UK citizens: Take action!

Wiesenhof, the largest German poultry supplier, is once again set to use only GMO-free soy in feed, reports FeedNavigator.com. Campaigners say it's only a matter of time before the rest of the country's poultry sector follows suit.

Alexander Hissting, general manager of the German Association of Food without Genetic Engineering (VLOG) said: "We would expect to see an immediate reaction from other poultry players on this. There should be further movement in the next few months and we predict the entire sector will be back using non-GM soy by the end of 2015."

The move reverses an earlier decision in February 2014, in which Wiesenhof and other German poultry companies switched to GM soy for their chicken feed. Trade group, the ZDG, said that the costs of non-GMO soy were too high and the risk of GMO contamination was too great.

But ZDG took the decision without convening a meeting with the retail sector, and the supermarkets have been on the offensive ever since, according to FeedNavigator.com.

UK CITIZENS: TAKE ACTION

There's no reason why the UK can't follow the German retailers. In April 2013 most UK supermarkets abandoned long-standing policies to use non-GM animal feed. UK citizens can take action by writing to supermarkets here:
http://www.gmfreeze.org/why-freeze/unwanted/where-buy-non-gm-fed/

Possible points for your letters include:

• There is enough Brazilian GMO-free feed to meet demand, and this supply is increasing
• Soya production in China and India is 100% non-GM
• GM material has been detected in meat and dairy products in some studies. The potential for this GMO presence has been confirmed by the British government’s Food Standards Agency. This is important because some studies have revealed toxic effects in animals fed a GM diet. This in turn could have implications for the health of livestock animals and that of the human consumers of their products.
• A Consumer Attitude Survey commissioned by Friends of the Earth and GM Freeze and carried out by GfK NOP concludes that of those surveyed, 72% would pay extra for Non-GMO food and 89% want meat from animals fed on GM feed to be labelled.