Appalled Hindus are asking for resignation of General Mills CEO Jeffrey L. Harmening with an official apology from the company for non-disclosure of beef in its Yoplait yogurts, and their immediate recall from the market.
Zed, who is President of Universal Society of Hinduism, stated that Yoplait yogurts contained gelatin, but the source of gelatin was not mentioned under the “Ingredients” on packages/boxes. When Zed contacted General Mills, its Consumer Care department
responded: “The source of Gelatin in all Yoplait Yogurt Products is beef.”
Consumption of beef is highly conflicting to Hindu beliefs. Cow, the seat of many deities, is sacred and has long been venerated in Hinduism; Rajan Zed points out.
It was a very serious issue for the devotees and would severely hurt their feelings if they would come to know that they were unknowingly eating beef-laced Yoplait yogurts, Zed expressed. General Mills, which claims to be an “innovative company that stands for good”, should not be in the business of hurting the sentiments of trusting consumers and communities and contradicting its own statement “Do the Right Thing, All the Time”; Zed noted.
Rajan Zed further said that it was hard to comprehend why General Mills Inc., which claims “We make food the world loves: 100 brands. In 100 countries. Across six continents.”, did not mention explicitly under the ingredients on the package/box the source of gelatin used in its products. It was highly insensitive on its part.
Now was the time for General Mills to admit their serious error of not being transparent enough to mention in clear and simple terms what was inside the package/box so that an ordinary consumer could make right and appropriate choices, Zed indicated. Moreover, in future, General Mills should explicitly list beef in the ingredients on the package/box when beef was present in the product; Zed added.
Hinduism was the oldest and third largest religion of the world with about 1.2 billion adherents and a rich philosophical thought, and it should not be taken frivolously. No faith, larger or smaller, should be mishandled; Rajan Zed remarked.
Besides CEO resignation and official apology; Zed urged General Mills to recall all Yoplait packages/boxes containing gelatin where source of gelatin was not clearly mentioned; and later replace these with packages/boxes which markedly declared source of gelatin under the ingredients label.
General Mills, headquartered in Minneapolis and founded in 1866, generated fiscal 2023 net sales of US$20.1 billion. It won the award “America’s Most Responsible Companies, Newsweek 2022 and 2023”, and claims: “we make food with passion that brings goodness to people, communities and the planet”.
Yoplait was officially launched in 1965 in Paris. In 1971, it reached the USA and Canada. General Mills acquired a majority stake in Yoplait in July 2011.
