Farmers Weekly

Consumers Are Buying GM Product

Any attempt to block the introduction of genetically modified foods is futile and unnecessary.

"It is not conceivable that it can be stopped," Dirk Toet, director of biotechnology with Swiss food giant Nestle told a recent Grain and Animal Feed Trade Association convention in Prague.

Already within the UK 500 to 1000 food items on sale are voluntarily labelled as containing GM material. "UK supermarkets have decided to take an open approach, realising it is impossible to avoid GMs," said Mr Toet.

The arrival of GM foods on supermarket shelves is not damaging sales. "While 80% of consumers, when asked, say they don't want GMOs, they are still buying the products - and that's not because they do not realise what's in them."

Once GM products offering consumer benefits arrive people will stop seeking "GM-free" supply chains, looking instead for the added value benefits of GMs , predicted Mr Toet. Caffeine-free coffee beans, higher protein soya and foods that increase human resistance to disease are all in the pipeline.