Supermarkets

A Greenpeace 'milkman' spreading the word about GM milk in Cardiff

The first genetically modified (GM) food appeared on the shelves of British supermarkets in 1996 and since then we have been campaigning against their use in the food chain.

By the time the issue really hit the headlines in the late 1990s, GM foodstuffs were already commonplace but commercial interests and lax government policies meant that there was little information being given to the public about what was being sneaked onto the shelves.

Following the launch of our campaign, consumers in the UK were alarmed to discover just how many products were contained GM, usually in the form of tomato, soya, maize, oilseed rape and their derivatives. With over 60 per cent of processed foods containing soya in one form or another, the chances are that in the past you will have eaten GM food.

Along with other campaign groups, we alerted consumers to the GM ingredients lurking in their food and the resulting backlash was felt by supermarkets and food companies alike. By 1999, the big name supermarkets had removed all GM ingredients from their own-brand lines and many name brands followed suit. The public outcry was so great that by 2006 there are practically no products containing GM ingredients available to buy anywhere in the UK. Current EU labelling laws require any such foods to be clearly marked.

However, that doesn't mean you'll always be able to spot a GM product when you see one. GM crops are being used for animal feed so they're still present in the food chain. More than that, the labelling laws don't extend to meat and dairy products from livestock fed on GM feed.

In 2003 we pointed out that there was something scary in the dairy and highlighted the fact that many supermarkets sell milk from cows fed on a GM diet. Once again, consumers reacted and told companies they didn't want GM ingredients in their food, however far down the food chain they might be.

In 2006, GM animal feed is still being used so even now, with EU labelling laws in place and the food industry fully aware that consumers have said a big fat 'no' to GM food, you have to buy organic meat and dairy and check your labels carefully if you want to be sure of avoiding GM food in the supermarket.