Mark Cuban hasn’t always been the most organic or natural friendly businessman judging by the way he’s gone about his business on the show ‘Shark Tank’ (he once scoffed at the effectiveness of a natural supplement that was being pitched), but he does have a soft spot in his heart for one particular company.
Of course it was his Shark Tank contemporary Kevin O’ Leary who once found himself locked into a serious debate with a 14-year-old girl on GMOs (one that most people thought he lost).
The current Dallas Mavericks owner hasn’t made his official position on GMOs known just yet, but he has put his considerable clout, and funding, behind a company called Alyssa’s Healthy Cookies, which specializes in low-carb, high-fiber, “amazing” tasting, non-GMO cookies for sale online. Cuban has also brought them to Dallas to sell at market.
Recently, it was a single comment fro Cuban that led to Alyssa’s website shutting down.
Cuban Comment Shuts Down Website
Saying they are “literally all I will eat anymore,” Cuban’s comments on the Dan Patrick Show led to a run on the non-GMO cookies.
He also called Alyssa’s a “company that is just now starting to take off” and calling it “the best product that he has invested in.”
Of course Cuban is biased in this case, but it’s good to know that so many sales were generated for a company that does things the right way in comparison with big money companies that use GMOs in their recipes.
Alyssa’s non-GMO cookies logo
Cuban has a portfolio of over 30 Shark Tank companies that include food products, consumer electronics, beauty, outdoor products and apparel, and some of them are likely to be featured at Target soon.
Currently on its website Alyssa’s offers pure gluten free almond cookies, dark chocolate almond cookies, healthy oatmeal bites, healthy vegan bites and more.
While the cookies are not a health food per se, it is well worth noting the impact one celebrity or authority figure’s opinion can have on creating demand for non-GMO food.
The Cuban Effect and How Reaching “Influencers” Can Help
As we continue to march down the path toward food integrity and freedom to choose GMO-free food, it’s important to note what a huge impact the verbal and financial support of a figure like Cuban can have.
There are still plenty of well known figures like O’Leary (see the video below of his GMO debate with 14-year-old Rachel Parent) who toe the U.S. government and mainstream media line in supporting GMOs, but more and more of them are starting to take note of the GMO issue and throwing their support behind non-GMO companies or the movement.
Among them include Jim Carrey, who took a jab at Monsanto at a recent graduation ceremony, Roseanne Barr, and even well known chefs like Curtis Stone and Alice Waters.
In the quest to make food integrity and GMO issues mainstream, don’t forget that small changes add up in a big way, and big, unexpected things happen along the way when influential people get involved.
The GMO tipping point is closer than we think as this study notes, and once the mainstream media begins covering the issue and organic food becomes more widespread and affordable, change can happen sooner than we all think. Stay focused and stay committed.
(P.S. Check out the video below to watch 14-year-old Rachel Parent school Cuban’s Shark Tank co-star [and pro-GMO bully] Kevin O’Leary).
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About Nick Meyer
