Supermarkets struggle to keep GM off the shelves

Retailers, including Tesco, Morrisons, Aldi and Sainsbury’s, told Whitehall officials they were struggling to keep GM food off their shelves as more farmers around the world adopted the technology.

Food manufacturers also warned the Government the de facto ban on GM foods had pushed their costs up by between 10 and 20 per cent.

The information was revealed to officials from Defra and the Food Standards Agency during discussions over the future use of GM technology in Britain.

A subsequent report published last month warned that Europe’s distaste for GM technology would force prices up for farmers and consumers.

If Europe’s tough stance on GM continues it could lead to a 300 per cent rise in the cost of animal feed and sharp increases in the retail price of milk, meat and eggs, the Defra/FSA report warned.

Though Pete Riley, director of GM Freeze, the anti-GM campaign, said the report merely ‘plays to the short-term interests of the GM lobby in the UK’.

All the same, the cost to Britiain’s farmers of maintaining non-GM and GM-approved supply chains has run into hundreds of millions of pounds.

Retailers fear if action is not taken to soften the stance on GM soon, the extra costs will also be pushed onto the consumer.

Andrew Opie, British Retail Consortium food director, admitted supermarkets were in discussions on GM as part of the food policy debate, but he said retailers would ultimately follow consumer demand.

“Retailers are led by what their customers want. There’s no demand for GM products - so shops don’t stock them. They’re not having any difficulties getting all the non-GM supplies they need to meet demand,” he said.

Growing acceptance

Consumer acceptance of GM technology, however, does seem to be growing. According to the FSA, public concern over GM has fallen to 6 per cent from its peak of 20 per cent in 2003.

Meanwhile, Defra Secretary Hilary Benn is one of Europe’s strongest GM advocates. But opposition from a number of EU states, including France, Germany and Greece, has meant GM food grown around the world often cannot enter into the EU.

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