GM soy making its way into the UK food chain through animal feed

Monday, March 28, 2011 by: Jonathan Benson, staff writer
Tags: GM soy, food chain, health news

(NaturalNews) Labeling laws throughout the European Union (EU) require that all food containing genetically-modified (GM) ingredients be properly labeled. But a new report from The Telegraph explains that many big-name food brands in the UK that sell meat, dairy, and other animal products are sourcing from animals fed GMOs, but selling the final product without a proper GMO label.

The problem of GMOs sneaking in the back door through animal feed is not limited to the EU, as many other countries that require mandatory GMO labeling are experiencing similar scenarios. A recent NaturalNews report highlighted GMO contamination problems with Fonterra, a New Zealand-based cooperative that is the world's largest exporter of dairy products, as well (https://www.naturalnews.com/031776_dairy_GMOs...).

Some experts insist that animals fed GM feed do not end up producing GM-contaminated meat and dairy. But others say that GM traits are, indeed, passed on through animal feed into the animal itself, contaminating milk and meat with GM materials. They also say that the growing prevalence of GM feed -- particularly GM soy -- is destroying rainforests, introducing extreme amounts of new pesticides into the environment, and damaging animal and human health (https://www.naturalnews.com/030390_GMO_soy_po...).

According to Barbara Gallani, Director of Food Safety and Science at the UK Food and Drink Federation, most major UK brands of conventional meat and dairy now come from animals fed GM soy. And more than three million tons of soy, most of which is GM, is imported into the UK every year.

Numerous groups continue to petition officials to correct this glaring loophole that allows GM-fed animals to have their meat and dairy sold as non-GM. Former Labour environment minister Michael Meacher told The Telegraph that safety studies on meat and dairy produced from GM-fed animals are inadequate, and that people are "entitled to know" what they are eating.

In the US, GMO labeling laws are nonexistent. The vast majority of conventional soy, corn, and cotton products are GM, and most consumers are unaware of it. Advocacy groups have been pushing for labeling laws in the US for years, but the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) have sided with the Codex Alimentarius Committee position that falsely says there is no difference between GM and non-GM crops (https://www.naturalnews.com/029168_GMO_foods_...).

To see how GM soy is destroying the health, lives, and livelihoods of those who work or live near GM soy plantations, check out this sobering report recently aired on German television:
https://www.naturalnews.com/031382_GM_soy_GMO...

Sources for this story include:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/agriculture...