Zero-tolerance to GM feed disastrous for poultry
DG Agri concludes that the European system for admittance of transgenic food and feed elements needs to be changed, the Dutch agricultural paper Agrarisch Dagblad reports.
Being the European Commission’s Agricultural Department, DG Agri advises that change is necessary as otherwise both pig and poultry industry production will suffer decreases of 30-40% because feed is getting too expensive.
The major problems occur in soybeans and to a certain extent in maize. For these raw materials, European livestock producers are dependent on a small number of countries.
Large amounts
Transgenic soybeans are being produced in large amounts in the US. DG-Agri figured out what would happen should Argentina and Brazil both switch to transgenic soybean production, which has not been allowed in the EU yet.
The department says that imports of soymeal would decrease by 25.7 million tonnes, which equals a feed price increase of about 600%.
Related websites:
Agrarisch Dagblad (Dutch)
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