Greenpeace delivers the results of the GM ballot

This Friday (26th August 2005), Maizy the milk float, a herd of dairy cows and a Greenpeace milkman will deliver the results of the GM milk ballot launched last March to Supermarket managers across Cardiff. The ballot which asked the simple question "Do you want to drink GM milk?" shows an overwhelming rejection by the people of Cardiff for GM milk with a massive 97% saying no.

Consumer power pushed GM from supermarket shelves but a loophole remains in milk. Cows are fed on imported GM animal feed, despite studies showing that growing GM harms the environment. Unless supermarkets stop selling their GM milk, Wales can never be truly GM-free.

The supermarkets receiving the results - Asda, Tesco and Waitrose, all currently use GM animal feed, despite the fact that they could go GM-free at virtually no extra cost. Greenpeace research shows that it would cost supermarkets less than a penny a litre to be GM free. As they make on average 30 pence per litre profit they can easily afford to bear this additional cost, without putting any more pressure on dairy farmers already struggling to make ends meet.

Marks and Spencers has already shown the way by committing to selling only milk from cows fed on GM-free feed.

Greenpeace GM campaigner Ben Ayliffe said, "We're here today to show these supermarkets what the people of Cardiff want, and the results of the poll clearly show what is essentially a no-brainer. The people of Cardiff don't want to drink GM milk."

The ballot kicked off by polling Welsh Assembly members and has been travelling the streets and parks of Cardiff balloting members of the public all summer.

Further information:
Please contact the Greenpeace press office on 020 7865 8255

Notes:
i) See www.guardian.co.uk

ii) See: GM and dairy cow feed - Steps to a GM-free future for the UK dairy industry.

GM cows at Sainsbury's HQ, Holborn, London

'Jamie Oliver' took a herd of cows to Sainsbury's London HQ this morning and told the supermarket giant - "GM milk ain't pukka."

The Greenpeace pantomime cows invaded the building while the Jamie lookalike dumped a thousand pints of Sainsbury's own-brand milk onto the pavement outside the HQ. The supermarket chain produces milk from cows fed on GM. The policy results in thousands of tonnes of GM feed being imported into Britain each year.

See images from the action

Greenpeace campaigners are now walking around the Holborn offices passing out DVDs to the company's senior management. The video includes messages from Sainsbury's customers demanding that the company stops supporting the GM industry by producing milk from cows fed on a diet of American GM.

Sarah North, a GM campaigner at Greenpeace, said: "Sainsbury's has ignored its customers, but it won't be able to ignore 'Jamie Oliver', a herd of cows and half a tonne of GM milk on its doorstep. The company says it leads the pack in producing quality foods, but it still supports the GM industry. Every year it sells millions of pints of own-brand milk that comes from cows fed on GM. Huge shipments of GM are coming into the country every month because retailers like Sainsbury's refuse to go completely GM-free."

The dumped milk was given to Greenpeace by Sainsbury's customers angry at the company's policy. On May 8th Greenpeace conducted milk exchanges outside 20 Sainsbury's stores where customers were given the chance to exchange GM milk for the organic alternative free of charge. Cities across the country have seen the Greenpeace herd protesting outside Sainsbury's under the banner: 'THERE'S SOMETHING SCARY IN THE DAIRY.'

A new report released last week showed that milk producers could go GM-free at no cost to consumers or dairy farmers. The added cost of less than 1p per litre could be easily absorbed by retailers, whose huge mark-ups on dairy lines could comfortably accommodate the switch. Marks & Spencer has already ensured its milk is sourced from cows fed on a non-GM diet.

Sarah North added: "Growing GM threatens the environment with irreversible contamination. Sainsbury's shouldn't be supporting this business. We're telling their staff that the company could go GM-free cheaply and easily. We'll stay in their HQ for as long as we can or until they agree to a meeting with us so we can explain why GM is bad news for the countryside, for customers and for their company."

Further information:
Please contact the Grenpeace press office on 020 7865 8255 for images and footage

New Greenpeace report: GM and Dairy Cow Feed

Cows protest GM in dairy at Sainsbury's HQ, London

Greenpeace today won an agreement from Sainsbury's to meet with them to discuss how the supermarket giant can remove GM from their milk supply.

The agreement followed a two and a half-hour occupation of Sainsbury's HQ in Holborn by sixty activists including forty-five dressed as pantomime cows.

The cows, Greenpeace milkmen and a Jamie Oliver look-alike were returning 1,000 pints of milk from Sainsbury's customers.

The cows roamed around the 8 storey offices passing out CD-Roms with messages from customers demanding that the company stops supporting the GM industry. They also searched for Sainsbury's senior management, who have been ignoring Greenpeace's requests for a meeting to discuss removing GM from their supply chain for the past six months.

The cows successfully located the senior manager responsible for the decision and after discussions with campaigners she signed a letter agreeing to a meeting on June 1st between Greenpeace, senior Sainsbury's executives, Sainsbury's milk suppliers and other key players in the dairy industry.

"This is a great result", said Sarah North, Greenpeace GM campaigner, "Sainsbury's seem to have acknowledged that they can't keep ignoring their customers views on this issue We hope that this meeting will be the first step towards Sainsbury's changing their GM policy".

She continued, "The company says it leads the pack in producing quality foods, but it still supports the GM industry. Every year it sells millions of pints of own-brand milk that comes from cows fed on GM. Huge shipments of GM are coming into the country every month because retailers like Sainsbury's refuse to go completely GM-free".

She added: "Growing GM threatens the environment with irreversible contamination. Sainsbury's shouldn't be supporting this business. At the meeting we will demonstrate to them how they can go GM-free cheaply and easily".

