Zero Tolerance on GM food
Action Guide
Is your supermarket genuinely GM-free?
March/April 2004
AIM OF THE ZERO TOLERANCE CAMPAIGN
To put pressure on supermarkets to provide a genuinely GM-free choice in the run up to the new GM food labelling laws and beyond.
We want supermarkets to take a zero tolerance approach to GM by:
- Eliminating all GM ingredients and derivatives, such as vegetable oils and lecithin, down to 0.1 per cent, or the lowest level of detection.
- Stop selling own-brand products such as milk, eggs, meat and fish from animals that have been fed GM feed.
- Remove (and refuse to stock) any products that contain GM ingredients
BACKGROUND
The new GM labelling regulations mean that:
- Food containing a GM ingredient over 0.9% will have to be labelled as containing GM (currently the threshold is 1%)
- For the first time, labelling will cover derivatives (like refined oils, starch and lecithin), and animal feed.
This is a big improvement on what we have now, but there are still weaknesses:
- The products of GM-fed animals (eg milk, eggs, meat) won’t have to be labelled
- The threshold of 0.9 per cent means that a processed food not labelled as containing GM could still contain a GM ingredient up to that level.
We are concerned that the new labelling laws might result in supermarkets and food manufacturers labelling some of their products as containing GM. This could happen if they do not have strict Identity Preserved systems in place to trace where products come from. This is most likely for derivatives. We need to make sure that supermarkets are in no doubt that people are still concerned about GM and want a genuine GM-free choice.
Supermarkets have already responded to their customers’ concerns and have put GM-free policies in place. But they could be doing more, and we need them to go beyond what the law will require and guarantee that their own brands are genuinely GM-free.
THE ACTION
The action is very simple, and it should appeal to most people as the key issue is one of consumer choice. The materials have been designed to be used outside supermarkets.
1. The idea is to get shoppers to fill in an “Important Customer Comments” form with their name and address and personally hand it to the supermarket manager, telling him/her that they are concerned about GM foods and that they want them to provide a genuinely GM-free choice. If they can’t find the manager, they can ask for the customer comments box and post the form there.
TIP: to speed things up you could fill in the name of the supermarket on some of the forms in advance.
TIP: have enough pens available so that more than one person can fill in their details at once. This means you can make sure shoppers do fill in the form, rather than taking it away and forgetting about it.
2. We have also produced a handy credit card-sized fold-out card full of information and practical tips on how to avoid GM foods. We suggest you hand one out to each person who fills in a form. We have sent you equal numbers of forms and cards.
Shop the Shops!
Try to draw people’s attention to the bottom of the fold-out card which asks people to let us know if they spot any GM-labelled food in the shops. There is a number where they can text us the details and a website where they can email us. The idea is that people will keep the card in their wallets and keep an eye out for GM-labelled food, and we can build up a publicly accessible database of GM labelled food availability for campaigning purposes.
Which supermarket to target
If possible, focus the action on one of the big four supermarkets: Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury’s or Safeway/Morrisons. We want to put pressure on all of them, so choose one that is prominent in your area and where it is convenient to set up an action. Somerfield or Waitrose could also make good targets.
Marks & Spencer and the Co-op have gone furthest in terms of their GM-free policies, so targeting these supermarkets is not a priority unless you particularly wish to do so.
For specific information on individual supermarket policies, see ‘Current supermarket GM policies’ below.
Important note: If you wish to target Sainsbury’s, please contact Clare Oxborrow on 020 7566 1716. Greenpeace are organising some highly visual actions around their ‘Scary in the Dairy’ campaign, so we don’t want both actions to happen at the same store on the same date or our message could be lost. We can let you know if Greenpeace have an action planned on the date you have in mind.
When to do the action
You can do the action any time it suits your group. Ideally we want to put pressure on the supermarkets in the run up to the 18th April, which is when the new labelling laws come into force. However, if you can’t arrange a suitable date before then, you can do it after this date.
If you enjoy doing the action, and we have any remaining materials left, you can always do it again, perhaps targeting a different store a few weeks later. Phone the Supporter Services Unit in Luton (phone 020 7490 1555 and ask for Publications) to find out if there are spare materials available.
