-GMO, it’s also turkey time, which means you can start planning your GMO-free holiday menu this very minute. We’re pre-selling Mary’s turkeys all month long, and along with certified organic and heritage options every bird is also Non-GMO Project Verified. By the way, our plant-based roasts are non-GMO too!

Now, we need to start another pot of water and freshen up this tea. We hope we have more chats like this with you soon, and in the meantime, may we leave you with this fall inspiration:

“You don’t waste October sunshine…”
–Katherine Arden, Small Spaces

The Isely Family