The dumped milk was given to Greenpeace by Sainsbury's customers angry at the company's policy. On May 8th Greenpeace conducted milk exchanges outside 20 Sainsbury's stores where customers were given the chance to exchange GM milk for the organic alternative free of charge. Cities across the country have seen the Greenpeace herd protesting outside Sainsbury's under the banner: "THERE'S SOMETHING SCARY IN THE DAIRY."

A new report released by Greenpeace last week showed that milk producers could go GM-free at no cost to consumers or dairy farmers. The added cost of less than 1p per litre could be easily absorbed by retailers, whose huge mark-ups on dairy lines could comfortably accommodate the switch. Marks & Spencer has already ensured its milk is sourced from cows fed on a non-GM diet.

Further information:
Please contact the Grenpeace press office on 020 7865 8255 for images and footage

New Greenpeace report: GM and Dairy Cow Feed

Most supermarket own-brand milk comes from cows fed on GM feed

New report shows that dairy industry can immediately go GM-free

The UK dairy industry can go GM-free virtually overnight, with no cost to the consumer or the farmer, according to a new report published today (May 13, 2004) by Greenpeace.

The report, produced in collaboration with the farmers' campaigning group FARM, shows that the UK dairy industry can ditch its reliance on imported GM feeds by a simple switch to a feed regime based on crops grown on-farm and regionally in the UK. While this transition is being made, the industry can immediately go independent of imported GM feed by switching to GM-free imports.

The switch to GM-free dairy produce would not, argues the report, cost either the consumer or the farmer more. Instead, the cost, which would amount to less than one pence per litre of milk, could be borne by the supermarkets.

Currently, almost all supermarket own-brand milk comes from cows fed on GM feed imported from the USA and Argentina.

Called GM and Dairy Cow Feed: Steps to a GM-free Future for the UK Dairy Industry, the report illustrates how the UK dairy industry can be both GM-free and independent of imports in the future by growing protein-rich crops such as lupins for cattle feed.

Besides offering the consumer GM-free milk, other advantages for the UK dairy industry include less reliance on imported feed in the long-term and, through a less intensive model of farming brought about by home-growing cattle feed, the creation of more rural jobs.

Michael Eavis, organiser of the Glastonbury festival and Somerset dairy farmer, said: "My cows no longer eat GM feed. I recently made the decision to stop feeding them GM produce, and it was easy to make the switch because there are non-GM alternatives to use. And if there was more demand, GM-free feed would become more mainstream."

Sarah North, Greenpeace Campaigner, said: "There's absolutely no need for supermarkets such as Sainsbury's to continue to peddle GM milk. It's not only simple but also cheap for them to switch to the GM-free milk that consumers want."

"It's blatantly obvious now that supermarkets can help dairy farmers to make the switch away from these environmentally damaging commodities, and there's no excuse for not doing so immediately."

John Turner, dairy farmer and a founding member of FARM, said: "Far from threatening livelihoods and further eroding their dwindling margins, important market opportunities exist for those able to supply GM-free produce. Using GM-free feeds will not incur prohibitive costs and there exists a real benefit for arable farmers as well as those specialising in livestock."

"Many farmers share the same legitimate concerns about GM as those who buy their produce. Going GM-free will allow those who care about how food is produced to maintain an independence and integrity that lies at the heart of good food and farming."

Download the GM and Dairy Cow Feed report.

For more information contact the Greenpeace press office on 020 7865 8255.

Notes to editors:
In a poll run by ICM for Greenpeace in Autumn 2003 77% of respondants said that they would prefer to buy dairy produce from cows fed on a GM free diet.

Greenpeace has been running a campaign for the last 6 months against Sainsbury's own brand milk, which comes from cows fed on GM feed. At regular weekend protests run outside Sainsbury's stores across the country, Sainsbury's customers have almost unanimously agreed that Sainsbury's should stop selling milk from GM-fed cows. Pictures of protests available from the Greenpeace press office.

Customers exchange GM milk for the organic variety outside Sainsburys

Greenpeace members are protesting outside 22 London Sainsbury's stores today after it was revealed the supermarket's own brand milk comes from cows fed on a GM diet.

The protesters, who are dressed as cows and milkmen, are offering customers the chance to exchange any GM milk they've bought for organic milk, free of charge.

Sarah North of Greenpeace said: "Most customers don't even know Sainsbury's own-brand milk is GM. Sainsbury's says it only sells the best quality food, but when it comes to milk it has a long way to go. A lot of the people we've been speaking to are angry when they find out the Sainsbury's cows are fed on GM. We've been handing out dozens of pints of organic milk in exchange for GM milk. Hopefully Sainsbury's will get the message and stop supporting GM food."

The protesters say thousands of tonnes of American GM maize is imported into Britain each year to feed the cows Sainsbury's use for its own-brand milk. GM is harmful to the environment and its full effects are unpredictable.

Sarah North added: "Lots of the kids are excited when they see our costumes. We tell them that when it comes to Sainsbury's milk, there's something scary in the dairy."

Between 10am and the noon the protesters are outside Sainsbury's in:
Romford, Newham, Bromley, Waltham Forest, Haringey, Barnet, Uxbridge, Ealing, Kingston, Merton and Clapham.
Between 2pm and 4pm the protesters are in: Ilford, Tower Hamlets, Lewisham, Islington, Camden, Westminster, Kensington, Hammersmith, Richmond, Wandsworth, Southwark

For footage / pictures / more information contact 0207 865 8255 / 07801 212967.