Archived press release

Greens launch Unilever "disloyalty card" to protest at genetic bean food experiment

27 March 1998

As a Frankenstein in a suit unveiled the Unilever "disloyalty card" on a billboard outside Safeway supermarket in Camden, members of Friends of the Earth, Greenpeace and the Genetic Engineering Network handed the card to shoppers. The protest is the first in a nationwide campaign against genetically engineered products in food which the organisations plan to step up over the coming months. They are calling on consumers to speak out against the unknown risks posed by genetically engineered foods and urging other food producers to follow the lead taken by Iceland last week [1].

UK-based Unilever is one of Europe's largest food producers and is ignoring consumer opinion [2] by adding genetically engineered soya to Batchelor's Beanfeast, the first of its products to be labelled as containing genetically modified ingredients.

Unilever is using Beanfeast to 'test the water' and is likely to flood the market with many genetically engineered products, despite the unknown long-term effects they may have on health and the environment. Unilever produces, amongst many other products, Flora margarine, Ragu sauce, Boursin, Chicken Tonight and Colemans. A major player in the food industry, its attitude toward the current genetic experiment is likely to set an industry precedent.

Dr Doug Parr, Genetic Campaigner at Greenpeace, said: "We're working together to stop consumers becoming human guinea pigs in a global experiment. Scientists can no more guarantee the safety of genetically engineered foods than they could predict the BSE crisis. The food industry is turning a blind eye to the risks and simply rolling over in acceptance."

Adrian Bebb, Food campaigner at Friends of the Earth said: "The long-term impacts of genetic engineering on farming, human health and the environment are unknown. But once genetically manipulated organisms enter the environment and the food chain, the effects are irreversible. If Iceland supermarkets can produce food without experimenting in genetic engineering then so can Unilever."

Zoe Elford of the Genetic Engineering Network said: "Unilever is wilfully abusing its customer brand loyalty. Unilever knows most people cannot stomach the idea of genefoods, yet it is forcing it down our throats. Interfering with Beanfeast is already a step too far - there should be no contamination of our food at all."
The Unilever 'disloyalty' cards will be handed to shoppers, warning them that Batchelors Beanfeast is "contaminated with genetically engineered soya" and will alert them to the fact that such food is "unpredictable, uncontrollable and unnecessary". A hotline has been set up for consumers to join the campaign. With completely new genes entering the food chain, such as the virus gene inserted into Beanfeast's soya, no one knows what new risks may arise.

The Genetic Hotline number is 020 7865 8222.

NOTES TO EDITORS:

[1] Last week, Iceland Foods announced that its own-brand production will be free of genetically modified products from1 May 1998. The only certain way to avoid genetically manipulated foods will be to buy organic produce or Iceland Foods own brands.
[2] 77% of people aware of genetic engineering have reservations, according to a Gallup Poll commissioned by Iceland and announced last week. Only 4% of people said they were very likely to purchase genetically engineered food.

Friends of the Earth, Greenpeace and the Genetic Engineering Network are asking consumers to:

• write to Guy Walker, Group manager at Unilever, urging him to follow Iceland's lead by removing all genetically engineered ingredients from its products
• Write to Tessa Jowell, Public Health Minister and responsible for the new Food Standards Agency
• Call the Genetic Hotline and find out more about what can be done to protect our food from genetic engineering
  
  

If you're a journalist looking for press information please contact the Friends of the Earth media team on 020 7566 1649.

Published by Friends of the Earth Trust