GM feed to be introduced to Finnish pig farms
It is expected that domestically produced pork from pigs raised on genetically modified soybeans will begin arriving in Finnish stores in the autumn.
LSO Foods, which supplies meat to the HK Ruokatalo and Järvi Suomen Portti meat wholesalers, announced already in July that it will begin deliveries of imported GM soybean feed to its pork farmers later in the year.
Another company planning to introduce genetically modified feed is HK’s competitor Atria; CEO Matti Tikkakoski says that financial pressures are forcing it to make the move.
No distinction
Although Atria’s contract farmersare still using traditional feeds, Tikkakoski says that the company will soon begin importing the genetically-modified product.
He says that non-modified feed will soon be both prohibitively expensive, and difficult to get.
Tikkakoski does not believe that it will be possible to deliver separate kinds of pork products to food stores – those raised on GM feeds, and those from pigs that were fed unaltered types.
He says that when they are imported from around the world, the different types of beans are bound to get mixed up at some point.
Criticism
Environmental organisations have criticised the use of genetically modified material in animal feed.
The Finnish League for Nature Protection is calling for mandatory labelling on packaging to reveal whether or not GM feed was used in the production of meat.
Related websites:
• LSO Foods (in Finnish)
• Atria
• HK Ruokatalo
• Finnish League for Nature Protection
• Järvi Suomen Portti (in Finnish)
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