Campbell Soup joins the vegetarians

American shoppers have made their preferences clear over the past decade when it comes to too much sugar and too much salt, and the food industry has been doing its best to keep up.

Campbell Soup Co. has gone further than most. In 2012, it acquired Bolthouse Farms, which sells bagged carrots and salad dressings, and in 2015 bought salsa and hummus maker Garden Fresh Gourmet.

This summer, in perhaps its boldest move yet, the maker of Prego sauces, Pepperidge Farms cookies and those iconic red-and-white soup cans left the industry's top trade and lobbying group, the Grocery Manufacturers Association.

Campbell cited the lobbying group's opposition to labeling whether food contained genetically modified ingredients.

On Monday, Campbell Soup announced it was joining the Plant Based Foods Association - a major gesture by an industry giant acknowledging retreating consumer demand for meat and dairy heavy food.

'We are committed to providing our consumers with food choices that meet their nutrition, well-being, and lifestyle needs,” said Ed Carolan, president of Campbell Fresh, the division that includes both the Garden Fresh Gourmet and Bolthouse Farms lines.

'Working together with the Plant Based Foods Association, we can advance our shared goal of bringing more plant-based foods to consumers.”

Although Campbell's departure from the GMA means leaving an organization whose members include Kraft Foods, Cargill and Coca-Cola, its new group includes such companies as the Tofurky Company, Daiya Foods and Beanfields Snacks.

The soupmaker stressed that its decision to part ways with the GMA wasn't linked to its decision to join the Plant Based Foods Association, and there's no indication that its soups and other products, including meat and dairy, will change.