Labeling Reality
European regulators are showing no sign of wanting to extend strict labeling laws to foods like meat and eggs coming from animals that have eaten genetically modified (GMO) feed. The European Union (EU) has thresholds for how much GMO material may be present in foods and animal feed before being labeled as biotech, but these rules, which came into force in 2004, do not apply to meat, egg, and dairy products derived from a GMO-fed animal. For groups opposed to biotechnology, this exemption is a glaring loophole in the EU's laws on GMO foods. But for the biotech and animal feed industry, it would be unthinkable and unacceptable to change the status quo. A European Commission official was cited as telling Reuters that there are no plans to tighten the rules on GMO labeling, adding, "The Commission believes this would be disproportionate. It's not on the agenda."
Europe's biotech and feed industries back the Commission line, insisting there is no evidence that meat or dairy products from a GMO-fed animal would qualify as genetically modified. Alexander Doering, secretary-general of the European Compound Feed Manufacturers' Federation was quoted as saying, "Poultry that has eaten GM maize does not become a GM bird. There has been no scientific proof of any GM transfer to food tissue. Just by eating the stuff, the animal does not become genetically modified." The bulk of EU feed imports, mainly soybeans and maize, comes from countries like the United States where GMO crops are common through the crop supply chain. Around 90 percent of the EU's imports of GMO grain and oilseeds are used as animal feed. Feed makers say the constant need to import high-protein feed materials makes it impossible to supply non-GMO feed on a large scale. However, there are tentative moves by some EU meat producers towards voluntary schemes to guarantee non-GMO feed. Britain's top retailer Tesco Plc said it recognized the difficulty for its suppliers to guarantee meats that were based on non-GMO feed. (Reuters, 7/13/05).
