Clover Sonoma Launches Nation’s First Non-GMO Project Verified Lactose-Free Milk
“With Clover Sonoma Lactose Free Milk, everyone can enjoy the delicious non-GMO Clover dairy they love, and get the calcium and nutrients they need for a healthy lifestyle.”
By: Emily Monaco
Source: Organic Authority
Clover Sonoma, a third-generation family-owned and operated dairy in Northern California, has launched the first and only Non-GMO Project Verified lactose-free milk in the country. The milk is available in whole, two percent, one percent, and fat free varieties, as well as whole chocolate milk.
The new Clover Sonoma milk is made by adding lactase enzymes to fresh milk. This process breaks lactose down into more easily digested compounds.
"With Clover Sonoma Lactose Free Milk, everyone can enjoy the delicious non-GMO Clover dairy they love, and get the calcium and nutrients they need for a healthy lifestyle,” said Marcus Benedetti, president and CEO at Clover Sonoma, in a press release.
Approximately 65 percent of the U.S. population is lactose intolerant to some degree, according to the National Institutes of Health.
Clover Sonoma has long been at the forefront of the charge in favor of cleaner milk options. In the early 90s, the company then known as Clover Stornetta took a stance against rBST, a bovine growth hormone that was popularized by Monsanto, with Marcus Benedetti’s father pledging to guarantee an rBST-free milk supply to the company’s consumers. In 1999, Clover Sonoma earned the organic certification, and in 2000, it became the first dairy in the United States to be American Humane Certified.
In 2016, Clover Sonoma launched the nation’s first Non-GMO Project Verified conventional milk, simultaneously announcing its intentions to transition all of its non-organic dairy to Non-GMO Project Verified.
“They were non-GMO before there were any GMO crops,” Mark Kastel, co-founder of the organic watchdog group the Cornucopia Institute, told Organic Authority. “They were non-GMO before there was any Non-GMO Project. They were non-GMO before there was even a USDA organic label.”
Note: An earlier version of this story noted that Clover also produced a lactose-free organic milk. This product has since been discontinued.
