Responsible Sourcing

We are committed to sustainably sourcing 100 percent of our 10 priority ingredients by 2020, representing more than 40 percent of our annual raw material purchases, and supporting the livelihoods of smallholder farmers who grow our ingredients.

Content from this campaign

Responsible Production & Consumption

Technology Advancements Boost Traceability in the Food Sector
In cases of widespread foodborne illness, like last year’s E. coli outbreak linked to romaine lettuce, the next step is to determine where along the food supply chain the contamination occurred. That’s where food traceability—the ability to trace a product through every step in the supply chain, from point of origin to final retail location—comes into play.

Responsible Production & Consumption

Nutrition Labels Get a Makeover: Will It Make a Difference?
It’s been nearly 25 years since the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) mandated that all food and beverage packaging carry the Nutrition Facts panel. These labels, now found on over 700,000 products, provide the consumer with information like serving sizes, calories per serving, ingredients and nutritional content.

Responsible Production & Consumption

How General Mills Sustainably Sources Food Ingredients From Around the World
To produce enough food to feed an increasingly hungry world, we must take care of the people who are raising the crops as well as the land, water and air needed for them to thrive. As a global food company that relies on ingredients from around the world, we pay careful attention to the impact of agriculture on our environment and the ability of farmers to be successful.

Responsible Production & Consumption

Sustainable Agriculture Means Sustaining More Young Farmers
According to some U.S. food industry observers, interest in small farms and sustainable agriculture is on the rise among young people. That’s all well and good, but the overwhelming demographic trend is toward older farm owners — and fewer, larger farms. The financial obstacles to starting a new farm are enormous, and so are the challenges involved in running an existing farm.

Responsible Production & Consumption

Working Toward Sustainably Grown Sugar
The sugar that provides a sweet taste in your food can come from a variety of sources. General Mills uses sugar from sugarcane in some of our dough products and snack bars, for example, and from sugar beets in cereal, fruit snacks, baking mixes and frosting.

You can’t taste or see the difference – they both satisfy your sweet tooth and look the same – but we’re working to make sure both ingredients are grown in an environmentally and socially sustainable manner. Sustainably sourcing the ingredients we use is a priority for General Mills.

Supply Chain & the Circular Economy

Grow North Announces Inaugural Food, Ag, Ideas Week
Grow North is launching the first-ever Food, Ag, Ideas Week on October 8-12, 2018. The event will convene diverse perspectives and communities to create a more interconnected, dynamic and competitive ecosystem for food and agriculture entrepreneurship and innovation. Panels, speakers, startup showcases and experiences will address industry-leading topics across sustainable agriculture, food innovation and tech, and food and society.

Responsible Production & Consumption

Improving the Sustainability of Cocoa Grown in West Africa
Cocoa is far from the only ingredient in Betty Crocker baked goods, but when you long for a brownie, it’s likely chocolate that you’re craving.

We use high-quality cocoa in everything from baked goods to cereal to snacks. Making sure that cocoa is grown in an environmentally sustainable and socially responsible manner is a priority for General Mills.

Environment

General Mills Is Spending More to Develop Organic Ingredients That Customers Can Trace
General Mills became a food giant by pioneering ideas to get people in and out of the kitchen more quickly. Now, it has moved to the front lines of an agricultural movement it didn’t start. A series of investments in recent months for its growing portfolio of natural and organic products has been aimed at fortifying the land where its food is grown.

Supply Chain & the Circular Economy

How Annie’s Is Working Differently in Montana
A new sort of farmers market just arrived in the northern plains of Montana, and Annie’s is proud to be part of it. For the last eighteen months, we’ve been working with organic grain farmers, Casey Bailey and Nate Powell-Palm, to create limited edition Annie’s items – Honey Bunny Grahams and Elbow Pasta & Cheddar – made from organic crops grown on their farms.

Responsible Production & Consumption

Portrait of a Start-up Farmer
Zach Knutson is as much economist as he is farmer. He’s had to be. Unlike many farmers, Knutson didn’t inherit land. Instead, he’s earned and invested his way into the industry, relying on his entrepreneurial savvy and passion for growing plants and crops.

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