Arla is in the process of setting up a premium to pay farmers for milk produced without the use of genetically modified (GM) feeds as retailers in Germany are demanding this product from their suppliers.
This is the second premium given to milk suppliers in Europe for the quality of milk that many Irish farmers supply all of the time without any additional premium. The first one was for milk supplied from cows that get a few hours on pasture.
Ake Hantoft, chair, said that Arla was well prepared to meet the growing demand from trans-European retailers for GM-free product. “We own the biggest organic pool in the world, for which the feed is by default GM-free. Our Swedish farmers have always used GM-free feed. This means 20% of Arla’s milk pool already meets this market demand.”
He added: “We welcome innovative solutions and new technology, which can improve farming and help feed the world’s growing population in a sustainable manner. We are not closing the door on GM and we will continue to monitor the scientific research into the pros and cons of GM.”