German Poultry Industry Giant Returns to GMO-Free Production

Wiesenhof, the largest German poultry producer, has announced that it will turn back to using GM-free animal feed due to consumer demand. Wiesenhof’s U-turn comes just 10 months after the German Poultry Association (ZDG) unilaterally declared that it was stopping using GM-free animal feed, following similar moves by other associations in England and Denmark. The reasons provided for the step after over a decade of GMO-free feeding were an alleged shortage of GMO-free soya, the risk of contamination, and the associated legal uncertainty. Wiesenhof confirmed on Friday that they will soon be in a position to supply GM-Free fed poultry again, as this is what is “desired by customers”.

Alexander Hissting of VLOG (Association Food without Genetic Engineering) told Spiegel; “We expect an almost complete return of the poultry meat industry to GMO -free production in the coming months.”

Wiesenhof’s decision is a direct result of pressure from the top German supermarkets. In late August the supermarkets, with a broad consensus, demanded the German Poultry Association (ZDG) to stop using GMO feed for both egg and poultry meat production, starting from January 1st 2015.