1. Announcing certification volumes of Non-GMO soy
2. CERT ID-certified Non-GMO soybean meal and other soy products: volumes available from South America and worldwide
NOTE: Below is more information about the availability of non-GM soy in the wake of the mass capitulation of Tesco, Co-Op, M&S, and Sainsbury's to allowing farm animals in their supply chain to be raised on GM feed. The information is from CERT ID Brazil, which certifies as non-GM a portion of the Brazilian soy crop.
The original documents, complete with charts showing volumes of certified non-GM soy, date from February this year and are here:
http://www.ohnegentechnik.org/fileadmin/ohne-gentechnik/News/CERT-ID_Volumes_2012.pdf
In 2012 there was a reduction in the amount of non-GM soybeans certified as non-GM compared with the previous year, but 20-25% percent of the entire Brazilian soy production was non-GM. This is enough to satisfy the entire EU demand for animal feed (20 million tonnes per year).
http://www.gmo-compass.org/eng/grocery_shopping/processed_foods/153.animal_feed_genetic_engineering.html
This non-GM soy could have been certified non-GM if advance purchase contracts had been in place.
CERT ID explains in the reports below: "Volumes of certified material could be increased very quickly in response to increased firmly expressed demand from European buyers."
What's needed is for advance purchase contracts to be in place so that farmers know that they have an assured market for their non-GM crop. Evidently the UK supermarkets listed above have consistently failed to tell their suppliers to do this. Instead their suppliers are relying on "spot" purchase, when the crop actually comes onto the market. That way, they are more likely to get the soy cheaper. Unfortunately in this game of greed and competition, the consumers - and the farm animals - are the losers.
Where is all the certified non-GM soy going? To suppliers of French, German, and Austrian supermarkets, which are taking a proactive approach to maintaining their non-GM feed supplies.
Take action: Tell the supermarkets what you think:
http://gmwatch.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=14765
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1. Announcing certification volumes of Non-GMO soy
CERT ID - Brazil, February 2013
http://www.ohnegentechnik.org/fileadmin/ohne-gentechnik/News/CERT-ID_Volumes_2012.pdf
Dear market operator,
You are probably aware that approximately 20-25% of Brazilian soybean production is free from genetic modification for the 2012-2013 crop. China's and India's soy production is 100% Non-GMO. As in previous years, Cert ID is pleased to publish figures regarding Non-GMO certified products and ProTerra sustainability certified products.
Today, in Brazil, there is a large demand for conventional high yield soy seed varieties devoid of GM contamination, as many of the best yield varieties have been withdrawn from the market in preceding years and replaced by GM seed. In response to that, the Soja Livre programme was started by ABRANGE and other important players in 2010. Today, Soja Livre has evolved and now offers the Brazilian market seed varieties that are not only high yield but also have a high degree of purity (below 0.1% GMO presence). This year ABRANGE is starting the certification of seeds to offer this improved level of assurance to the market.
In the document below you will find data and information about the Non-GMO market that you may find useful. CERT ID will gladly answer any further questions you may have.
Augusto Freire
Managing Director
CERT ID Certificadora Ltda
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2. CERT ID-certified Non-GMO soybean meal and other soy products: volumes available from South America and worldwide
CERT ID - Brazil, February 2013
http://www.ohnegentechnik.org/fileadmin/ohne-gentechnik/News/CERT-ID_Volumes_2012.pdf
Dear market operator,
As in previous years, we publish figures for the volumes of CERT ID-certified Non-GMOSM soy meal and other soy products as a service for European industrial buyers. The figures provide clear assurance that the tonnage of certified Non-GMO soy available from Brazil is more than sufficient to assure sustainable, long-term production of Non-GMO animal feed.
CERT ID has been certifying Non-GMO soy for 13 years and 2013 is the 7th year in which many of our Brazilian clients have certified their soy products according to both the CERT ID Non-GMO standard and the ProTerra® standard for responsible soy, which belongs to the ProTerra Foundation and was developed from the Basel Criteria for Responsible Soy Production. Non-GMO certification by CERT ID comes with the assurance of GMO content below the quantification limit of 0.1 percent. ProTerra certified material complies with the same Non-GMO requirement as CERT ID, and in addition meets a number of sustainability requirements, including protection of High Conservation Value Areas (HCVAs) such as the Amazon rainforest, assurance of worker welfare, avoidance of certain pesticides, and protection of traditional land use. Both Non-GMO- and ProTerra-certified material comes with consignment-specific full traceability documentation which allows tracing the product back to the farm level.
Approximately 20-25% of Brazilian soybean production is free from genetic modification. China and India’s soy production is 100% Non-GMO. CERT ID audited over 4.2 million metric tons (MT) of Brazilian soy production in 2012 as Non-GMO – a figure a little below the estimate due to heavy droughts in the Americas. An additional volume of Brazilian soy meal representing 1.5 million MT of soybeans could have been certified if EU buyers had expressed their demand early in the year. We also audited over 1 million MT of Indian soy, for certification of soy derivatives, specifically over 8 thousand MT of Non-GMO lecithin. Estimates for 2013 are strongly up compared to earlier years due to adoption of the CERT ID and ProTerra programs by new operators in Brazil as well as increased demand in Europe.
Please note that in the following graphs and table, we show only the volumes of Non-GMO soy and soy derivatives that have been formally certified. It should be noted that in addition to these certified volumes, there are large amounts of certifiable soy and derivatives that are identity-preserved Non-GMO, but which have not been certified for lack of purchase contracts from buyers with the supplier company. This means that volumes of certified material could be increased very quickly in response to increased firmly expressed demand from European buyers.
Besides more frequent extreme climatic conditions, year-on-year fluctuations in the volumes of soy products certified by CERT ID reflect shifts among certifiers and the commercial decisions of economic operators and their customers, as well as the effects of the systemic crisis that still affects Western food and feed markets and increases in pesticide and fertilizer prices, etc. These fluctuations are not generally due to decreases in the production or availability of certifiable Non-GMO soybeans.
Brazil continues to be the leading country in Non-GMO soy production and is capable of satisfying any demand for Non-GMO soy products from Europe for many years to come. As not all of this Non-GMO soy is automatically identity-preserved, demand consistently expressed by contracts between European buyers and Brazilian suppliers has an immediate effect on Non-GMO certification volumes in Brazil. New initiatives for Non-GM soy supply are very welcome by CERT ID, such as the Danube Soy initiative, as demand is growing as a result of new initiatives of retailers and other organizations in the European food system.
CERT ID in Brazil will gladly answer any further questions, as will CERT ID’s offices in Europe and North America. CERT ID is pleased to provide the names of certified suppliers upon request.
Augusto Freire
Managing Director
CERT ID Certificadora Ltda.