Media
Alert the local media to the campaign: edit the information in [square brackets] in the draft local press release and email or fax it to your local papers about a week before the action. Follow up with phone calls to make sure they have received the release and that they are sending a photographer. Don’t forget to include the phone number of your media spokesperson on the press release.
MATERIALS FOR THE DAY
200 x Important customer comment forms
200 x credit card sized leaflets
Sticky questions
Draft press release
Zero tolerance placard
Things to bring:
Plenty of pens!
A table or something for people to lean on when they fill in the comment forms, eg clipboards.
A camera and plenty of film (or a digital camera) to take pictures of the action for media worketc. Send us copies of any good photos you take!
LOGISTICS
A little bit of thought is needed about where you do the action as sometimes the ideal place for publicity may not be the best place for legal or safety reasons.
Pavements and other public places
- Officially you should seek permission from the council, but in practice this is not usually worth trying to get
- Make sure that no-one is physically obstructed from going about their lawful business. Police can move you on for ‘obstructing the highway’.
Shopping centres and other privately owned land
- You don’t have a legal right to do anything here without permission, but there’s nothing to stop you turning up and giving it a go as long as you move on if asked to do so by private security or employees. If you don’t, they can call the police and have you removed for trespassing. Hopefully it won’t come to this! If you are moved on, you could always continue your action outside another supermarket.
KEY MESSAGES OF THE ACTION
To the public:
- Take action to ensure your right to choose genuinely GM-free food
To the supermarkets:
- Consumers want assurance that their food is genuinely GM-free, or they will go elsewhere
FOLLOW-UP TO THE DAY
Media work
Don’t worry if the press fail to turn up on the day. You still have a very good chance of getting your story in the local media after the event. Choose one or two of your best photos to email or post to the local media and include a short press release or write-up of what happened on the day. Follow this up by phone to make sure that the information has been received.
CURRENT SUPERMARKET GM POLICIES
Points to note for major supermarkets
Asda:
Do not have stated 0.1% limit of detection
No stated policy for meat (except poultry)
No stated policy for dairy
Tesco:
Do not have stated 0.1% limit of detection
No stated policy for dairy
Sainsbury’s
Not 100% GM-free poultry, but GM-free choice offered. Express doubts about long-term sustainability of their GM-free policy
Not 100% GM-free meat, but GM-free choice offered.
Not 100% GM-free eggs, but GM-free choice offered
Not 100% GM-free dairy, but GM-free choice offered
Not 100% GM-free farmed fish, but GM-free choice offered
Safeway/Morrisons
NB: Safeway has now been officially taken over by Morrisons, so we would like to see Safeway’s stricter GM standards applied to Morrisons produce and a stricter policy all round.
Safeway work to a 0.1% detection limit; Morrisons do not have a stated 0.1% detection limit
Safeway are working towards 100% GM-free poultry; Morrisons do not have a stated policy for poultry
Safeway do not provide 100% GM-free meat, but offer a GM-free option; Morrisons do not have a stated policy for meat
Safeway are working towards 100% GM-free eggs; Morrisons do not have a stated policy for eggs
Neither Safeway nor Morrisons have a stated GM-free policy for dairy
Safeway provide 100% GM-free farmed fish, Morrisons do not have a stated policy.
Somerfield
Do not have stated 0.1% limit of detection
Not 100% GM-free poultry, but GM-free choice offered
Not 100% GM-free meat, but GM-free choice offered
Not 100% GM-free eggs, but GM-free choice offered
Not 100% GM-free dairy, but GM-free choice offered
Not 100% GM-free farmed fish, but GM-free choice offered
Waitrose
Not 100% GM-free meat, but GM-free choice offered (poultry is 100% GM-free)
Not 100% GM-free dairy, but GM-free choice offered
Full supermarket GM policy survey details
A survey carried out in July 2003 by Friends of the Earth revealed the following GM policies for own brand products. Sainsbury’s, Marks & Spencer, the Co-op, Tesco, Asda, Safeway, Waitrose, Iceland, Somerfield, Aldi, Budgens and Morrisons responded to the survey, Netto did not.
