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Greenpeace activists from 10 European countries stop the unloading of the 'Hope', a vessel carrying about 25.000 tonnes of genetically engineered (GE) soya from Argentina in the Polish port of Gdynia. The action is a protest against the environmental problems linked with GE-farming in Argentina, where the GE soya plantations are causing deforestation, dramatic increase in the spraying of toxic herbicides and infertility of the soil.
Enlarge Image“The bulk of GE soya that is imported into Poland is used as animal feed,” said Geert Ritsema Greenpeace International GE campaigner. “It is absurd that Polish pigs are eating away the environment at the other end the planet. This must stop and we demand that the meat industry in Poland stop this import immediately.”
Poland is rapidly becoming a gateway through which GE soya is sneaking into the European food chain. Over the last five years the imports of GE soya from Argentina into Poland have risen more than six-fold (2). Meat companies in Poland – usually in foreign hands – which feed GE soya to pigs and poultry not only sell their products in Poland but also export to other European countries like Belgium, Germany, Sweden, UK, The Netherlands, Latvia, Lithuania and Romania (3). GE derived meat and other GE products bare a completely unqualified health risk for consumers. The vast majority of Europeans are against GE food, but due to insufficient EU labelling legislation they do not have the right to say “no” to such products (4).
Maciej Muskat, GE campaigner of Greenpeace Central-Eastern Europe in Poland said: “Seventy-six percent of Polish consumers do not want to eat genetically engineered food and 14 out of the 16 Polish regions have declared themselves GE-free. But the will of this overwhelming majority is undermined by foreign corporations who use unsustainable practices and who are taking over the Polish food and feed market.”
Muskat points at the example of Smithfield Foods Inc., a US-based meat corporation that became Poland’s largest meat and poultry processor after it took over the Polish company Animex. Recent samples taken by Greenpeace reveal that in Polish Smithfield facilities GE soya is used as animal feed (5).
Greenpeace demands Smithfield and other meat companies in Poland to stop using GE soya.
Greenpeace is an independent campaigning organization, which uses non-violent, creative communication tools to put the
spotlight on global environmental problems and to drive towards solutions essential for a green and peaceful future.
Notes to Editor
(1) For more information of environmental and health risks of genetic engineering see Greenpeace briefings
“Environmental and health concerns of genetically engineered (GE) crops in animal feed” and “The expanding soybean
frontier. Argentina’s dangerous reliance on genetically engineered soybean” at
http://www.greenpeace.org/international/press/reports/geanimalfeed and at www.greenpeace.org/geargentina
(2) According to statistics from the Argentinean Ministry of Agriculture in 2001 112.364 tons of soya were exported
from Argentina to Poland. In 2005 this figure has risen to 696.879 tons. In Argentina an estimated 99 % of the
cultivated soya is genetically engineered. See:
http://www.sagpya.mecon.gov.ar/new/0-0/agricultura/otros/exportaciones/index.php
(3) According to their website, Animex – the biggest meat producer in Poland – exports to Belgium, Germany, Latvia,
Lithuania, Romania, Russia, USA, Lebanon, The Netherlands, UK and Sweden (http//www.zm-mazury.pl/o_firmie.php)
(4) Under the current EU-law, products – such as eggs, meat and milk – derived from animals fed on genetically
engineered animal feed do not have to be labelled. However, if they would be given the choice, the vast majority of
consumers in both Poland and other EU countries would avoid buying such products. For example, recent opinion polls
commissioned by Greenpeace show that 76 % of consumers in Poland, 68 % in Germany and 62 % in The Netherlands
reject products that are derived from cows that are fed on genetically engineered crops.
(5) Laboratory reports available from Greenpeace International.
Further contact information for reporters to get video, photos or report details
Geert Ritsema, GE campaigner, Greenpeace International +31 646 197328 Maciej Muskat, GE campaigner, Greenpeace CEE in Poland +48 509 058651 Judit Kalovits, Greenpeace International Communications, +3162129 6914 For photo/video: John Novis, Greenpeace International Photo Desk +31 653 819121 Maarten Van Rouverooy, Greenpeace International Video Desk +31 545 197322
