July 13, 2007

Finland meat companies insist use of GM soy

Meat processors in Finland are favouring the use of genetically-modified soy as the price of natural soy has gone up in the world market compared to its biotech counterpart.

According to Jouko Lahtinen, managing director of Finnish feed company A-rehu and meat procurement company A-Farmers (of Atria Group) GM soy should be included in swine diet due to its lower price while organic pigs, on the other hand, may not be fed with GM soy. He said Finnish consumers could have already eaten GM pork for especially if the commodity was imported from Denmark.

Finnish meat product companies Snellman and Pouttu still view GMO with reservations. According to Staffan Snellman, the manager of Snellman's meat product unit, consumers should pay more if they want GM-free feed used for swine. He said that even if pigs were generally fed by GM soy, the safety and cleanness of Finnish food would not change.

Pouttu said his company will have to consider using GMO soy if majority of meat producers could do so, otherwise, rivalling companies will have a competitive edge in prices.