German supermarkets say ‘nein’ to GM-fed poultry

German supermarkets have begun to reject GM-fed animal products – why isn’t the UK doing the same?

December 13, 2014 by Staff Reporter

Photo: Bigstock

Top German supermarkets are striking a blow for a GM Free EU by forcing the German poultry industry to return to the use of non-GMO feed.

The German retailers have also said that they are intending to demand a completely GMO-free feed supply chain across dairy, pork and beef very soon.

The move is in sharp contrast to UK supermarkets which have largely dropped their commitments to sourcing non-GM fed animal products.

Not on the label

We may think of the UK as being GM Free but unknown to many shoppers, about 30 million tonnes of GM animal feed is thought to be imported into Europe each year to feed pigs, poultry, dairy and beef cattle, as well as farmed fish.

The UK imports an estimated 140,000 tonnes of GM soya and as much as 300,000 tonnes of GM maize annually for use as animal feed. Much of the soya and maize used is grown in South America, including Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay, where its cultivation has been linked to serious environmental and human rights abuses.

In the UK, foods containing GM material for human consumption are currently required by law to be labelled. However, human foods derived from GM fed animals – meat, fish, milk and dairy products – do not need to be labelled.

A threat to human health

This means that when you buy and eat conventionally produced meat and dairy you are eating unlabelled  GM-containing foods.

Producers say this doesn’t matter because no GM material survives in the final food product. But that’s not what the science says. Studies have shown that GM material has been detected in meat and dairy products. Even the UK’s Food Standards Agency agrees that this is a possibility.

Why should we care? Because research has shown toxic effects in animals fed a GM diet, which could have implications for the health of the animals and the people that eat foods produced from them.

But there’s plenty of non-GM feed!

The scandal is it doesn’t have to be this way.

Livestock feed manufacturers and the pro-GM sector have worked hard to spread the myth that there is no non-GMO feed for animals; and UK supermarkets have swallowed this hook line and sinker and, worse, have persisted in spreading the myth to their customers. The facts are quite different.

Brazilian suppliers have said there is more than enough Brazilian GMO-free feed to meet demand, and this supply is increasing and soya production in China and India is also 100% non-GM.

Speak out

So why are we taking the risk of selling, buying and eating GM-fed animal products?

If Germany can do it the UK can to – but our retailers won’t make a move unless customers demand it.

Show them you care.

We must keep the pressure up if we want a clean, safe, transparent and sustainable food chain here in the UK.

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