Demand for non-GMO meal is robust in German market but falls off in other European countries

Almost four out of five liters of milk in Germany are produced from cows fed non-GMO feed - the share is now almost 80%. Ten years ago, it was only 5%, reported the German Association for Food without Genetic Engineering (VLOG) this month. GMO-free milk has largely gone from being a niche product to becoming the standard in Germany, said the organization. Milk and other food of animal origin adhering to VLOG’s ‘Ohne Gentechnik’ standard means that they have been produced without the use of genetically modified (GM) feed. In 2021, 74% of milk in Germany complied with that standard, and another 4.3% was organic milk, which likewise excludes the use of GM feed, making a total of 78.3% of milk in that market GMO-free, said VLOG. Asked whether Germans would likely continue to prize non-GMO food products or whether they might begin to prioritize affordability, a spokesperson for VLOG told us: “German consumers are not really faced with this purchase decision as the market segments in ...