First item Soil Assoc press release - nice slap for the NFU included:
"'The leaders of the farming industry should congratulate supermarkets for working hard to promote confidence in British farm produce, rather than attempt to protect the interests of the biotech food industry."
Second item notes ASDA's US ownership and that it's been led like the other retailors by customer preference: "Asda commissioned a poll which revealed that of over 1,000 people surveyed, 64 percent said they would prefer to buy products from animals reared on a non-GM diet..."
ASDA say, ""Consumers are becoming increasingly conscious of how the food they eat is produced and want, more than ever, to buy products from animals reared on a non-GM diet."
1. ASDA, Tesco and M&S offer consumers real choice on GM
2. UK supermarkets offer meat raised on non-GM feed (Reuters)
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ASDA, Tesco and M&S offer consumers real choice on GM
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, 26 JANUARY 2001
PRESS RELEASE
Campaigning for organic food and farming and sustainable forestry
ASDA, Tesco and Marks and Spencers have announced that they will offer consumers the right to eat meat, poultry and dairy products that have been reared on a GM-free diet. This is end of the road for genetically modified food here in the UK. There is simply no market left open for GM producers.
Harry Hadaway, Soil Association Campaigner says, 'By banning GMOs from animal feeds, Tesco, ASDA and M & S are today not only giving consumers real choice but are, more importantly, also protecting consumers from the possible health dangers associated with genetically engineering foods.
'The leaders of the farming industry should congratulate supermarkets for working hard to promote confidence in British farm produce, rather than attempt to protect the interests of the biotech food industry. Promoting the use of GMOs by UK farmers can only harm their livelihoods in the long-run.'
Supermarkets and food manufacturers banned GMOs from food products 18 months ago, but GMOs were still getting into food in the UK in huge quantities via animal feed. Studies have shown that these genetically modified organisms do not always break down in the feed production process [1] and can survive intact in the gut of the animal [2]. Consumers have therefore, against their will, been indirectly consuming GMO's without realising it.
ENDS
Contact Harry Hadaway m 07939 025604 Soil Association Campaigner 0117 914 2449
Notes to Editors
1. ACAF minutes, 27th June 2000. http://www.foodstandards.gov.uk/committees/acaf/min00003.htm 2. Research undertaken by Professor Hans-Heinrich Kaatz of University of Jena's Bee Institute, reported in The Independent, 28.5.00
* Organic standards have always prohibited the use of GMOs in animal feeds or any other part of organic food production.
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Soil Association 40-56 Victoria Street, Bristol BS1 6BY T: 0117 929 0661 F: 0117 925 2504 E: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. W: www.soilassociation.org © Soil Association Updated: 26/01/2001
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2. UK supermarkets offer meat raised on non-GM feed
Friday January 26, 10:34 AM
LONDON (Reuters) - Two major British food retailers, Asda and Tesco have said they would provide a range of meat products from animals not fed with genetically modified (GM) feed.
The decision is further evidence that food companies and retailers are reacting to a consumer backlash against GM food, amid concerns over its safety.
Asda commissioned a poll which revealed that of over 1,000 people surveyed, 64 percent said they would prefer to buy products from animals reared on a non-GM diet and 66 percent said it would be unfair to ask them to pay more.
"This latest initiative will result in the introduction of a range of non-GM fed fresh chicken, pork and eggs from this summer," said Asda, owned by U.S. retail giant Wal-Mart Stores. It added customers would not be charged more for the produce.
"Consumers are becoming increasingly conscious of how the food they eat is produced and want, more than ever, to buy products from animals reared on a non-GM diet."
Tesco spokesman John Church said that over three quarters of its customers had expressed a preference for non-GM products.
"We have written to our suppliers and asked them to ensure that from June this year supplies of fresh eggs, poultry, pork and fish use non-GM foods in their feed," he said. By September, the same rules would apply to sausage meat and bacon.
Church said that Tesco was not against GM products but was responding to consumer demand. A major problem was buyers wanting clear labelling of goods so as to give them a clear choice between GM and non-GM, he explained.
GM crops contain genes from other organisms to render them resistant to diseases and herbicides and to increase yields.
The environmental pressure group Greenpeace welcomed the decision, saying that it could have a profound impact on the international markets of soya and maize, the two main genetically engineered crops currently commercialised.
"This marks the beginning of the end for GE (genetically engineered) ingredients in the food chain in Europe," said Lorenz Petersen, GE campaigner at Greenpeace.
Tesco and Asda removed GM ingredients from their own label brands some time ago.
Other retailers and fast food chains have taken similar steps, including high-street burger chain Macdonalds, which last November asked suppliers to find sources of animal feed that did not contain GM products.