1 million Europeans call for GMO labelling on milk, meat and eggs

Greenpeace collected the signatures in 21 EU member states between May 2005 and December 2006, with the help of consumer groups and other environmental organisations. From Ireland to Poland and Finland to Greece, ordinary people have demanded the right to know whether the food they buy is produced using GMOs.

Public participation in decision-making was a cornerstone of the EU Constitution proposal, which the German presidency is seeking to revive. It grants civil society the right to call for Community legislation on key principles enshrined in the Constitution: these include citizens’ right to information and freedom of expression.(1)

The statement on the petition says: “We demand mandatory labelling of animal products based on GMOs because of citizens' right to information, a fundamental right in the European Union.” According to a number of surveys, most consumers would choose not to eat GM-fed animal products.

A vast loophole in EU law exempts animal products from labelling requirements: foods like cooking oil, ketchup and cake mix have to be labelled if the ingredients include 0.9% GMOs or more, and animal feed packets must be similarly labelled. But food products derived from animals fed with GMOs – meat, milk, eggs – do not need to be labelled at all.

“This petition is a call for the EU to stop letting GMOs in through the back door of Europe and onto our plates through a loophole in the law,” said Marco Contiero of Greenpeace European Unit. “We will be asking Commissioner Kyprianou today, when we deliver the million signatures, to grant citizens the right to choose for themselves whether to eat food from animals fed with GMOs.”

Over 90% of GM crops imported into the EU are soya and maize destined for animal feed. The diet of farm animals in Europe is typically composed of up to 30% GMOs. This amounts to 20 million tonnes of GMOs entering the EU food chain each year without consumers being told.

“Under the present law, consumers have no option but to eat food produced using GMOs,” said Marco Contiero. “Taking GMOs out of the animal food chain in Europe will help protect the environment from the uncontrolled release of GM crops, which threaten health and biodiversity.”