May 13, 2011

One quarter of Finland broilers consume GMO soy

A fourth of the broilers that are reared in Finland consume feed that consists of GMO soy and the feed originates from Finnish feed company Satarehu that is owned by 30 of food industry companies, HK Ruokatalo's contract farmers, among others.

According to Satarehu, the company's owners represent almost 25% of all broiler production in Finland. Of the 200 million kilogrammes of broiler feed used in Finland a year, Satarehu makes 50 million kilogrammes.

Almost half of the domestic poultry meat sold by HK Ruokatalo is broiler that has been fed with GMO soy. According to HK Ruokatalo's CEO Jari Leija, the company does not participate in the feed trade and it does not dictate to its farmers what feed they must use. According to Leija, the company has discussed the use of GMO-free soy, but feed companies Raisio Feed and Suomen Rehu have not been able to ensure the availability of GMO-free feed.

The market leaders in Finland's feed market have decided to keep to GMO-free raw materials for the time being. Hankkija-Maatalous that operates in the feed market points that the discussion is becoming more heated as it becomes more difficult to obtain GMO-free soy, and production uses up cultivated areas in Brazil.