GM Ingredients
All of the 12 supermarkets surveyed confirmed that all their own brand products remain GM-free.
Detection Limit
All supermarkets have in place either Identity Preserved systems of their own or they expect this of their suppliers. The limit is at least 1%. Sainsbury's, Marks & Spencer, the Co-op, Iceland, Waitrose and Safeway all operate to 0.1%.
GM Wheat
All 12 supermarkets have confirmed that they will extend their policies to include GM Wheat if it becomes commercially available.
GM Derivatives
All of the 12 supermarkets surveyed confirmed that all of their own brand products are free from GM derivatives and have Identity Preserved systems in place.
Labelling
10 of the top supermarkets claim that labelling is not applicable as they do not stock foods containing GM ingredients. Iceland however does label all of its own brand products with a blue oval symbol stating that its product is `made with no GM ingredients'.
GM Animal Feed
Poultry
Tesco, Waitrose, Asda, Co-op, M&S and Iceland all pledge that their fresh poultry is GM Free with suitable IP systems in place. In addition Safeways are working towards becoming GM free with 95% of their poultry being GM free at present. Somerfield are working to avoid GM fed poultry, but say that where their objective has not yet been met, there are GM-free choices. Sainsburys say that they offer a choice for their customers including poultry which has been fed on a GM-free diet although they express concerns about the long-term sustainability of this policy and express their concerns for the potential impact on the British Farming community. Budgens is currently reviewing their policies and intend to provide GM free poultry by December 2003.
Meat
Tesco and Marks and Spencer pledge that their meat is GM free with suitable IP systems in place. In addition, Waitrose, Safeway, Sainsburys, Co-op and Somerfield all provide GM-free meat options to their customers. Budgens, Aldi and Iceland are all reviewing their policies regarding animal feed for meat products. Asda do not pledge to have meat that is fed on a GM-free diet
Eggs
Tesco, Waitrose, Asda, Co-op, Marks and Spencer and Iceland all pledge that their eggs are from laying hens that are fed on a GM free diet. Safeways are working towards a totally GM-free provision of eggs and currently 90% are GM-free. Sainsburys and Somerfield both offer GM-free options for eggs, Budgens intend to be GM-free by December 03 and Aldi are reviewing their policies.
Dairy Products
Waitrose, Sainsburys, Co-op and Somerfield all provide a GM-free option for some dairy products. Marks and Spencers pledge that 100% of their milk is GM-free but can not guarantee the same for milk in processed foods. Tesco, Asda, Safeway, Iceland, Budgens and Aldi do not have GM-free policies for dairy products although some do have the issue under review.
Farmed Fish
Tesco (except tilapia), Waitrose, Asda and Safeway all pledge to provide 100% GM-free farmed fish. Sainsburys, Somerfield, Co-op (salmon and trout) and Marks and Spencers (salmon) all provide an option of GM-free farmed fish and Iceland, Budgens and Aldi all have the issue under review.
GM non food products
Tesco brand female hygiene products use GM-free cotton.
Safeways are currently investigating the effect that GM cottons have on the existing lines that they stock.
Asda are planning to review their GMO policy to possibly include cotton products in the near future.
Sainsburys are currently reviewing their position but feel that the current market makes it difficult to identify a clear supply chain.
Co-op after consultation with members and consumers have made it a priority to avoid GM cotton for sanitary protection products and are aiming to extend this policy to cotton wool products as well. They are also considering the possibility of using GM-free cotton in clothing but as with the other uses this will depend on the availability of GM-free cotton on the market.
Marks and Spencer have no policy at present but continue to watch the debate closely and are currently trailing the use of organic cotton and hope to use more in the future.
Waitrose say that they offer an organic option and they are currently investigating the option of GM-free cotton for their own brand goods.
Somerfield do not currently have a policy on cotton products and Budgens and Iceland do not have a policy as they do not stock any own brand cotton products.
Aldi and Morrisons did not specify their policy concerning cotton.