Official figures confirm that a substantial amount of GM feed is now imported to Iceland. In a reply to a parliamentary question put by Mrs Þuríður Backman MP, Mr Guðni Ágústsson the Minister of Agriculture stated that in the year of 2005 about 63% (or 8000 tn) of imported soya intended for animal feed was genetically modified. And no less than 78% (15.000 tn) of imported maize was GM in that same year. It should be noted that all soya or maize used in Iceland is imported since those crops cannot be grown in its climatic conditions.

Icelandic livestock products and GM feed
This feed is mostly used for feeding pigs, birds, cattle, but potentially also sheep and aquaculture. It can be concluded that a large part of Icelandic agricultural products are produced using GM feed to a variably large extent, - i.e. pork, chicken, egg, beef, milk and other dairy products, and potentially also lamb and farmed fish. Furthermore, the use of concentrated feed in the traditional sectors (dairy and sheep) will probably increase in the near future as large farm units continue to replace small ones, which in turn may lead to even greater share of GM materials in livestock feed in Iceland.

Products produced from livestock fed with GM feed (meat, eggs and dairy products) are not defined as GM food, and the EU has not yet introduced madatory labeling of such products. However,EU regulations stipulate that GM feed must be labeled. This is not the case in Iceland. Icelandic farmers are therefore unaware of whether and to what extent the feed they purchase for their livestock is GM.

GM neither natural nor safe
This news deals a major blow to the image of Icelandic agriculture which until now has been portrayed as producing natural, unpolluted and safe food. GM feed is neither natural nor safe. GM crops are produced by inserting genes from one species into another, a process that would not occur in nature, with unforeseeable consequences for the organism, its environment and the health of the consumer. In the last few years the results of several animal feeding trials using GM maize, soya, tomatoes
and potatoes have demonstrated negative health impacts. The long term impact of GM feed on the health of Icelandic livestock and the quality of Icelandic livestock products is now becoming a major question.

What do consumers say about GM feed?
Recent IMG-Gallup poll suggests that 65% of Icelanders are opposed to the production of GM food. The ratio is even higher in Europe where consumer awareness of the risk of consuming such products is greater. Consumers in Iceland´s main trading countries increasingly demand to know if livestock products are made from animals being fed GM feed.

The British supermarket chain Marks & Spencer only sells dairy products which are confirmed to be produced without GMOs. More and more US food companies now source livestock products (meat and milk) produced without GM feed. One of the largest US dairy producers (Dean Foods) and one of the largest milk retailers (Wal-Mart) are now sourcing raw milk produced without GM feed and hormones.

The US supermarket chain Whole Foods Market imports lamb and dairy products from Iceland on the premise that these are pure nature products. The company has stated that it has for over a decade campaigned for mandatory labelling of food containing genetically engineered materials, based on its belief that consumers have the right to choose food on the basis of knowledge about their content and how they are produced. WFM policy is that all of its own branded products are produced from non-genetically engineered ingredients or processes. WFM also encourages its
suppliers to do the same. (See www.wholefoodsmarket.com.)

The image of natural purity on the way out?
Has Whole Foods Market been warned that products imported from Iceland for sale in their outlets are potentially produced from livestock fed on American or Argentinian GM soya and maize? How will awareness of this development of Icelandic agriculture affect its marketing opportunities in Europe? Is it perhaps time to replace the "purity" image with the image of intensive farming and genetic engineering - or will consumers, farmers and Icelandic feed companies cooperate and clean up our backyard before it is too late?

Gunnar Gunnarsson is the director of Tún, a certification body for organic food in Iceland.
Sigurðdur Magnússon is on the board of the Association of Catering and Food Processing Employee.