Credit: Original article can be found here
The US manufacturer of the ‘Impossible Burger’ has
revealed that they have stopped using GMO soy as their main
ingredient in products exported to New Zealand and
Australia.
The Ministry of Primary Industries (MPI)
responses from the importer and manufacturer have been
released under the Official Information Act.[1] After GE
Free New Zealand called on them to investigate the labelling
of Impossible Foods GE burger, being sold through Countdown
supermarkets and Hell’s Pizza. MPI found that the Impossible
Burger has substituted its main ingredient of GM soy (21%)
for non-GM soy protein for the New Zealand market. The
product still contains genetically modified soy
Heme.
MPI has sighted details of the certified system
of Non-GMO Identity Preservation Program now being used to
source GE-free soy protein for the Impossible Burger in New
Zealand. However the details are witheld in the report
released under the OIA.
The documents show that as
well as GE soy heme, GMO soy protein still remains the main
ingredient used in Impossible Foods products in the US and
Canada. The United States Department of Agriculture Identity
Preservation website confirms that more than 90% of soybean
production is biotechnology engineered (BE/GE) soybean
(USDA-ERS, 2018) and unless a consumer did not specifically
purchase non-GE soybeans, then it should be presumed that it
will be a genetically engineered soybean. [2]
Since
the launch of the Impossible Burger in the US the
manufacturer has tenaciously promoted its use of GMO soy as
the main ingredient, claiming it to be sustainable. However
GMO/GE soy has been widely condemned for the extensive use
of synthetic pesticide residues, such as glyphosate.
[3]
Ready Roundup GE soy is found to have high residue
levels of glyphosate that results in a lower nutritional
composition of soybeans compared to conventionally and
organically grown soy. (Bohn et al, 2014) [4]. Eighty
percent of GE soy implicated in Amazon-deforestation is used
to feed to cattle for meat production.
Internationally
GMO soy is deliberately avoided by consumers who are
concerned about increased use of toxic chemicals,
biodiversity loss and the destruction of rainforest in the
Amazon causing severe droughts in order to grow GE soy.
[5]
This global consumer awareness supported by
organisations like the Non-GMO Project, may be behind the
change to using Non-GMO soy that is revealed in the MPI
investigation into Impossible Burger. [6]
All other
brands of meat-replacement products in New Zealand
supermarkets have a GE-Free policy and source Non-GMO
ingredients. This includes local manufacturers such as Bean
Supreme, Tonzu, Birds Eye, and the supermarket own-label
products Pams, Countdown’s own and Macro.
“New Zealand
consumers expect food to be GE-free unless clearly labelled
to say otherwise,” said Jon Carapiet, spokesman for GE-Free
NZ.
“Consumers wanting to address environmental
destruction and to avoid businesses causing climate change
are looking for natural, organic and GE-free foods that are
grown ethically and sustainably.”
References
[1]
Impossible Burger investigation and documents https://www.gefree.org.nz/official-information-act-requests/
[2]
https://www.ams.usda.gov/sites/default/files/media/BESoybeanSummary.pdf
[3]
https://www.gefree.org.nz/assets/Uploads/_resampled/ResizedImageWzgwMCw0MzZd/FAQ-IF-copy.jpg
[4]
Bohn et al (2014) https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0308814613019201
[5]
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-021-22840-7
[6]
https://www.nongmoproject.org/