Non-GMfeed & meat?
Non-GMfeed & meat?
CONSUMERS are being misled by retailers who claim they only source livestock fed on non-genetically modified crops, a farmers leader has claimed.
NFU inputs adviser Jonathan Pettit said not enough guaranteed non-GM soya was available to satisfy claims made by supermarkets.
Tesco, Asda and Marks & Spencer have all claimed recently that meat and egg products they sell are from animals reared on GM-free feed.
But farmers cannot satisfy the demand for non-GM fed animals, not because they do not want to, but because the product is not available, said Mr Pettit.
Only four mills in Brazil supply soya that comes with sufficient guarantees to satisfy the requirements of the UK supermarkets, he added.
"They produce 600,000t a year and this has already been sold," Mr Pettit said.
Other global suppliers could not guarantee "GM-free" soya was not contaminated with GM material, Mr Pettit told delegates at a farmers forum during the NFU agm.
Retailers should reconsider plans and wait for the result of a joint survey by the NFU and Sainsburys which aims to reveal the true cost of sourcing non-GM feed.