Speaking before the Oireachtas Agriculture Committee this Tuesday, Bord Bia officials said they would share the results of ongoing research into the views of international customers on GM feed with the industry in March or April.

As part of quality assurance schemes, “we don’t require feed to be GM or non-GM and that’s the current status but we are currently doing market research with regard to GM out in the international marketplace to see what perspective international buyers have of GM in relation to the products that we produce,” said Bord Bia’s director of Origin Green Michael Maloney. “We will take on board what we’re hearing back from the marketplace,” he added.

Lidl’s GM-free butter

Bord Bia’s chief executive Tara McCarthy explained that the agency commissioned the research last year after discussions with buyers on grass-fed food raised the question: “Once the animal is not eating 100% grass, what else are they eating?”

She added that a decision by Lidl in Germany to launch a GM-free private label butter product sold for the same price as regular butter had caused concern for Irish suppliers. Germany is one of the largest export markets for Irish butter.

The current study looks at Germany and other markets including the US and Asia.

Much feed imported into Europe including Ireland, such as soya bean from North or South America, is from genetically modified crops. Replacing it with guaranteed non-GM feed would be likely to increase feed costs.

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