CONO Kaasmakers takes a new step in making the chain more sustainable. From now on, all cheeses will be GMO-free. The dairy farmers of the cooperative feed their cows GMO-free. This means that no genetically modified feed is used. The change in business operations started last year. Wim Betten, General Director of CONO Kaasmakers: "We did it together and we are delivering on our promise. Our cooperative stands for genuine and tasty products of high quality. GMO-free cheese is a wonderful example of that".

Grass as the basis
Everything a cow eats ends up in the milk, and thus in the cheese. Fresh grass is a source of nutritious proteins. And therefore the best basis for a good quality cheese. The more fresh grass the cows eat, the less concentrate has to be supplied from elsewhere.

GMO-free concentrated feed
GMO-free feed fits in with CONO's traditional way of working: making premium cheeses with passion and attention to people, animals and the environment. The CONO ration consists largely of grass grown by the dairy farmer himself. The concentrated feed that CONO cows also receive consists of raw materials that are grown GMO-free. Almost 80% of all the cows' feed comes directly from the region. Furthermore, CONO strives for circular agriculture by reducing the use of feed concentrates and a higher degree of self-sufficiency thanks to home-grown roughage.

Sustainability performance rated
In the Sustainable Brand Index ranking, Beemster® cheese, CONO's best-known brand, was rated the most sustainable cheese brand by Dutch consumers for the second year in a row. Which indicates that consumers increasingly recognize and appreciate CONO's sustainability efforts.