General Mills Investing in Organic Grains

Earlier this year, General Mills announced plans to almost double its organic and natural sales to $1 billion by 2020. Pursuant to this, the group is investing $50,000 in support of Canada’s Prairie Organic Grain Initiative (POGI) – a multi-year programs focused on increasing the yield and quality of the country’s organic grains while supporting greater stability and strength in the sector as a whole.

The company expressed that the rapid growth of demand in the organic food market has made sourcing adequate organic grain challenging. Part of POGI’s goal is to address this shortage through several programs designed to support farmers in the choice to transition to organic farming.

General Mills has grown to become the fourth largest organic and natural food producer, and one of the top five organic ingredient purchasers in the U.S. following a wave of acquisitions begun in 2000, including Cascadian Farm, Muir Glen, Food Should Taste Good, Immaculate Baking, Mountain High, and Annie’s.

POGI has also received funds from several other food companies including KIND, Nature’s Path, and Dave’s Killer Bread, and a $1.2 million grant from the Canadian federal government.