Most meat sold in the UK from animals reared on GM feed

Speakers at the National Farmers’ Union Conference have been told that most non-organic meat sold in UK restaurants and supermarkets is from animals raised on genetically modified (GM) feed. Up to 80% of maize and soya bean crops – key cattle feeds –  may now be GM. In 2013, leading supermarkets abandoned the pledge to ensure their farm animals supplying meat, milk and eggs would be reared on a GM-free diet. Connor McVeigh of McDonald’s told the conference that the fast food chain sold beef from cows raised on GM crops as it was ‘becoming increasingly difficult to source non-GM feed within our supply chain’. Concerns have been raised about the potential risks to human health from GM and the heavy use of weedkillers in soy production in the Americas.

Most meat sold in restaurants and supermarkets is from animals raised on GM feed, families were warned yesterday.

A farming conference heard shoppers would struggle to avoid produce from livestock fed genetically modified crops.

Delegates were told maize and soya beans – key cattle feeds – were now 80 per cent GM.

‘We find it convenient not to make a big noise about it,’ said David Hughes, professor of food marketing at Imperial College London.

A farming conference heard shoppers would struggle to avoid produce from livestock fed genetically modified crops, with speakers claiming 80 per cent of maize and soya bean crops - key cattle feeds - were GM

Connor McVeigh of McDonald’s told the conference that the fast food chain sold beef from cows raised on GM crops.

He said families did not want GM ingredients but it was ‘becoming increasingly difficult to source non-GM feed within our supply chain’.

The revelation exposes the extent to which GM produce has taken hold in the food chain – behind the backs of consumers.

The big supermarkets said customers could avoid GM exposure only if they bought organic.

Peter Melchett of the Soil Association said UK animals should be fed domestic peas and beans instead of GM crops from the United States and Brazil.

He added: ‘When you buy a steak, how do you know what the animal has been fed on? It could have been fed on Welsh grass or it could be beef fed on Brazilian soya which is GM.

‘Nobody is going to tell you. Are we too childish or infantile to be told this?’

GM crops are not widely grown in the UK, except in small batches at research centres.

Mr Melchett said families should be told explicitly that they are buying meat fed on GM crops, adding: ‘If it’s so wonderful, let people choose.’

The big supermarkets said customers could avoid GM exposure only if they bought organic

VEGETABLE PRICE WAR 'WILL DECIMATE FARMS' Cheap bags of vegetables that ‘cost less than a can of Coke’ will lead to many of Britain’s farmers being forced out of business, the farmers’ leader said yesterday. Meurig Raymond, the National Farmers’ Union president, said a ‘vicious price war’ between the major supermarkets and discounters threatened to ‘decimate’ farmers and growers. He told the NFU Conference in Birmingham: ‘The supermarkets will say one thing publicly, but we know that they will push the pain down on to their suppliers and they’ll do it because they think they can. ‘That ends up with the ridiculously low prices for vegetables we saw in some stores over Christmas. It was crazy that the carrots and sprouts for the Christmas dinner cost less than a can of coke.’ In recent years Aldi has sold 500g of sprouts for 25p and Sainsburys a kilo of carrots for 59p. A can of Coke costs 68p in Tesco. Mr Raymond, 64, said cheap prices were one of a host of threats to his 55,000 members. He said that while cheap prices may ‘in the short term’ be a boon for consumers it was a disaster for farmers. ‘What happens if you decimate an industry?’ he asked. ‘There is such a thing as a unit cost of production. If you keep selling for below the cost of production, you won’t stay in business long. ‘At the end of the day if you keep devaluing food, the pressure is piling down the supply chain. ‘At the moment the majority of retailers are looking to drive down costs. There is a perception there is an ample food supply in the world, the undercutting that’s taking place is driving down values even further.’ Mr Raymond said Tesco ‘had its knuckles rapped’ by the Groceries Code Adjudicator, which ruled that it had seriously breached the code of practice over the way it treated dairy suppliers. He called for an extension of the code and the adjudicator’s role.

He said there were potential risks to human health as well as concerns over the heavy use of weedkillers in soy production in the Americas.

Owen Paterson, the former Conservative environment secretary, said in 2013 that ‘not a single’ steak sold in London restaurants was not made from cattle fed on GM feed.

Most major supermarkets quietly dropped their ban on ‘Frankenfeeds’ in 2013. The Co-op said in 2013 it had become untenable to maintain its ban as ‘the amount of GM crops grown across the globe has grown rapidly’.

Sainsbury’s states on its website: ‘We do not permit the sale of own brand food, drink, pet food, dietary supplements or floral products that contain GM material.

‘We are also aware that some customers have concerns regarding products from animals that may have been fed a diet containing GM material. As part of offering a choice to our customers, we offer a range of own brand organic products which guarantees the animals are fed a non-GM diet.’

Waitrose states on its website: ‘We fully understand that some customers would like a wider choice of produce from animals fed on a non-GM diet. With that in mind, all the animals that supply our organic meat, eggs and milk are fed a non-GM diet.’

Morrisons said: ‘Like other supermarkets, we are unable to guarantee that GM animal feed is not used in the supply chain for meat and dairy products, unless it’s organic.

‘Such a promise would add to the strain on farmers and increase the pressure on food prices, given the declining availability of guaranteed non-GM feed.’ The Food Standards Agency said there was no reason to suppose GM feed presented any more risk to farmed livestock than conventional feed.

It says: ‘Food from animals fed on authorised GM crops is considered to be as safe as food from animals fed on non-GM crops.’

But it said a review by the European Food Standards Agency had found it is ‘possible that DNA fragments derived from GM plant materials [in feed] may occasionally be detected in animal tissues’.Mr McVeigh, who is in charge of the McDonald’s supply chain in the UK, was addressing the National Farmers’ Union conference in Birmingham. A spokesman for the fast food firm said: ‘There are no GM ingredients on the McDonald’s UK menu. In line with wider industry moves, in 2013 we ended the restrictions on suppliers using only non-GM feed in our egg supply chain.

‘In 2014, we ended these same restrictions for feed in our chicken supply chain. Over 16,000 British and Irish farmers supply beef to McDonald’s UK. This high number makes it unrealistic to require those farmers to use non-GM feed.

‘They individually buy feed from a variety of mills and/or mix their own feeds on their farms.

‘The World Health Organisation states that GM animal feed has no effect on the quality or safety of meat, milk, or eggs.

‘We continue to work closely with agricultural and scientific experts, suppliers and national farm assurance schemes for guidance on this issue.’

The GM industry has been so successful in pushing its crops on the other side of the Atlantic that farmers in Britain and Europe now find it difficult – although not impossible – to find GM-free alternatives.