Ireland: GM-free animal diets ‘unrealistic’

Prof Jimmy Burke, who was speaking at a Bioenergy 07 event in the Irish
county of Carlow, said that Ireland is importing half its protein for the pig
and poultry sector from the US, and this is already causing problems for the
industry.

Unable to recover
He said that those who fed their
pigs and poultry on GM-free diets were unable to recover the higher costs from
the market, and it was, therefore, anti-competitive and had very serious
implications for the pig and poultry sector.

Burke added, “Ireland’s
position on that and saying we would only go down a route where we would only
source non-GM feed is not a realistic option.” “We need to start sitting up and
taking notice because that is a real threat to the sector.”

When it was put to him that consumers did not want to eat
meat grown on GM-grown crops and would be prepared to pay a premium, Prof Burke
replied that was not the case as those who fed GM-free feed were not getting the
returns from the marketplace.

Related news item:
GM meat debate in Finland goes on

Related websites:
Irish Times
Bioenergy 07 (pdf)