NOTE: For the scientific evidence that refutes GM lobbyist Julian Little's claim that "GM soy uses less pesticides and can be sustainable", see
http://www.gmwatch.eu/images/pdf/gm_full_eng_v15.pdf
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Supermarkets sign up to 'sustainable' GM soy label
Supermarkets are signing up to a new labelling scheme that promotes genetically modified soy, according to environmental groups.
By Louise Gray, Environment Correspondent
The Telegraph
28 Mar 2011
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/agriculture/geneticmodification/8405026/Supermarkets-sign-up-to-sustainable-GM-soy-label.html
Sainsbury's is the latest major retailer to sign up the Roundtable on Responsible Soy (RTRS) after Asda, Waitrose and Marks and Spencer.
The scheme will label GM soy as "sustainable" as long as the farmer protects wildlife, uses pesticides in a responsible way and respects worker's rights.
However environmental groups are split over the controversial label. While WWF backs the initiative Friends of the Earth and others insist it will encourage more GM to be used in the UK food chain.
Some three million tonnes of soy is already imported into the UK every year, a large proportion of which is GM, at a cost of more than £1 billion.
Most of the GM soy is used as animal feed for hens, dairy cows and pigs. This means that most of the meat and dairy sold in supermarkets and used in major brands is from animals fed GM.
Supermarkets that have signed up to RTRS will be able to tell customers that their suppliers are using a more sustainable source of soy.
Kirtana Chandrasekaran, of Friends of the Earth, urged consumers not to "buy the lie".
She said 230 civil society organizations in over 30 countries are against the scheme because it encourages farmers to continue growing GM soy.
"The RTRS criteria are so weak that they will allow massive soy plantations to expand at the expense of small-scale farmers, forests, and other important ecosystems," she said.
"Massive spraying of pesticides will continue, with resulting damage to health and the environment.
"If supermarkets in Europe are serious about their green credentials they must take steps to move away from soy altogether and not hide behind labelling schemes."
Pete Riley of GM Freeze said GM soy harms the environment and questioned the health effects.
"UK shoppers want their supermarkets to deliver safe food, and they want honest information to help them shop more sustainably. The RTRS certification provides only a false guarantee, misleading consumers about what they are buying," he said.
However Isabella Vitali of WWF said the scheme will help to improve the majority of plantations, which are now mostly GM.
She said RTRS encourages the use of non-GM soy, but where the new technology is used it ensures communities and wildlife are not harmed.
"Most of the impacts of soy is common to any kind of monoculture, regardless of whether it is GM or not, so what we trying to do is tackle the majority of problems with soil, water, community relations, workers rights and so on," she said.
The supermarkets said it is "worth engaging with a global imitative" that can tackle some of the problems associated with soy cultivation such as deforestation and the loss of wildlife.
Dr Julian Little, of the Agricultural Biotechnology Council, insisted GM soy uses less pesticides and can be sustainable.