“The Kashi brand is owned by Kellogg Company, one of the largest breakfast cereal makers in the world. The ownership base of Kashi is still not widely recognized or common knowledge, especially since the Kashi website continues to paint a picture of being a small company. Investigations into Kashi cereals show deceiving claims after their breakfast products were found to be riddled with genetically modified (GM) and pesticide loaded ingredients. ” via

So much for buying stuff that is healthy and from a small brand. It is also a rude reminder that one should pay attention to the ownership of so called “cult” and “authentic” brands. I only learnt the other day that Illy is now owned by Coke.

Om Malik is a San Francisco based writer, photographer and investor. Read More

5 thoughts on “Kashi Cereal Scandal”

  1. I’m not questioning the accuracy of the article – BUT – I’d start with examining who made these tests and what are their standards, reputation, what are reasonable standards for pesticides – trace amounts or real contamination.

    Next, I make no assumption of GM grains, vegetables being evil. At the end of the day, genetic modification of chromosomes is nothing more than a faster means of hybridization and Burpee inspired just as much fear in his day. Splicing in strange genes requires different testing – and I’ve little enough confidence in motives so I support strenuous testing; but, that end of the process differs little from the people who grow the cotton and design the dyes in your shirts, Om.

    What panics people is a long complex question. And there are producers to satisfy every decision every kind of consumer feels necessary. So, there’s room for all these decisions. But, good small companies will continue to become big companies – like Apple – or be purchased and left free to innovate – like Jaguar when owned by either Ford or Tata. Or they could turn to crap like many of the small firms purchased by, say, Microsoft.

    Sorry to be so long-winded.

  3. Hi Om,

    I just recently started a revolution against marketing lies. The first step, albeit a small one, is to provide a mobile app to consumers for comparing the actual food at restaurants with their advertised images. Customers can take the two photos, tell us how they feel, geo tag the restaurant, and share with their friends and with the world.

    I intend to keep growing this initiative and add features to expose Ad lies in lodging industry, packaged products, and grocery products. I can tell you a lot more about my vision in person if you are available.

    Meanwhile, you can checkout the Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/igotduped, website showing the feed at http://igotduped.net/, and twitter account @igotduped

    —-
    Farhan Muhammad
    CEO, Fusion Room.

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