GM: the global picture

The following GM foods or ingredients have been on sale or approved for use in foods in the UK:

• GM soya
• GM maize
• GM cottonseed oil
• oilseed rape

No fresh GM produce has been approved for sale or consumption in the UK.

There have been no animal, fish or human genes approved for use in GM food anywhere in the world. However, many processed foods in the UK, such as biscuits, cooking sauces, and food coatings, will include GM ingredients at a very low level if they use soya or maize as an ingredient. The same will be true for products imported from countries growing GM soya or maize.

So, unless an individual’s diet contains no processed foods, they are likely to be eating at least some GM or ‘GM-derived’ food, even if this is only at a low level. If they have travelled to one of the countries that grow GM crops in the past few years, especially the USA and Canada, it is very likely that they will have eaten food that contains GM material or is derived from it.

Animal feed
Also, as more countries have started using genetic modification technology, supplies of animal feed ingredients to the UK have increasingly contained GM or 'GM-derived' products. Maize, soya and oilseed products are major sources of energy and protein for UK livestock.

The amount of animal feed consumed by different types of livestock varies according to their diet. Cattle and sheep eat a higher proportion of grass in their diets, as opposed to pigs and poultry, which eat more maize and cereals. However, the diets of all species of livestock are supplemented by manufactured compound feeds, particularly during the winter. The choice of what to feed is determined by factors such as the age and species of the animal and the availability and price of feeds.

To find out more, visit the GM material in animal feed page of our food.gov.uk website.

Currently, food ingredients from varieties of GM soya, maize and oilseed rape have been approved for food use in the European Union although very little is actually used. These include oils and syrups that contain ‘GM-derived’ material, and flours and starches. These ingredients could be used in a wide range of processed foods, from vegetarian burgers to biscuits and sauces, in the same way ingredients from non-GM crops are used.

However, many food manufacturers and supermarkets have said that they are excluding ingredients from GM crops from their products. This started in the late 1990s, when people became more concerned about genetic modification.

Some GM products, such as chymosin (see the Altering food crops section of this website), may be used in food manufacturing as 'processing aids'.

Will the label tell me if the food is GM?
In the EU, if a food contains or consists of genetically modified organisms (GMOs), or contains ingredients produced from GMOs, this must be indicated on the label. For GM products sold 'loose', information must be displayed immediately next to the food to indicate that it is GM.

Visit our eatwell website for more information about GM labelling.

The global area of GM crops in 2008 was estimated as 125 million hectares in 25 countries (up from an estimated 114.3 million hectares in 23 countries in 2007 and 102 million hectares in 22 countries in 2006). This was the thirteenth consecutive year of increase in the area devoted to GM crops, with much of the increase being in developing countries, who were responsible for 43% of the world's GM crop production.

GM crops now occupy over 8% of the world’s cultivable arable land, an area equivalent to approximately five times the size of the UK.

The US Department of Agriculture's summary report of the 2008 harvest showed that GM accounted for 80% of the US maize crop, 86% of the cotton crop and 92% of the soya bean crop. The second largest producer of GM soya beans, by volume, after the USA is Brazil, where GM accounts for around 65% of the crop. In Argentina, almost all of the soya planting is now GM, and 65% of Argentine maize plantings are GM. GM cotton accounts for 40% of Brazil's cotton production, 66% of Indian cotton output and and 69% of Chinese cotton.

The UK routinely imports soya bean meal, maize gluten feed and cotton meal from all of these countries.

Find out more in the GM and novel foods section of our food.gov.uk website.