Tell Morrisons Not to Drop GM-free Poultry Policy

Morrisons has decided to drop its GM-free poultry feed policy. Take action and tell them to drop this new policy!

There is growing evidence that GM food & feed are harmful to human and animal health and the environment. Most GM soybean is engineered to tolerate Monsanto’s glyphosate-based herbicide Roundup, resulting in crops carrying residual levels of the herbicide. Glyphosate tolerant crops have been associated with internal organ abnormalities in lab animals fed GM feed diets, while Roundup has been linked to birth defects in animals and humans, endocrine disruption, cancers, neurotoxicity, respiratory illnesses and skin problems, many of which are harming rural communities in South America where most of the GM feed is grown. Birth defects, nutrient deficiencies and reproductive problems in farm animals are also a concern, having health implications for consuming such animals.  Environmental impacts of growing GM food include toxicity to crops, wildlife, particularly amphibians as well as soil micro-organisms, habitat destruction and deforestation. These could have lasting damage on soil fertility, biodiversity and sustainable farming. GM agriculture does not respect local communities and has resulted in evictions and “land grabbing”, creating landlessness and poverty, violating food sovereignty and basic human rights.

Lab Study Establishes Glyphosate Link to Birth Defects

Argentina’s Roundup Human Tragedy

EU Regulators and Monsanto Exposed for Hiding Birth Defects

GM Feed Toxic, New Meta-Analysis Confirms

Ban Glyphosate Herbicides Now

Glyphosate Kills Rat Testes Cells

Glyphosate Toxic to Mouth Cells & Damages DNA, Roundup Much Worse

Scientists Reveal Glyphosate Damages Crops and Soil

Glyphosate Tolerant Crops Bring Diseases and Death

Glyphosate and Monarch Butterfly Decline

Roundtable on Responsible Soy A Green Wash

UK Supermarkets to Label GM Soy ‘Sustainable’

In an attempt to “green wash” their policies, Morrisons recently became a member of The Roundtable for Responsible Soy, headed by WWF, which includes members such as corporation giants Monsanto, Cargill, BP and Shell who have clear conflicts of interest.

UK-based GM Watch has posted links to Morrisons to tell them to reject GM feed ending with an informative article from Farmers’ Weekly. These are reposted below.

NOTE: Some very bad news on the UK supermarket front. Morrisons are breaking ranks with other supermarkets and are dropping their GM-free poultry policy: "We are moving to permit the use of GM feed in the poultry supply chain." ASDA, owned by Walmart, broke ranks some time ago according to this Farmers Weekly article. Let's hope shoppers boycott both these supermarkets.

The fig leaf Morrisons are using for this move is to say that they are going to use more "certified sustainable soy". But this certification scheme is the greenwashing scheme for GM soya dreamed up by Monsanto, Cargill, ADM etc. with the help of WWF, and is worse than useless.
http://www.gmwatch.org/latest-listing/1-news-items/13764

TAKE ACTION: Let Morrisons know what you think:
via the contact page on their website
https://www.morrisons.co.uk/Help-and-information/Contact-Us/
or for phone or postal details
http://www.morrisons.co.uk/Corporate/Contact-us/

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Rhian Price
Farmers Weekly, 22 March 2012
www.fwi.co.uk/Articles/22/03/2012/132071/Morrisons-drops-GM-free-poultry-policy.htm

Supermarket Morrisons has dropped its GM-free feed requirement for poultry meat and eggs, as it looks towards strengthening its focus on sustainability.

The supermarket chain announced its decision to permit the use of GM feed in its poultry supply chain at its recent farming conference, in Harrogate.

The move follows years of industry lobbying, after supermarkets unilaterally banned all GM in poultry feed in 2001, even though they continued to allow it in other livestock rations.

David Evans, head of agriculture at Morrisons, said the company recognised that feed was becoming a major item of expenditure for livestock producers. "Uniquely, poultry farmers have faced restrictions on the use of GM-feed, but this policy will be increasingly difficult and costly to maintain as the availability of non-GM protein, namely soy, decreases," he admitted. "We are moving to permit the use of GM feed in the poultry supply chain and are strengthening the focus of sustainability, through the increasing use of certified sustainable soy," he added.

NFU chief poultry adviser Kelly Watson welcomed the move. "The availability of non-GM soya is declining all the time as producers worldwide switch to GM alternatives. "The cost of non-GM has pushed up poultry feed prices, so this move to allow GM will help make feed more affordable, while making poultry production more sustainable. We would like to see other supermarkets follow suit."

It is understood that Asda has allowed GM rations for some time, but spokespersons from Sainsbury's and Tesco told Poultry World all of their fresh and frozen poultry produce would continue to be fed non-GM feed.

Article first published 02/04/12

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