| THE VEGETARIAN
SOCIETY
At its meeting
on 1 August 1998, the Council (Board of Trustees) of The Vegetarian
Society agreed to introduce the following policy regarding the genetic
modification of foodstuffs:
“Genetically
Modified products or products containing Genetically Modified ingredients
are not acceptable to the Vegetarian Society because the Society believes
it is impossible to guarantee that such products are completely in
accordance with the Society’s vegetarian principles.”
The policy statement
was subsequently updated on the 21 August 1999 to read:
“The Vegetarian
Society considers that GM ingredients do not comply with the Seedling
Symbol criteria.
The Society aims
for all Seedling Symbol approved products to be free from GM ingredients
and their derivatives as from 1 August 1999. Any company wishing to
use the Society’s Seedling Symbol is contractually obliged to
meet the approval criteria that ensures products are free from meat,
fish, fowl, shellfish, battery eggs, products or ingredients tested
on animals since 1986, or genetically modified ingredients.
The Society is concerned
that the introduction of GM foods could pose a potential risk to the
environment, animal welfare and human health.
The majority of
cheese suitable for vegetarians is made using an enzyme developed with
the use of biotechnology. This enzyme is produced using proven technology
under controlled conditions with no environmental, animal welfare or
human health implications. This enzyme is used in replacement of traditional
rennet, which is taken from the stomach of a calf. The Vegetarian Society
continues to endorse vegetarian cheese as a suitable replacement for
cheese made with traditional animal rennet.”
Why the
new policy was introduced
The policy reflects
the widespread unease of the Society’s members and consumers
in general regarding the proliferation of gene technology. The Society
believes that insufficient research has been done into the potential
environmental and health implications of the genetic manipulation of
plants. In addition the extensive animal experimentation undertaken
during the development of new varieties of plants is contrary to the
Society’s principles.
How this
affects the Society’s V symbol
All companies licensed
to use the Society’s V symbol (aka seedling device) on their
products had to ensure that all genetically modified ingredients were
removed by 1 August 1999, should they have wished to continue to display
the symbol and claim our approval. The policy covers all genetically
modified ingredients, not just those where the DNA or protein is still
present. While many holders of the symbol’s products are and
will remain GMO (Genetically Modified Organism) free, it was not possible
to alter the then current 12 month contracts with some licensees until
they came up for renewal, hence the final cutoff date of 1 August 1999.
All new licensees from 1 August 1998 were required to be GMO free.
Exception
Vegetarian cheese
produced using chymosin from modified yeast (see below) will continue
to be endorsed by the Society.
Animal genes
in normally vegetarian food
No normally vegetarian
food on sale in the UK contains copies of animal or fish genes. In
addition, after consultation with The Vegetarian Society, the Government
has accepted that if this does occur and the DNA of the inserted
gene is still present in the final product it will be labeled with
a phrase
such as “contains copies of pig genes”. The general feeling
in the food industry is that no manufacturer would be happy marketing
any product so labelled.
Legislation
EU Regulation 1830/2003 on labelling and traceability provides for comprehensive
information by labelling all food and feed containing, consisting of or produced
from a GMO. All food, including soya or maize oil produced from GM soya and
maize, and food ingredients, such as biscuits with maize oil produced from
GM maize must be labelled. The label has to indicate "This product contains
genetically modified organisms" or "produced form genetically modified
(name of organism)".
Thresholds for labelling
Minute traces of GMOs in conventional food and feed could arise during cultivation,
harvest, transport and processing. In order to ensure legal certainty thresholds
have been established above which conventional food and feed have to be labelled
as consisting of or containing or being produced from a GMO. The presence of
GM material in conventional food does not have to be labelled if it is below
0.9% and if it can be shown to be adventitious and technically unavoidable.
Will the meat or milk of an animal fed with GM feed also be labelled
as GM?
In line with the general EU rules on labelling, the Regulation does not require
labelling of products such as meat, milk or eggs obtained from animals fed
with genetically modified feed or treated with genetically modified medicinal
products.
GM foodstuffs
on the market in the UK covered by the Society’s policy
Tomatoes – GM
tomatoes have been produced in which the gene which makes them go soft
has been “switched off” by making a copy of the gene, turning
it around, and reintroducing it into the tomato. This allows the tomato
to ripen on the vine and retain its firmness after harvesting. It was
only available in this country as tomato puree sold only in Sainsburys
and Safeway stores in cans which were voluntarily fully labeled to
indicate the origin of the tomatoes. The product is no longer available,
the last tin being sold in July 1999.
Soya – Monsanto’s
Roundup Ready soya bean now makes up about 40% of the US crop, which
is on the whole not segregated before export. The soya plant has been
modified to be resistant to the Monsanto herbicide Roundup by the insertion
of three “foreign” genes (from a petunia, a soil bacterium
and a cauliflower). Around 60% of manufactured products contain ingredients
at least in part derived from soya, including bread, ready meals, margarine,
confectionery and biscuits.
Maize – Most
UK imports come from areas not yet growing GM maize, the use of which
is mainly for animal feed, but as other areas start growing the maize
it will appear more commonly in human foodstuffs.
GM foodstuffs
on the market in the UK not covered by the Society’s policy
Chymosin – The
majority of traditional cheese has always been made with rennet from
a calf’s stomach. The active enzyme within the rennet, chymosin,
was identified over ten years ago and copied into yeast cells which
in turn now produce an enzyme which is identical to the animal one,
allowing a vegetarian cheese to be easily produced on a commercial
scale. The Vegetarian Society has approved this process since its Government
approval introduction 1991. As a result of the introduction of chymosin
the demand for calf rennet has declined hugely.
The Society will
continue to approve chymosin because it is produced using a significantly
different technology under controlled conditions. At present around
90% of cheese produced in the UK uses this technology, whether it is
marked as vegetarian or not.
Plant and fungal
rennet replacements do exist, but they tend to be difficult to work
with, and in practice are mainly used in small scale operations. If
you wish to avoid GM chymosin, organic vegetarian cheeses still use
the plant or fungal enzyme in their production.
Other Symbols
The Soil Association’s
organic symbol also guarantees GM free status.
Further information resources:
Greenpeace
UK - Canonbury Villas, London. N1 2PN, Tel: 020 7865 8100
Fax: 020 7865 8200 www.greenpeace.org info@uk.greenpeace.org supporter@uk.greenpeace.org
Friends
Of The Earth - 26-28 Underwood Street, London. N1 7JQ Tel:
020 7490 1555
Fax: 020 7490 0881 www.foe.co.uk/feedback.html
Genetic Engineering Network/Genetix Update - P O Box 9656,
London. N4 4JY Tel: 020 7690 0626 www.geneticsaction.org.uk genetics@gn.apc.org
Soil Association -
Soil Association Bristol House 40 - 56 Victoria Street Bristol BS1
6BY
www.soilassociation.org/SA/SAWeb.nsf/!Open info@soilassociation.org
Monsanto
UK Ltd – London W1S 4JW Tel: 0207 495 8455 www.monsanto.co.uk/index.html
| 
